Topic: Digimon Survive

Interview with producer Habu Kazumasa discussing what the game is about and designed to be:
https://noisypixel.net/digimon-survive-interview-habu-kazumasa/

I can't believe there isn't a thread for this game yet! lol

Even though this is a multi-platform game, it is released on Switch too so I hope it's cool to post this here.

I've bought my copy on Steam and I'm downloading it now I just finished downloading it! Can't wait to play it! I don't know if I have time to play it though as I still have all these SMT games to go through! LOL

I heard that this is 1) a visual novel first and a tactical RPG second, and 2) it's a survival horror game, both of which are very suitable for me as I love visual novels and horror! In fact, the trailer reminds me a bit of SMT: Strange Journey Redux (which I'm almost done with my first playthrough right now), especially when people said this game is a survival horror story. Bunch of people inadvertently stumbling onto a horrific demon/alien dimension where untold horrors await them as they try to make it out alive; reminds me a lot of Strange Journey (as does the Digimon enemy-recruitment, which reminds me of the enemy demon recruitment in SMT games)! I love Strange Journey's story, so I hope I'll love this as well.

I've always been a Digimon fan growing up because of the excellent storytelling in the first few seasons of the anime, and while I'll admit that Digimon games have always been problematic (the newer games have rather mediocre plots too involving megalomaniacal tyrants trying to take over the world), I feel like a Digimon survival horror story has the potential to tap on tragic human emotions. Characters fighting amongst themselves as they try to survive is hardly new, but man, it can get so emotional and I still love that kind of plot regardless. Hope I'll get to shed a tear or two.

Hope to have more discussions of this game with you guys in the future. What do you think? Have you bought it or played it yet?

Edit:
The main title/theme music is already making me cry! God, it's beautifully tragic, already conveying the harsh reality of the survival themes implied. I love it! I feel like just letting it play for hours while I hype about the game. xD

Edit 2:
On a side note... why the heck would you release this around the time of Xenoblade Chronicles 3? Freaking Xenoblade, man. It's like releasing Paddington (2014) next to Avengers: Infinity War and expecting the fuzzy little bear from children's books to outsell the most anticipated blockbuster movie since The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring!

Thankfully, Digimon Survive has become the 2nd highest selling item on Steam (2nd to Steam deck), but I don't know how long it's going to stay there.

Edit 3:
Pre-ordered copies of the game in Japan have been reported to contain special promo cards. This has understandably upset a lot of people in the west, but apparently, Asian countries contain such promo cards as part of the pre-order (and early purchases of the game, presumably one month).

I've just learned that Singapore retails HAVE these special promo cards! I've already bought a copy on Steam and probably couldn't refund it, but what the heck - I'm gonna buy a copy for Switch too just for these cards!

Think I got my Amazon Japan version...now the wait starts...

For those who pre-ordered this game and found the codes for the special Guilmon/HP Item exclusives, please be aware that they might not work if your Nintendo account is based in the US, as it will return the error code of "2813-0055", or "this item isn't released yet."

To fix this, you'll have to change your Nintendo account's country to Japan temporarily. Once you've done that, go to the eshop. It will be forced into the Japanese language, but it's quite easy to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the menu bar on the left and find the "Enter Code" section. Download the pre-order items, exit the eshop, and you can safely switch your account's country back. The items are yours.

I don't know why US-based Nintendo accounts aren't able to use the pre-order codes yet for the physical copies, but oh well. At least there's a solution.

I'm enjoying the game so far, but it's too early to say if it's good or not, as I'm still in the rather lengthy prologue. I have a feeling though that they're pandering to the kids who grew up with the Digimon Adventure anime (or Digimon Season 1 in the US) like myself, because you can tell that most of these characters feel similar to those original kids from season 1. It makes sense if that's the case, since Digimon Survive is part of the Digimon 20th Anniversary celebration. As a fellow Digimon fan, I'm proud to have played this game and be part of the moment.

I am curious about this game, but I do not like horror. Hopefully it is not as bad as it sounds. I mean it is Pegi 12, so it can not be that bad.

It's a bit of a tough sell if you dislike horror, yeah, but I have a feeling that it's more psychological horror than just throwing graphic content at you. The very first scene you get in the game, for example, was portrayed in a rather visually disturbing way at the end of the scene, but it's a very PG-13/Pegi 12 level of disturbing that might just scare some very young children, that's all.

And above all, it's a survival story, so unfortunately, it won't exactly be a lighthearted story. I think it's worth exploring such a story though because... there are these character bios you can find very early on in the game, and in those bios, I could already tell that they're going the Pixar route of making you cry for these characters with their implied tragic backstories. So yeah, I think it might be less 'horror' and more 'tragedy,' with lots of drama about a bunch of kids forced to survive against an unreasonable situation when they already have real life baggage to deal with. Again, it reminds me of why I loved the first season of Digimon so much because, amidst the battling of evil Digimon, the main characters all had some pretty heavy baggage: one kid discovered that he's adopted, another almost caused his sister's death by accident when he was younger... yeah, heavy stuff. I feel like we're gonna get something similar here.

@Maxenmus

True Digimon was often pretty heavy for a kids show. Psychological horror seems even worse, but I am really curious where this adventure leads. Even if it is just a game, helping the characters overcome their trials feels good. I just hope this game has a happy end, then I surely would try it. It certainly feels like a quality game.

By the way is the newest Digimon anime not also tagged as horror?

I wouldn't really know to be honest. lol I've stopped watching Digimon after season 5, Digimon Savers/Digimon Data Squad. The later seasons just didn't really hook me as much, neither did the "Digimon Tri" movies meant to target the older crowd who grew up with season 1.

I'm glad this game exists to bring me back to the fandom though.

@Maxenmus

I am happy your love for Digimon is back. Digimon was important to me in my early days and those memories still are. Savers was pretty good.

Well I think I will give this game a chance. Looks intriguing.

@Jhena Nice! Hope you'll have fun.

Another thing I've noticed about the game is its alignment system. It's mentioned before in the trailer that your choices in the game will have impact on the story, and something cool I've noticed is that your alignment will determine the kind of evolution your Digimon will go through. It feels very personal that way, each player's Agumon having different kinds of evolution based on their values reflected in their story choices.

I think it's a great addition to Digimon games and it's particularly appropriate for what feels like a spiritual successor to Digimon Adventure, the first season of Digimon. Part of an adventure, especially the Digimon kind, is about personal growth and your values being challenged and reflected throughout the journey. What better way to do that than by having your values personified in your partner Digimon's evolution? A more gentle person who always pick the pacifist options in the game might have a more graceful-looking Digimon while someone who picks the more action-oriented choices might get a Digimon with more weapons built into its body. It's a good move that makes me interested in future replays too to see how my decisions will shape my Digimon.

@Maxenmus

Wow that comment really made me want to play this game. I saw the launch trailer today and I was wondering, why the player chose not to help his friends. Making your own choices seems like a great idea. This even might be a great way to have the game as dark or lighthearted as I want it to be.

Digimon horror is far less muted compared to House of the Dead. It's JPN horror can be alot more horror and I've seen those like The Grudge. People are going overboard on the horror of this game.

@SwitchForce I think people were merely stating that it's darker than your usual Digimon anime or games, especially the latter, which are usually lighthearted buddy cop adventures through the digital space. Nobody is really saying that it's on the level of horror of The Grudge. It's comparing apples and oranges anyway, considering it's more psychological horror.

Did anybody get it on Switch? I heard the performance is middling.

@Maxenmus These are JPN games whom in their right mind would think otherwise coming from a mythical JPN land stories? People need to get some cultural diversity about where JPN games come FolkLores of JPN past.

@ArchRex I did. I don't really have any performance issues that I could see. The issues I do have don't really have to do with performance, and more related to minor interface issues like the quest NPC markers giving away what should've been a mystery sub-plot, or the auto-mode speed not being balanced enough.

@SwitchForce Well, this isn't just some Japanese game; it's a Digimon game obviously targeted at fans of the first Digimon anime, as I've repetitively stated. It knows its audience, and offers those who watched the 1999 anime who are now in their 30s a more grown-up and mature version of Digimon Adventure, the first season of the anime. You can see obvious references to that anime in both the characters and the plot itself. That's why it isn't trying to be the next Resident Evil, Dead Space, or some great horror game; it's simply just a love letter and tribute for us Digimon fans. It's the perfect adventure game for those of us who watched Taichi/Tai's adventure in the summer of '99 and wished we could've joined him.

Besides, the story does contain themes discussing Japanese folklore and how its appreciation has been lost in modern times anyway, so your point about people needing to get some cultural diversity when criticizing this game is rather ironic...

It does look a bit more appealing than usual to me, now you have caught my attention.

So overall, how difficult would you say the game is to pickup and play, being also tactical RPG?

@exit Depending on the difficulty setting (which you can adjust at the start of each individual battle), it can actually be awfully easy, so much so that normal gamers might be put off by its lack of challenge. I'm on Normal difficulty and I could pretty much let it auto-battle on its own so long as my Digimon are high level enough.

I think that's the point though; it's not meant to be Final Fantasy Tactics or any high-level strategic RPG like that. The tactical RPG part of the game is more of a flavoring meant to let you have fun battling with Digimon on a chessboard grid battlefield while the story and characters come into bigger focus like a good visual novel. There are definitely strategies on positioning your Digimon at the right place (rear or side attacks are more damaging to both your Digimon and the enemy; attacks from a higher ledge have high crit chances), elemental weaknesses and resistance; basically your typical tactical JRPG gameplay, but as much fun as it is to plan out my moves, I feel like you only need to do such extensive planning for the bosses only. Even then, it might not be necessary since I have a feeling that's when one of the partner Digimon will always evolve and gain a power-boost anyway. lol But I'm still early into the game, so this might change down the line. Furthermore, you get quite a few power-up item drops from enemies that boost your Digimon's various stats, further making the battles even easier. And should you find yourself in trouble, you could always restart each battle from scratch (I'm pretty sure you could do that for boss battles too).

But individual experiences may differ, especially if you increase the difficulty level to the maximum. But like a lot of people have said: this is a visual novel first and a tactical RPG second, so it helps to adjust your expectations accordingly. You'll be doing lots and lots of reading. Like 70% reading and 30% gameplay.

@Maxenmus Thanks for the detailed analysis. It actually looks pretty cool the more read up on it. I do like a challenge, however if it's foremost a visual novel, the last thing I want is to get stuck while the story is getting interesting haha.

At this point missing my PreOrder I like to get it to replace playing XC3 even that was hard to get.

@SwitchForce Yeah, Bandai really did a poor job with the physical pre-orders, unfortunately. If it's any consolation, the pre-order exclusives would probably still be around in most copies of the game for the next few weeks.