
Update [Tue 2nd Aug, 2022 20:30]: We've now published our own review of Digimon Survive, and we're pretty impressed with the game on the whole. In fact, we think it's "one of the best visual novels to come out this year"! However, we do acknowledge that those who are "focused on the combat will probably find that the game comes up short."
Curious? Read our full thoughts on the game right here.
Original article [Mon 1st Aug, 2022 16:15]: Bandai Namco's Digimon Survive launched last Friday, and many Digimon fans have rushed out to grab a copy of the game. Out on Xbox One, PS4, Switch, and PC, the game combines visual novel elements with some strategy RPG gameplay, and is a very different Digimon game altogether.
However, despite some fans' excitement at getting this much-delayed Digimon game, Digimon Survive is currently being review bombed over on Metacritic. TheGamer reports that users are flocking to the aggregate website to share their opinions and score the game down. Over the weekend, the User Score for the Switch version was right down to 1.6, and by the time TheGamer spotted it, it had jumped up a little to 4.3.
The negative reviews posted to the site seem to share the same sentiments. One user, who has copied their comment across all four platform pages, says "It would be a Digimon game that I would really enjoy if it wasn't so loaded with those VN elements that are completely out of place." Others, on Twitter, state that the review bombing is down to "misleading marketing".
When the game was originally announced in 2018, Bandai Namco stated that Digimon Survive would be "a survival SRPG that combines 2D & 3D with lots of genres". And in various interviews, Digimon Survive's producer Habu Kazumasa has clarified that the game would be more like an "interactive Digimon anime":
However, the mix of genres and some of the earlier marketing has led to some confusion. We can understand people being disappointed when something isn't what they expect it to be, though as recently as Digimon Con, the game's producer has clarified that the game is "70% visual novel and 30% strategy RPG". And recent marketing has also emphasised the cutscene and interaction portions of the game.
The game's fans, however, have not taken this lying down, and have bundled together to help boost the game's User Score on Metacritic across all four platforms.
- Further reading - Poll: Digimon Survive Is Finally Available, Will You Be Getting It?
One reviewer has said, "I don't understand all the unnecessary hate on this game, IT IS a visual novel first, then an SRPG". Another, in a 10/10 review, has been even-minded about impressions "If you like visual novels you will like this game. If you like strategy RPG combat. You will like this game. If you are only here for the combat though, this might be a tough sell".
This push of positivity seems to be helping at the moment. At the time of writing this, the Switch version has been bumped up to 7.1 from 180 user ratings.
We're currently working on our own review of the game — as review codes for the game went out late — but in the meantime, why don't you check our our sister site Push Square's impressions of this visual novel/strategy RPG hybrid?
Are you happy with the balance of gameplay in Digimon Survive? Are you waiting for more impressions before picking up the game? Let us know!
[source thegamer.com]
Comments 88
The trailers and the name of the game definetly suggest a game with some action.
can fully understand the hate, why not say that its a visual novel with some fighting, instead all the marketing went to the fighting, but its pretty much hours of story before you get to fight, which is very short and you get taken by the hand a lot
This game has always been advertised as a visual-novel style game. Anyone who was paying attention would know what to expect. It's a lot like Devil Survivor in that way. The title music is also very melancholy and slow-paced, indicating the game's tone.
Metacritics scores are just children whining they don't get what they want. Almost all reviews are not even that professionals or know what they're talking about. It was a mistake to get rid of the big brother website GameRankings. This sister one was lame and a laughing stock of a website.
i think they should have said clearly it was a visual novel with fighting. Especially when you look at previous digemon games you should have stated this is a spin off
Tbf i had no idea it was meant to be a visual novel , but more like fire emblem . I do enjoy VNs tho so it shouldn't bother me too much
Harry Hill esque fight between both sets of gamers clearly required.
I did minimal research into the game before launch and still knew exactly what I was buying so it's not like it was some big secret. If anyone can't even do the bare minimum to figure out if a game is for them or not before purchasing then that's on them.
Same with XC3 btw
It was at 5.8 or something shortly after release but now it's at 8.2.
Isn’t it only review bombing if it’s from people who haven’t actually played the game?
I didn't follow the game development closely and skipped a few announcements and trailers and I still knew it was a visual novel with srpg fights.
Where were these people the past 4 years?
While early marketing could be seen as misleading, didn't a lot of that predate the dev studio switch? I really do think more recent marketing is accurate. As a commenter put it above, it's basically DigiSentinels. I haven't played the game yet, but that's my impression from the marketing.
I get being disappointed if a game isn't what you expect, but at least rate it fairly vs. "0/10 because it isn't [insert what I want here]". Seriously, scores like this should only be reserved for broken, unplayable games.
Then they ain't "fans" if they are review bombing im still gonna buy this game since I do love Digmon.
@moodycat You're saying that a game with 92 metascore is not objectively superior to a game with 78? How dare you, sir!
I'm absolutely loving it so far. I thought it was super clear from the trailers that it was mostly a visual novel. A visual novel set in the universe of Pokémon or Digimon is something I've wanted to see for ages and I'm loving it. These reviewers just did zero research into the game they were buying and are then moaning about it.
Having played this game all weekend, Digimon Survive is a great game and it's a shame people are using its genre to whine about it. It's telling a story that couldn't be told any other way. While I was playing it, I thought to myself, "Man, I'd love to see an anime made after Survive's story!" Only upon thinking that I realized that this medium is the only way Digimon Survive could have done what it's done. They can make a story that goes down one of the paths, but the branching choice-based paths could only be achieved this way.
The SRPG aspects of the game bolsters the action so it's not all just done through smack sound-effects during the narrative portions. And because of that, it doesn't overstay its welcome. I honestly hope they make another one of these someday but really go all-out with the horror aspects. There's one part near the middle (where they told people not to spoil it) where they do it for one scene and my jaw literally dropped. Now I'm hungry for more.
Man, I couldnt imagine being so petty or a b*tch, that I would review bomb something. Some of y'all, sad individuals, have waaay too much time on your hands.
Some people just can't behave can they. It's not like it'll really do anything since no one really takes review bombers seriously, it's just an annoyance for the people who are enjoying the game to have to deal with. It's a shame but not much can be done (as sad as that is to say).
If only morons actually researched something before buying, instead of proving to the world they are morons first and foremost. 🤦♂️
So if the game description was misleading and the people playing the game think it sucks is it really fair to call it review bombing. Second, if you are a person who solely relies on review sites for your choices in games, movies, and music than you are part of this "problem".
Anyone complaining about misleading marketing has not been paying attention - in the very few statements that the design team and company have made about this game for the last six months, it has been abundantly clear that it is primarily a VN with some light tactical combat elements. Moreover, the recent trailers have placed heavy emphasis on the VN elements, with only limited footage of the combat.
I think the problem is twofold. First, this is apparently not the game most fans wanted, and it's also not the game that was first announced years ago. Second, the marketing hasn't been misleading, but it has been almost non-existent. The entire lack of any pre-release reviews, the very low overall advertising presence (on English-language websites, at least), and the fact that they probably could not have chosen a worse release date given the direct competition from XC3, combined to mean that you do really need to have been paying attention very closely to have heard anything substantial about this game. The only reason I know anything at all about Digimon Survive is that I loved Digimon as a kid, and I've been checking back in frequently on this game's development.
I probably won't be playing this game for a while (finishing up Live A Live and gonna be booked solid for the next month or so with XC3), but I'm hoping to pick it up eventually (hopefully once we have some real reviews). Despite my hesitancy around VNs, this definitely looks like more the Digimon game I want than the Digimon Story games (which pretty much feel like bland Pokemon clones with Digimon shoehorned in), so I'm reasonably excited.
i wish i could filter out all 0/1 star and 10 (or 5/5 as the case may be) star reviewsfor every review, internet wide.
these scores tend to be hyperbolic, and or politicaly motivated, and arent much use to me anyway, as i know a 0/10 game when i see one, and 10/10 games are so rare and special they are impossible to miss. id go as far as to say MOST minimum scores are weaponized and hyperbolic, as the games that actually deserve that score most likely go unreviewed.
really, an honest 6 or 7/10 with a meaningful blurb describing why is so much more useful than a 10, a zero, or especially an "aggregate" which is about as meaningless as it could be.
thank you for listening.
@moodycat Hahaha that gave me a good laugh!
I'm glad most people here at Nintendo Life know that random numbers assigned by random people don't determine the quality of a game.
I bet that the reviewers are a bunch of jealous Pokemon fans who can't stand the fact that Digimon's way better than Pokemon.
This is why I can’t take user reviews seriously.
It’s incredible the amount of power that’s been given to one of the most easily manipulated metrics on the Internet, every time it happens we get people and these sites freaking out which is precisely why Metacritic will never address it. The industry is fine with this because it discredits the concept of user reviews.
I’m not sure if I’m watching Whose Like is it Anyway or reading about video games.
I firmly believe that there should be a moratorium on adding non-professional reviews to Metacritic's aggregate until one week after launch. That way, people get the whining/console warring/developer backlash out of their system and games are more fairly judged on their merits and flaws.
I admit I mainly only read the info releases early in its reveal and barely anything in the last few months so this is the 1st I’ve heard of the heavy VN elements. If anything, this feels more like a case of inconsistent messaging during marketing.
I am sure the game is pretty good at what it does and I am sorry for the people, who expected something different. Hopefully they come to like it anyway.
@mariomaster96 Yeah, I saw that. People giving a 100+ hours game 0/10 two days after release is ridiculous. Fanboys trolling I guess.
I definitely don’t see all those negative reviews being just usual review bombs. It feels like a Tokyo Mirage Session scenario
Wait - people thought this wouldn't have a lot of visual novel elements?!
Based on the marketing, I understood what I'd be getting. The interactions between Digimon and their humans is fascinating for me. The believable reactions of the characters as a result of their situation and environment are excellent. I think the balance between Visual Novel and SRPG is just right for me. I think the only issues that I have with this game is the occasional typo and transliteration quirks.
The problem was that the initial reveal which is always going to be a game's most watched video made it look like a it was much heavier on the SRPG gameplay.
(6.30 onwards)
https://youtu.be/wmyiPVOih8g
The whole 70% visual novel, 30% tactics and point & click gameplay was basically slipped in during a press release statement fairly recently. So I don't think it's surprising a number of people feel like they were mislead.
I honestly don't think they ever gave the impression that story battles could be hours apart from each other.
It's a visual novel with tactics gameplay. Not sure what other people expected. All I saw of the game was a brief description on siliconera and I figured I would get the game when it came out. I don't know what was in all the trailers but the game is exactly what I figured it would be
Not that I'm defending the game(havn't played it), but I have a feeling a lot of these "bomb reviews" have to do with certain people being salty that they didn't get review copies in advance. A lot of people probably also are going into it expecting something completely different from what the game is supposed to be.
Reminds me a littlebit of Utawarerumono Mask of Deception and Mask of Truth issue.
Mind you fans knew what the game was about, and 90% of people that got those 2 were fans, but the other 10% saw the "SRPG" on the back and didn't bother to read more into it.
They are both roughly 90% VN and 10% SPRG, again fans knew that but that 10% did not and complained a lot.
Even worse some people got the second game and complained it doesn't make any sense, that is true because you must play the first one and fans knew that.
This Digimon story issue feels the same, with the difference that Bamco messed up with not being very clear this is first and foremost a VN, and second being Digimon a bigger franchise.
I did play the Digimon and in my fair opinion it is a mediocre VN, even for a VN fan like me this is a tough pill to swallow because the story feels to generic to be a VN, it would fit a regular (S)(J)RPG more.
@-wc- You are right on the money. Most extreme reviews online are motivated by something else or just garbage.
Whatever. I've played for 7–8 hours and so far I'm really enjoying the game. Haven't been in touch with Digimon since the early 2000s, so this is quite nostalgic for me. I guess this is what casual Pokémon enjoyers must feel when they try a Pokémon video game for the first time in two decades lol.
Why even bother? Negative reactions won’t change anything on Metacritic anyway. The only place where users could change something is Reddit (SWB2 is a good example on that).
Sounds like people were told there was going to be one thing, and then the company got lazy. Or they knew from the beginning it was going to lean that direction and choose to advertise it otherwise, even if they changed the advertising later.
"Review bombing" is such a loaded term. If people strongly dislike something and are proportionately motivated to communicate that to others, there's nothing wrong with that — that's how user reviews and hearing the voices of those without a platform is supposed to work.
hate the visual novel style but im all for an srpg
Game fans have really become the worse.
It's not wrong to admit that early advertising was an outright lie. I knew it was a VN after being hype about it for at least 6 months. That was a huge letdown so while I'm not review bombing, I understand the sour response.
It's worth noting that the last major release in the franchise was the Cyber Sleuth port on Switch, which is a full RPG, so there's expectations coming from people who played that as well, maybe as their first Digimon game, coming into this and it's a visual novel... I wouldn't give it a 0 for it personally but you can't blame them imo.
This is exactly why no company should ever give a damn about user reviews. And in fact they don't.
@moodycat To some studios, Metacritic score actually do matter and it can determine if employees get a bonus; and some studio hire employees based on if they was apart of team who shipped a 90 Metacritic score game... But let's hope those studios are looking at critic scores and not user scores.
@Narrator1 I also think you should be required to link your Nintendo/PlayStation/Steam/etc profiles and have certain amount of playtime there before you're allowed to review a game. Would weed out the whiny babies who just hate on games they haven't even played.
Cool, the 5 people that bought this game are fighting the 5 haters of this game.
@fenlix brutal but true lol
How does this article not cover some of the ongoing issues with the game? So basically if Arlo doesnt talk about it you don't think it matters? Plenty of Digimon youtubers have covered the immense issues with several of the versions of this game and why Bandai Namco put it out to die and it's shameless.
Maybe research some of that.
Still not in the Australian eShop... cries
NGL I thought it was going to be a nuzlocke-like monster collecting strategy game, and if I pre-ordered on that belief I'd be pretty upset its more of an anime visual novel with some turn based strategy inbetween.
I really wanted to try it but after watching clips, playthroughs, etc it just doesn't look like my thing at all. I have no reason to give negative feedback cause its still probably a great game for what it is but the expectation definitely took a right turn and I wouldn't bought it then probably be kinda let down.
It seems more like a love letter to old fans with the visual novel/lore focus instead of actual gameplay, idk if I want this to be my first dive into the series. I couldn't imagine waiting through all the silence and delays to get a VN, and from what I heard 1/3rd of the digimon cyber sleuth had, a love letter doesn't get new players unfortunately let alone one that takes a reeeeaaaalllly long time to mail to them.
Sounds awful tbh, I think the low score was right. VNs are the most boring games there are and I'd be incredibly disappointed to have spent $60 and ended up with this.
It's a video game based on a B-list franchise for little kids. I will never understand why YAs think everything they hold dear should grow with them. There's a new generation of little kids, let them enjoy the thing. Develop some new adult tastes if you don't like it.
When I bought it, the back of the box literally says front and center "Visual novel with some tactical battles". How is that false advertising? I assumed it was 95% visual novel
@Jadamson929 I dont think little kids will want to play a visual novel XD
@Artofwez What!? I thought the game would be 50% visual novel and 50% tactical battles...you know...just like persona. Is it actually mostly a visual novel!?
@fenlix @fenlix @Nintendo_Thumb Persona's cases never ever say they are a visual novel. Usually treat it like a life sim. Little Busters is a better comparison, it has a baseball mini game you do maybe once every few hours but it is mostly a visual novel.
Think of how stuff is listed on the back as an ingredients list,the first thing listed is what you will see the most of.
All the trailers also only have a few seconds of combat.
It seems like people just didn't do their research and are just now whining about it via metacritic.
@Artofwez Yeah, the right term is Life sim. But Persona would still be 50% life sim* and 50% rpg.
Also, the official description in the store is simply "Digimon Survive presents a hybrid visual novel and tactical RPG set in a mysterious world filled with dangerous monsters and deadly battles that will test your ability to survive."
Also, it has a gameplay trailer with emphasis on battles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF1jioUBklE
They really need to get rid of average totals for user reviews on sites like imdb, metacritic and rotten tomatoes. They are too easy to manipulate and create false narratives. Let audiences write their reviews, just remove the average score.
It's currently showing as Very Positive over on Steam (881 reviews, 788 positive, 202 negative). I quite like Visual Novels and SRPG's so will likely give it a try somewhere down the line.
Welp, we just barely started getting Digimon games again after years, looks like we probably won't get another. The last four anime have have already given localization the middle finger.
Made an account on here to finally have a say on this one!
Always been a fan of Digimon and the whole monster collection series in general (Pokemon, Coromon, SMT3 and 5 - although I am very aware these a different genres for the series).
I do appreciate the different style of this game, and my only criticism is that I have to be in the right mindset to play it - the Visual Novel part can be very demanding on the brain and can be a bit slow to set off - but other than that, its a lovely blend of atmosphere, storytelling and creative gameplay.
@TanukiTrooper "They really need to get rid of average totals for user reviews on sites like imdb, metacritic and rotten tomatoes. They are too easy to manipulate and create false narratives. Let audiences write their reviews, just remove the average score."
In 2019, RottenTomatoes came out with a way for only people who actually bought tickets to rate movies that came to theatres. Look for "Verified Ratings" and "Verified Audience". Nothing can be done for movies that went straight to streaming though.
CinemaScore does scientific, multiple city polls of real people who bought real movie tickets sitting in real theatres.
I've heard Steam ratings are all verified PC game buyers as well.
Little pathetic 12 year old Internet terrorists. Their influence is brlow 0.
Finally, a situation where the fans have actually done something productive with game ratings. Might be safe to call this a "review war" now.
Funny how this series used to rival Pokemon.
It would be nice to see something overtake Pokemon considering how lazy and complacent the company has become after crushing all competition. Although Legends Arceus was a nice shakeup, but it's the bare minimum Pokemon has committed to improvement in the gaming and media landscape.
Metacritic? oh right that, the website nobody takes seriously. Moving on.
@Nintendo_Thumb I don't think you would like Persona then going by your statement.
@Royalblues
Isn't this far more like the Utawarerumono series, rather than 13 Sentinels? Both with the visual novel sections and the battles
@Axecon Arguably it was never a real rival or in competition. At Digimon's peak (Digimon World 1's million sales) the gap between the two series was actually it's biggest because that's when Pokemon had sold 30million copies of Red/Blue.
It's not like say Sonic and Mario where both were selling in the 10-20million rangein the 4th generation and then Sonic dropped off.
The closest any Digimon game ever came to a mainline Pokemon is like Pokemon Crystal or Emerald, but that's only on account of being a 3rd version Pokemon game in conjunction with selling less post-Pokemania, not Digimon gaining any marketshare because Digimon was losing sales during that period too.
@Dr_Lugae Video gaming-wise the numbers are a weak competition but Digimon was a huge media force in the late 90s/early 2000s with an anime adaptation (+ movies), toys/merchandise, trading cards and more. Same goes for Yugioh, maybe even to a greater degree.
Ultimately though, Pokemon could always fall back on its excellent games, which was the brand's bread & butter and sustained its staying power generation after generation. Definitely can't say the same for the competition. It's also why every new Pokemon generation's marketing and promotional cycles revolves around the latest game releases to keep the interest and confidence in the brand.
@Royalblues
If you can believe it, yes, they used that name haha. It's three games
@RubyCarbuncle No definitely not. I sit there with a controller in my hand looking to twiddle my thumbs, some timing games, action, puzzle, rpgs with very little dialogue, even strategy is okay once in a while but I draw the line when it comes to games with mountains of text they expect me to read. I don't really care how good the writting is, that's a boring game in my opinion. I get that there's people who like this genre, but, people who don't shouldn't be silenced and labelled as "review bombing" for expressing our opinion. If a game gets such mixed reviews, it deserves it for making such polarizing content.
@Nintendo_Thumb There's a difference between Constructive Criticism and Review Bombing. This is just a bunch of whiny idiots who have nothing better to do. Once they grow up, leave the nest and enter the adult world they're going to be in for a massive shock.
@RubyCarbuncle the Persona Series isn't a visual novel. At least not the mainline games in the series. Mainline Persona games are all a mix of Social Sim & JRPG.
However I'd say for certain Persona 3 Portable, Arena/Arena Ultimax, the Dancing games, and Persona Q/Q2 are all a mix of Visual Novel & JRPG.
@RubyCarbuncle I agree! There certainly is a difference between actual criticism and straight out review bombing! I personally feel as if the people who ran to Metacritic to review bomb the game have not actually played the game, at least not the majority of the people. I know with Steam in order for someone to actually review any game they'd need to have actually bought the game or the game needs to have been gifted to them. Basically they need to have actually played the game and them owning it on Steam is the proof, meanwhile I doubt Metacritic actually requires the person reviewing to the game or in this case I doubt the pool review bombing this game actually need validation or proof that they've really bought the game.
EDIT: Something I've noticed on Steam is this game has the "Very Positive" Review status.
Some people really hate reading I guess.
Honestly hearing it being a visual novel made me more interested in the game personally
@Tindre I mean, for me personally it has nothing to do with liking reading. I love books, I love reading.
I don't like visual novels though, accepting them only as a story telling means and not the meat of product. They are what they are, low cost low effort ways to tell a story when gameplay doesn't lend itself well to that. Cheaper and more efficient than animating tons of cutscenes.
To me they lack the interactivity and player input I expect from an interactive medium such as a video game. They also lack the unique experience you get from being forced to use your imagination with a book, focusing near entirely on dialogue and a few near static character images with some flappy mouths. They scrap the best parts of both mediums and offer little in return.
So going off most of the marketing for Survive largely focusing on showing off the SRPG elements I thought it was going to be a case of previous Digimon games using VN for the story. It wasn't clear how little gameplay there was other than some off hand comments in press releases Bandai knows most won't come across. I'm not paying £50 for that, I would much rather pick up a book for a fraction of the cost and for me an infinately better experience.
@Anguspuss They literally said it would have a 70-30 split between VN and TRPG segments. And Digimon games don't really have "spin-offs" as they are historically very diverse.
@batmabel when it wasnt mentioned shown anywhere
@Tao sorry but I love visual novels as a medium personally, and disagree with them not stimulating your imagination. I also find the way you describe the animation aspect of them insulting tbh. There is a lot of work and time that goes into making them.
Hm, I can see why that happened. I didn’t know the game was mostly visual novel until a couple months ago. Most of the news I heard about the game was it was a SRPG with visual novel cutscenes. I probably would’ve been pretty annoyed if I bought this game and had to deal with hours of reading before I got to my first fight.
I wouldn't use Metacritic user scores as any sort of persuasive element when choosing whether or not to buy a game... They're far too polluted. Does anybody?
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