Product test
"Bayonetta 3" tested: My first time with the brawling witch
by Domagoj Belancic
"Digimon Survive" in review: death, survival, monsters and sooooo much to read
10.8.2022
Translation: machine translated
With "Digimon Survive", Bandai Namco brings a visual novel that is not only about Digimon, but also about death, interpersonal conflicts and tactical battles. Is the result convincing, or is this just milking a well-known franchise? Here comes our test.
This is an article from our content partner "PC Games". Here you can find the original article by author Yannik Cunha.
The Digiworld?
Survive!
Why actually the subtitle "Survive"? Isn't it inappropriate for a "children's game"? Our answer: No! The title really is the programme. Finding food and shelter is the least of our problems. What we have more trouble with are wild monsters and the little animals that explicitly oppose our group for various reasons.
There are also conflicts of interest within the students, all completely different characters, which we try to solve.
Often, however, we have to choose a side, which makes characters feel neglected or get angry. At first we thought it didn't matter who we dealt with and how - "then one just likes us and the other doesn't, I don't care". But empathy threw a spanner in the works: since we build up a bond with our comrades over about 40 hours of play, it really does affect us when a situation gets out of hand.
At the latest, when the consequences of our actions mean that a character, including his Digimon, dies before our eyes. Not only do we feel guilty, but the young adults around us are also shaken by the deaths. Sometimes it's beautiful, other times sad to see how our friends react to situations and decisions.
And the Digimon?
"Digimon Survive" manages to do what Pokémon has failed at for years: our Digimon grow on us just as much as the human characters. After all, the monsters can also speak and have character traits that we get to know in the countless dialogues. Of course, we also fight with the monsters - and in the best Final Fantasy Tactics style.
.
The battlefields are divided into squares on which we move our Digimon to tactically eliminate opponents. It's a pity: many of the maps are used over and over again, making the battles seem monotonous. While the battles theoretically offer a lot of depth in the form of a rock-paper-scissors principle including various elements, equipment and positioning options, we only need a fraction of it at most.
We simply reached far too high a level quickly. At the beginning, for example, we only wanted to catch three to four Digimon, but this made our other monsters so strong that the game no longer offered any challenge at all on normal difficulty.
Those who can relate to the genre of visual novels, in which we don't move but read a lot, and who are able to engage with a dramatic and beautiful story, will have a good time with "Digimon Survive" despite its quirks.
If you are not part of this target group, however, you should stay away from the title. The price of about 50 euros is too high to experiment. The texts are all in German, there is also a good dubbing, but only in Japanese.
Surprisingly fun!
"Digimon Survive" was officially announced back in 2018. Presumably due in part to the pandemic, the visual novel was delayed and has recently been released on 28 July 2022 for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. The Digimon brand has existed since 1997 and was originally created as an evolution of the popular Tamagotchi toys. Over the years, several anime series, games, manga and toys followed.
PC games: cutting-edge news, videos, previews and critical reviews, thoroughly researched reports and handy tips on everything to do with PC games, console games and PC hardware.
