Digimon Survive is a peculiar game compared to the franchise as a whole, as it combines a visual novel style with compelling, yet difficult and punishing turn-based combat. The battles can be pretty hectic and have high stakes, especially considering some creatures cannot be obtained if not convinced to join the party while fighting, and others have branching evolutions that can be unlocked when meeting specific requirements. Still, the fact that Digimon Survive shifted from the classic role-playing and action genres that the series established is a big deal.
The fact that Digimon Survive's storytelling is done via a visual novel style is great to see, because it means players can truly feel invested in the plot and characters, especially with the game's choice system allowing for interactive stories. However, there is a downside in establishing connections in a game that won't hesitate to kill characters off. It takes a long time to reach the end of the game, meaning losing characters one cares about can be a bitter experience. Spoilers ahead for Digimon Survive.
How Digimon Survive's Storytelling Impacts the Gameplay
Every first playthrough of Digimon Survive will result in at least two unavoidable deaths: Ryo and Shuuji. Although their stories are told in a way that makes them harder to like as characters, players can still feel invested. Making their deaths impossible to avoid on a first playthrough is a good and bad thing, as a big aspect of Digimon Survive is the ability to play through the game again with New Game+.
Yet, letting Ryo die either by choice or force in future playthroughs is what allows players to eventually unlock what is likely the game's most powerful digital monster: Omegamon. The choices that players make when engaging with the story matter a lot, to the point that the first chapter will have a different evolution for Agumon based on the karma route that players are on the most. As such, talking to characters in Digimon Survive and increasing the affinity that protagonist Takuma has with them means they can eventually be saved or doomed.
Going through the story and forming a connection with characters who might die means that players have to be particularly careful about their choices, as virtually any character in the game can be killed outside Takuma and Minoru. This is not bad per se, because if investment in a character leads to saving them, it means that players can actively change the course of the story. That's why the visual novel storytelling in Digimon Survive works. However, it also means that players can feel like they didn't really have a choice at times.
The karma system has three routes, but investing in one can lead to multiple characters dying regardless, whereas the only way to save them is to increase affinity as early as possible. This is limiting in terms of what players can actually do, as the way karma and affinity work in Digimon Survive often means having the illusion of choice. Still, the game's story is written in a way that makes it hard not to be engaged with its human characters and digital monsters, and striving for Digimon Survive's perfect ending where everyone survives can be redeeming for players who focus a lot on the New Game+ experience.
Digimon Survive is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.