Digimon Survive will be the latest installment in the Digimon franchise and it appears to go in a much different direction than previous games. Part survival RPG and part visual novel, Digimon Survive promises to take a darker tone with the story as player choices can lead to potentially disastrous consequences. Over the years, the Digimon franchise has explored mature themes and it seems that Digimon Survive is a natural extension of the series' evolution.
While the concept of choices matter has become a cliché marketing term over the years, Digimon Survive has player choices within the game that will naturally have long-lasting impact. Furthermore, player choices in Digimon Survive will not only influence the narrative but the Digivolutions as well. Choices matter in Digimon Survive and it goes beyond what players might expect when they hear the term.
Digimon Survive's Unique Presentation
Digimon Survive takes the series in a new direction as it combines survival strategy RPG mechanics together with a visual novel presentation. One of the key elements in Digimon Survive's gameplay is how player choices will influence the direction of the narrative. Much like other visual novels, Digimon Survive's story has branching storylines which will result in multiple playthroughs and different narrative paths. Digivolutions in the game will also be impacted by player choices and fans have speculated that this could mean the evolution chains of Vaccine, Data, and Virus could change depending on the story path.
Digimon Survive is set to feature a number of different gameplay elements such as "Drama Parts", "Search Action", and "Free Action". For example, the "Drama Parts" tells the game's story through text like a visual novel while the "Free Action" parts will allow players to deepen bonds with their friends and learn new information. On the other hand, there are also more tense sections such as "Search Action" where players must search for a way to survive a crisis. These different gameplay sections allow the story to naturally develop in a way where choices will have lasting effects and concepts like a bonding system will force players to contemplate their decisions.
Making Choices Matter in Digimon Survive
It's interesting to see how Digimon Survive's narrative is designed with player choices in mind and this separates it from many other games. Over the years, the concept of choices matter have become a cliché marketing term to the point where games will emphasize the mechanic only to change almost nothing in the end. The problem is that many of these games still have an overarching narrative which doesn't split off into unique directions. While players make choices during the story, it ultimately doesn't deviate from the intended path and as a result, these choices don't have lasting impact or consequences.
On the other hand, for a game like Digimon Survive where its storyline naturally branches off due to its visual novel presentation, it becomes much easier to emphasize the importance of player decisions. Choices that players make can have long-lasting effects because it doesn't necessarily need to tie back into the overarching narrative. Different characters will die depending on the choices made and bad endings will likely end the story and in turn, the player's run. While the concept of choices matter has changed over the years, it's exciting to see where Digimon Survive takes this idea given its distinct presentation of gameplay and branching narrative.
Digimon Survive is currently in development for PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One.
