By now, the review embargo for Digimon Story: Time Stranger has lifted and you should see a bunch of reviews that we believe will be mostly positive. We got our review code for the game a few days later than everybody else, and I won’t go into why but along with that, I also did some personal travel last weekend, so I unfortunately couldn’t play enough of the game to have a rating quite yet. I do plan on seeing it through and beating the game, so expect something hopefully by the end of the week.
(I want to get to Ghost of Yotei as much as the next person and also have 5K and 10K races this weekend).
Prior to getting this review build, the only other time I played the game was during San Diego Comic-Con, and I was pleasantly surprised by what I played. The exploration was what you’d expect out of a JRPG, but the battles actually had more depth than what I expected as well. After my time with it, I would say this was probably my most anticipated Bandai Namco JRPG release since Scarlet Nexus.
I don’t want to spoil too much of the story, because in the 10 hours or so I’ve put into the game, there really isn’t all that much to say about it aside from the fact that you’ve traveled back in time a few years before a cataclysmic event in Tokyo. You can pretty much what comes next here, especially when it involves Digimon.
Oh hey, we know Agumon!
In fact, the story really takes a back seat in favor of the complexity of its battle system. Much like the Trails series, battles operate from a calculated turn-based battle system, meaning turns are calculated and listed in order on-screen based on every character’s stats happening one after another without delay. Like the Pokémon games, your party is made up of Digimon of varying types which also match the ways in which they attack. There are some instances in which a timing-based QTE can add to the damage dealt, but at this point, I haven’t actually figured out what triggers that if it isn’t completely random. On that note, you can go back to the in-game indexes to read through information you might have skipped over.
One thing that might be worth mentioning is that the version of the game provided included pre-order bonuses such as a Black Agumon, a Black Gabumon, and Adventure Item set. I’ve been able to absolutely clean house with that Black Gabumon early, and the game just feels ridiculously easy at this point. I know I can make it a little more difficult and not use him, but honestly… why do that? So I do wonder if the pre-order bonuses are just purposely buff, or I’m just going to regret it later. Sounds pretty pay to win if this is the case.
On the flip side, while battles are definitely front and center, the game is also chock full of different sidequests. Every time you try to head to bed and advance the story, you’re reminded of sidequests to do, and the completionist in me can’t help but do them all. They’re all pretty basic though, as they just require you to usually talk to a person or two before engaging in another easy battle (because of how strong Black Gabumon is).
Believe it or not, this dude is a Digimon.
While the game is on the easy side, it does have a bit more of complex nature because of its battle system that makes it feel like more of a traditional turn-based JRPG than any of the Pokémon games. Because they also take place in a modern setting with 4K visuals that are actually worth talking about, it just feels like a vastly superior experience compared to something like Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and that was a game I really liked. If you’re somebody wondering if this is a game that’s easy enough to jump into, it definitely is. My knowledge of all things Digimon is limited to the first two seasons of the anime, and the game does a good enough job of making sure you know what’s happening, even if the first few hours seem to be mindless tasks.
All that said, Digimon Story: Time Stranger has been a solid experience so far and I look forward to seeing it through.
By now, the review embargo for Digimon Story: Time Stranger has lifted and you should see a bunch of reviews that we believe will be mostly positive. We got our review code for the game a few days later than…
By now, the review embargo for Digimon Story: Time Stranger has lifted and you should see a bunch of reviews that we believe will be mostly positive. We got our review code for the game a few days later than everybody else, and I won’t go into why but along with that, I also did some personal travel last weekend, so I unfortunately couldn’t play enough of the game to have a rating quite yet. I do plan on seeing it through and beating the game, so expect something hopefully by the end of the week.
(I want to get to Ghost of Yotei as much as the next person and also have 5K and 10K races this weekend).
Prior to getting this review build, the only other time I played the game was during San Diego Comic-Con, and I was pleasantly surprised by what I played. The exploration was what you’d expect out of a JRPG, but the battles actually had more depth than what I expected as well. After my time with it, I would say this was probably my most anticipated Bandai Namco JRPG release since Scarlet Nexus.
I don’t want to spoil too much of the story, because in the 10 hours or so I’ve put into the game, there really isn’t all that much to say about it aside from the fact that you’ve traveled back in time a few years before a cataclysmic event in Tokyo. You can pretty much what comes next here, especially when it involves Digimon.
Oh hey, we know Agumon!
In fact, the story really takes a back seat in favor of the complexity of its battle system. Much like the Trails series, battles operate from a calculated turn-based battle system, meaning turns are calculated and listed in order on-screen based on every character’s stats happening one after another without delay. Like the Pokémon games, your party is made up of Digimon of varying types which also match the ways in which they attack. There are some instances in which a timing-based QTE can add to the damage dealt, but at this point, I haven’t actually figured out what triggers that if it isn’t completely random. On that note, you can go back to the in-game indexes to read through information you might have skipped over.
One thing that might be worth mentioning is that the version of the game provided included pre-order bonuses such as a Black Agumon, a Black Gabumon, and Adventure Item set. I’ve been able to absolutely clean house with that Black Gabumon early, and the game just feels ridiculously easy at this point. I know I can make it a little more difficult and not use him, but honestly… why do that? So I do wonder if the pre-order bonuses are just purposely buff, or I’m just going to regret it later. Sounds pretty pay to win if this is the case.
On the flip side, while battles are definitely front and center, the game is also chock full of different sidequests. Every time you try to head to bed and advance the story, you’re reminded of sidequests to do, and the completionist in me can’t help but do them all. They’re all pretty basic though, as they just require you to usually talk to a person or two before engaging in another easy battle (because of how strong Black Gabumon is).
Believe it or not, this dude is a Digimon.
While the game is on the easy side, it does have a bit more of complex nature because of its battle system that makes it feel like more of a traditional turn-based JRPG than any of the Pokémon games. Because they also take place in a modern setting with 4K visuals that are actually worth talking about, it just feels like a vastly superior experience compared to something like Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and that was a game I really liked. If you’re somebody wondering if this is a game that’s easy enough to jump into, it definitely is. My knowledge of all things Digimon is limited to the first two seasons of the anime, and the game does a good enough job of making sure you know what’s happening, even if the first few hours seem to be mindless tasks.
All that said, Digimon Story: Time Stranger has been a solid experience so far and I look forward to seeing it through.
by Danreb Victorio
