I don't believe it, but this Digimon RPG really was the best game I saw at SGF

For quite some time now I have been hearing rumors; scattershot whispers, in hushed tones. The Digimon Story games, they've been saying, are good. Subtitles like Cyber Sleuth would crop up in lists and recommendations from good friends, but I would always brush them off a bit. It's Digimon—surely nostalgia was the driving force of these rumors, I thought, and the RPGs behind them were only worth playing if you could identify MegaKabuterimon in a lineup.

Still, the whispers had me curious, especially when I learned that Suzuhito Yasuda—an illustrator who designed the characters for one of my all-time favorites, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor—also did character work for the Digimon Story games. I went into my hands-on appointment with Digimon Story: Time Stranger at Summer Game Fest 2025 with an open mind. And I walked out a believer.

This will not be a shock to my insistent friends or others who try to spread the good word of Digimon. But the Digimon Story games? They're good. To y'all, I offer a humble "you were right."

To everyone else, let a Digi-heathen explain why you should think about becoming a Digi-tamer.

Living in a digital world

The story summary preceding my demo was fairly succinct. I was a Digimon tamer, helping the Digimon of the Digital World with some issues they've been having, centered around a tower in the middle of a giant, vibrant residential district. The whole area felt like it was miles high, cobbled together from shipping containers and sheet metal, with rust, paint, and clutter scattered about. It was somewhere between a Splatoon map and Outer Heaven, basically.

As I ventured through the starting area there were Digimon everywhere who I could talk to, to learn more about what was going on. There were some powerful forces at work, and my squad was working with Aegiomon (a half human, half goat "God Man" type Digimon) and Minervamon (another God Man 'mon with a giant sword) to get to the bottom of it all.

All around us Digimon went about their day just doing Digi-stuff. Two tank-shaped Digimon were chilling off to the side, chatting about the weather. Some Pumpkinmon lamented that they couldn't eat a packed lunch while riding Locomon. Where creatures could easily fall into the background as set dressing or simply combat encounters, Digimon Story makes them feel like they exist in the world whether I'm there or not.

The Digital World felt alive in Digimon Story: Time Stranger, and while at first I was worried that having talking monsters would feel a bit strange, it actually made the world feel that much more active. It was neat to see all the monsters hanging out in their habitats, interacting and chatting. Of course, ambient exploration is just one part of the appeal.

Combat in Digimon Story: Time Stranger is going to feel very, very similar to turn-based monster games like Pokémon or Shin Megami Tensei. Different Digimon types and elemental attacks offer different levels of damage depending on the match-up.

I like that Digimon stratifies some of this out into both types and elements. There's a simple triangle of Virus-Data-Vaccine, and also elemental advantages that are easy to intuit, like Water beating Fire. I could get a type-advantage through using a Vaccine Digimon against a Virus one, even if the elements didn't break my way. Or I could use Water to do extra damage to a Fire Digimon, even if I didn't have a latent type match-up. And if I could hit both an elemental and type weakness at the same time, I could do even more damage.

Otherwise fights are pretty conventional. As is the case with most party-driven turn-based RPGs, though, the real draw is in the details that get sorted before and after combat.

Every Digimon has a Digi-volution line, allowing them to potentially Digi-volve into various other Digimon. Rather than a single evolution line or needing to fuse to expand my roster, Digi-volution is all about enhancing one monster and making specific choices over time with it. The developers let me tinker around with some of the base Digimon I had at my disposal, opting to roll the dice on specific Digi-volutions that had various statistical and level requirements. My cute, cuddly Digimon could turn into one of those giant tank monsters, for example, and start pelting my enemies with howitzers in the next big fight.

Seeing the evolutionary lines and potential for training was like seeing the Matrix, but for Digimon. I could see the next 50 hours of game laid out in front of me: Dive into dungeons, battle enemy Digimon, train up my own, Digi-volve them, and construct the ultimate party in the process. Digimon can carry across moves as they Digi-volve too, so I could customize and spec out the best Digimon team I could field.

In Digimon I found the complexity in monster taming I'd been wanting in other creature collecting games, without too much difficulty. To use blunt comparisons, I found it somewhere between Pokémon and Shin Megami Tensei in terms of difficulty, while still containing a host of options for creating my perfect party and manipulating the match-ups. Every system felt like it was playing off itself, letting the player gradually accumulate power and customize as they went.

Add onto all this an absolutely vibrant world, that felt alive with its Digimon and laden in little details. Though I only spent a little time in Central Town, I quickly became enamored with the metal jungle and piled-high towers of sheet metal and concrete, laden with quirky monsters that wanted to chat, fight, or both.

I walked away from Digimon Story: Time Stranger summarily impressed. It didn't matter that I really didn't get a vibe for the actual story. The combat I played was interesting and slightly tough, and the customization, presentation, and overall atmosphere of the digital world completely won me over. When I got home I even checked to see if I had the Cyber Sleuth games on any platforms.

This is a series worth following, even for those who didn't grow up on the older games, series, or movies. There's a strong RPG at the heart of Digimon Story: Time Stranger, and I'm keen to see it through when it arrives this October.