Digimon Story: Time Stranger Is A Promising Comeback That I Didn't Want To Stop Playing

"One of Digimon's biggest strengths has always been its ability to lean into nostalgia, and that's no different in Digimon Story: Time Stranger, the seventh entry in the franchise's role-playing-focused gaming series. Like past Digimon Story games, Time Stranger puts a big emphasis on narrative, but this time around, it was the creature collecting and turn-based battles that made me want to keep playing long after my three-hour preview session ended."

"Instead of children and teens, Time Stranger's protagonist is an adult secret agent investigating Digimon-related phenomena. I started my playthrough right from the beginning of the story, where we see the effects of the Digital World on real-world Earth. You can choose whether the protagonist is male or female, and the other one becomes a character in the story: your partner who communicates with you through a pocket-sized hologram."

"But that's all just a backdrop for the meat of what I got to play. The Digimon Story sub-series gets its name from its narrative-driven core which is, typically, complemented by turn-based gameplay. "Battle balance" is one of the main areas that producer Ryosuke Hara focused on, similar to what he did when working on Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. At 36 years old, he was part of the target audience for the series when Digimon Adventure launched in 1999."

Digimon Story: Time Stranger is the seventh role-playing-focused entry that leverages nostalgia while emphasizing narrative alongside creature collecting and turn-based battles. A three-hour preview revealed that collecting Digimon and the combat system drive extended engagement. The protagonist is an adult secret agent investigating Digimon-related phenomena, with player choice of male or female and the other appearing as a pocket-sized holographic partner. The story shows the Digital World affecting real-world Earth, including unexplained disasters and protests accusing authorities of secrecy. Producer Ryosuke Hara prioritized battle balance, aiming to prevent reliance on a few overpowered characters by improving the RPG combat compared to past Digimon Story titles.

Read at GameSpot