Ever since Digimon Story: Time Stranger was announced, Digimon fans like myself have been over the moon. It’s been a long time since the last Digimon Story game, and while games like Digimon Survive have filled the gap, a visual novel isn’t quite the same. But whenever a series takes a long break, it’s hard to know what to expect from the comeback. Perhaps that’s why Bandai has shown off so much of the game, from its different areas to consistent new Digimon reveals on social media. But as exciting as all of those details were, it’s the recent story trailer that really has me sold on Time Stranger.
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Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth is well-loved by Digimon fans. But a lot has changed over nearly a decade of gaming, and Time Stranger looks to be taking full advantage of those upgrades. The graphics, the details, and the sheer immersion of the game’s world all look amazing. But, much like with fellow October release Pokemon Legends: Z-A, we were missing a real sense of the game’s story until recently. Thanks to the newly unveiled story trailer, fans now have a better sense of what Time Stranger will be like on a narrative level. And it looks amazing.
Everything We Know About Time Stranger Proves It’s a Step Up for the Digimon Story Series
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth was released in 2015, with the follow-up title, Hacker’s Memory, arriving a couple of years later to continue the story. Both games delivered solid RPG experiences, with high praise from fans. But despite having fun gameplay mechanics and solid graphics for its time, the story in Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth can be a bit slow to pick up steam. Most gamers say it’s worth the wait, but even so, for a game with “story” in the title, it’s a bit lackluster.
Like many of the older Digimon games, the mechanics in Cyber Sleuth can be a bit clunky. The Digimon battles are fun, but not always well-balanced, and the grind to level them up can be punishing. With 10 years between the games, you want to see Time Stranger learn from these mistakes. And what we’ve seen so far suggests that it has.
Thanks to trailers and deep dives, we know that battles will have some new mechanics. With the trainer’s abilities getting into the action, and some changes to leveling for Digimon, Time Stranger is poised to build on what worked and ditch what didn’t. We’ll need to actually dig in and play to see how much better balanced battles are and whether the grind is less punishing, but from what we’ve seen, Time Stranger looks like a major step up.
And then, there’s graphics. Cyber Sleuth looked solid for its time, but the side-by-side comparisons prove that Time Stranger takes the detail to the next level. From the Digimon to the world, everything feels alive and vibrant in a way that previous Digimon games never quite mastered. 30 FPS cap aside, this rendition of the Digital World looks set to truly give Digimon fans the immersive experience we’ve craved for years. That’s all well and good, but for a game with “Story” in its title, fans needed more. And the recent trailer delivered.
Time Stranger Teasing Its Plot Was the Perfect Next Move to Hold Fans’ Attention
Since the initial reveal, we’ve known only the broad strokes of the plot for Digimon Story: Time Stranger. Marketing a narrative game is a tricky balance. You don’t want to give away too much, but you do need to give players a sense of what they’re stepping into. Early on, we knew that we would be Time Agents investigating an anomaly, and that the game would feature time in both the human and Digital Worlds. But recently, Bandai revealed a captivating new story trailer.
The trailer digs a little deeper into the story, including revealing the true role of Aegiomon. This Digimon has been prominently featured from the beginning, but now, we know just how essential he will be. The story trailer gives us a better sense of the main conflict in the story, along with showing off some more impressive in-game cinematics. And it looks like the game will challenge the player with some difficult and emotional decisions. I can’t say for sure just yet, but it also seems like the story is going to kick off pretty quickly, dodging those “slow start” complaints that plagued Cyber Sleuth.
This teaser trailer gives us just enough about the story to want to know more without giving away too much. And it also shows off a ton of solid animations that prove just how much better the graphics will be in the game. After seeing this trailer, I don’t just want to play Digimon Story: Time Stranger because it’s a new Digimon game. I want to play it because it looks like a good Digimon game. Showing off a bit more of the story hook with a little over a month until release was the perfect move, and it has me ready to dive right in when Digimon Story: Time Stranger arrives.
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