Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Reasons to Play

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Digimon has always been my guilty pleasure. The first monster game I got was Digimon World (click here for my review) back on the Sony Playstation 1. Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth is one of the more recent titles in the Digimon world.

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Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth’s Plot

Digimon in this world are used to hack into cyberspace and do malicious activities. EDEN is their version of the internet which appears to be more in line with Zuckerburg’s Metaverse. A virtual reality where users can do almost anything.

You play as a male or female who comes into contact with a very dangerous Digimon. You survive but only as your avatar which can go between both the real world and Eden. You come into contact with a detective agency. Its aim is to investigate cyber crime. The main game takes around 50+ hours to complete according to howlongtobeat.com

Digimon Story

The plot isn’t anything special. But the characters are varied and there are some good cutscenes. I found myself clicking X to skip most of the dialogue and there is very little voice acting. Which isn’t bad since it hasn’t been translated into English.

Considering the game contains Story in its name. The story really didn’t feel that important. I really didn’t care too much for the characters. Or where the story was heading. Also, there seemed to be a few translation errors with Digiline. Digiline is a text messaging service and there is very little benefit to using it unless your unlocking trophies or achievements.

I really didn’t care too much for the characters.

The Vita and Switch versions are probably the best way to experience the game. It is easy to pick up and play. If you forget where you are meant to go, just ask your friends and they should be able to point you in the general direction of the destination. Or look online in the real world.

Gameplay

Gotta Scan ’em All!

The most enjoyable aspect comes from the Digimon themselves. While in Eden, you battle various other Digimon to gain experience and level up your Digimon. But that’s not all, one of your unique abilities is that you can scan the opposing Digimon. Each time you defeat the same Digimon, the percentage of data received increases by a static amount. Once it hits 100% you can then convert the data into that Digimon. Wait until you’ve scanned the data to 200% and there are various bonuses.

Digivolve!

Once you’ve reached certain parameters you can then Digivolve your Digimon to the next Digivolution. Bringing with it new Digimon and new abilities. It’s very easy to focus on getting your Digimon to meet the parameters and completely forget your main quest. Luckily the various characters remind you.

Did You Forget?

In order to prevent the player from being ridiculously overpowered. Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth integrates a memory system. You can have up to ten Digimon in your party. However, each Digivolution stage takes up an increasing amount of memory. This limit increases as you complete cases, but it means you have to compromise on whether to have a lot of average Digimon or just a few powerful ones.

Farming

Unlike Pokemon where monsters you are not using don’t do anything. In DSCS, you can put them on a farm. While on the farm, the Digimon receive experience. But they can also be tasked with either more intense training, item development, or finding new cases (quests). Again there is a limit to how many you have on the farm. But this also increases as you play through the game. And it’s one welcome addition to the series.

The Feel

The game looks beautiful, with the anime-style design. Due to this design, it performs well on the PSVita while also looking amazing on a PC or console. The cast of characters is also varied and well designed. Though the NPCs around the various environments look dull.

The game really shines when it comes to the Digimon. Each one is very unique and recognizable from the shows. Comparing them to Digimon World (Which was on the PS1) makes them really pop and even though Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth is a few years old, I’d argue they look better than Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Final Thoughts

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth is a great game. But it falls down slightly with the story element. The game plays and looks brilliant. As of writing, I’ve spent over 20 hours and I haven’t yet completed the main quest. If you are a fan of either Digimon or Pokemon it is worth picking it up and giving it at least a go. Once completed I may move on to its sequel Forgotten Memories.

I’m currently going through the process of completing my PlayStation Vita backlog, I’m looking forward to adding more to my favourites list