Digimon Survive has received a lot of attention for its darker themes compared to the series' past, but it is not the first Digimon game to take a more mature direction. The Cyber Sleuth titles took on a more mature bent years before Survive came out. Survive is less of a radical change and more of another step down a recent path for the series.
Digimon has been around as a series since 1997. Starting as a series of handheld digital pets, it has since grown past those roots to create a long string of anime and video game adaptations. Digimon games have taken many forms, from RPGs to fighting games. Digimon Survive in particular is a horror-themed visual novel with RPG elements, showcasing another evolution for the series. Even though Survive is releasing in a JRPG-heavy year, it still maintains the series tradition of innovation.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth and its sequel, Hacker's Memory are a pair of RPG titles that take a different spin compared to past games. While most Digimon media stars a group of kids or young teenagers, Cyber Sleuth's main cast consists of older teens and young adults. The Digimon themselves are beings that dwell in the world of EDEN that exists alongside the real world, accessible through electronics, machines and the internet. The main characters of both games are hackers that can use their Digimon to fight against malicious hackers and Digimon in EDEN. After Digimon Survive was delayed indefinitely, Cyber Sleuth's rerelease had to carry the series' torch for a while, and to good effect.
Cyber Sleuth's Persona-Influenced Style Opened Doors For Digimon
There are a lot of elements of Persona games that can be seen in the Cyber Sleuth titles. The presentation and general gameplay feel very similar to Persona 3 through 5, with city environments and dungeons that can both be wandered around freely. The art style also takes a turn in a more Persona-like direction. Although it continues to use the in-game models as dialogue portraits rather than anime-style portraits. These aesthetic changes help to show the game's new direction compared to past games. Rather than adventuring through a fantasy world, the characters have to deal with corruption and criminality that takes place in the real world. With Persona remakes coming to modern consoles, the similarities between the two can be seen more easily.
While Digimon Survive's horror elements have been made into a selling point, Cyber Sleuth was first to the table with incorporating some very unsettling story beats. For example, the introductory chapter of Cyber Sleuth ends with the main character nearly having their consciousness absorbed by a horrific, twisted monster, and later finding their own comatose body. The story refuses to pull any punches from there onward. The player must contend with murderous rogue Digimon and a few rather nightmarish cases as the game progresses, eventually leading to an apocalyptic final act. Digimon Survive's horror may be its calling card, but Cyber Sleuth's terrifying story paved the way for Digimon Survive's darker, scary side to thrive.
Digimon Survive is taking risks by leaning heavily on its horror elements, but that path may not have been opened were it not for Cyber Sleuth showing the way. By appealing to older fans of the series, Cyber Sleuth made the case for more mature Digimon games. Now Digimon Survive has a chance to succeed that may not have been possible otherwise.
