Archive for March 2024
Best Visual Novel Releases – March 2024
As
spring takes the stage there are signs of new life all
around from blossom to budding plants and visual novels are also
showing this awakening. This month may not have been the most packed
of the year so far, but each release offers something distinct and
worth your time. There is everything for a classic horror title to
the next episode in a crime thriller to a sweet romance. Let’s dive
in and find out what this month has brought us.
Official Releases
Criminal Border 2nd Offence
As
the second outing of the Criminal Border series this episode
continues its crime fused adventure through drugs, gangs and yakuza.
Now saddled with an unreasonable amount of debt the group turn to the
game’s focus heroine and daughter of a crime lord Kotoko
Teshigawara for help. This getting them involved in more trouble than
they could imagine as the web of loyalties and wishes ensnares them.
There is a successful upping of the stakes in this instalment as it
dives deeper into both its setting and its increasingly pressured
characters with their conflicting interests which leads to an even
more engaging narrative experience. If you enjoyed the first episode
then this one more than delivers on its promise and sets nicely up
for the third entry.
Royal Order
Setting
a story in a royal court is always a strong choice given the constant
sense of intrigue and betrayal as the various people complete
for power. Royal Order takes this core environment and combines it
with an rpg simulation and a good dose of fantasy elements for a
package which offers a balance between replayability and moment to
moment enjoyment. The choice to be either a male
or female character while maintaining the mixed gender romance pool
creates a refreshingly diverse spread of relationships furthers the
sense of self expression which the game uses as its core appeal. A
title to pick up if you are looking for an more player facing
adventure.
Amairo
Chocolata (Switch)
This
Switch release of Amairo Chocolata opens the sweet cafe centric
visual novel up to a new audience. Despite been yet another slice of
live title focusing around romance, there is a sincerity to its
commitment towards the standard elements of the genre and this
straight faced portrayal elevates it beyond what it might otherwise
achieve. There is something extremely comfy about its cute cat and
dog girl heroines and for those looking to relax with something not
designed to test you in any way, it offers an environment where
fantasy can softly envelop your mind.
Fan Translations
Otogirisou
Patch Download VNDB Genre
– Horror, Confinement Play Time – 4 hours
Short
and sweet horror visual novels are somewhat of a rarity and even more
so when they are haunted house tales. Otogirisou follows a pair of
students as they take shelter in an abandoned house after their car
crashes. Things quickly spiral out of control when it becomes
apparent that this house hides some less than pleasant secrets and
supernatural threats make their presence known. This is a title which
aims to give a concise thrill ride without outstaying its welcome and
wants to the visual novel equivalent of a spooky roller-coaster. For
those looking from a light and mildly scary experience Otogirisou
offers an easy to complete does of adrenaline.
Yaoi – Genre Deep Dive
Love In All Its Forms
As
a genre Yaoi has an interesting kinship with masculinity which leads
it down some distinctive narrative pathways. In many ways it is a
mirror of its stable-mate Yuri since it also has the two extremes of
commercialisation and thoughtful representation. Much of the genre’s
output tends to be aimed at a female audience with the characters and
relationships setting out please their sensibilities. There is a
smaller group of titles who are more interested in a looking at the
realities of a gay romance and the sort of feelings and conflicts it
brings. Despite the vastly different reasons these two groups choose
to create a Yaoi visual novel, they do share a common element in the
form of their utilisation of their relationships to provide a unique
perspective on the human nature and how it is applied to
everyone equally. Let’s find ourself some handsome men and discover
what make Yaoi visual novels special.
The Female Gaze
Much
of the output from the Yaoi genre is created with a female audience
in mind and seeks to appeal to them through its content. Just as with
Yuri, the target demographic is the opposite to the characters’
gender and as such bears little resemblance to how someone of that gender would behave and instead presents an idealised vision of what
someone of the fairer sex might think of them. Rather then the purity
and almost religious sanctity of Yuri’s presentation of its
romance, Yaoi leans towards the ideas of masculinity and the violence
and possessiveness associated with it. This is not a negative
violence, but rather a playful type like two lion cubs pouncing on
each other. It is rare for it to be taken to the extreme of doing
meaningful harm to the other person and is a means showcasing their
bond in a way which stands out from a standard heterosexual
relationship by leaning into the lack of a feminine aspect. Of course
this dives into the perception of men being the dangerous gender and
it has no interest in the reality of the personality spectrum when it
can just make this element a source of excitement. It is worth noting
the exception of this rule, Traps, which sit in a strange middle
ground between Yuri and Yaoi with elements of both purity and
masculinity. However, they are such a complicated subject that they
deserve their own article and will not be discussed further, but it
worth keeping their existence in mind for a more complete picture of
the genre.
 |
| Playful is the key word here |
For examples of this female leaning take on masculinity in
Yaoi we can look to Absolute Obedience and Tokyo Onmyoji. The prior displays this through
its intimate character interactions while the later takes a much
broader angle. Absolute Obedience plays this masculinity and the violent
undertone to the relationship in a style where everything is taken to
extremes in order keep the player on their toes. It a strong
implementation of the lion cubs mentality where a lot of what they do
to each other is never presented in a manner where it could be taken
negatively and instead adds a layer to the mixture which is their
relationship. Tokyo Onmyoji takes a much broader method to
implementing its masculinity through interactions beyond simply the
main relationship and into the more general bonds between the cast.
This is partly due to the more openly serious nature of the narrative
and the way it has to weave its character beats in between its plot
ones without harming either. As such spreading out the violent
tension between the male cast serves both to spice up the dynamic and
add spice to important moments in the story. Both games present these elements
the player as a selling point to be desired and assumes their
audience will find it appealing.
Sympathetic And Expressive
Of
course not every Yaoi game is made with the intention of simply
appealing to a target demographic for sales purposes and instead
there are many which use the genre to dive into the emotions and
ideas surrounding male homosexual relationships. These paint the
romances in a sympathetic light and aim to present them through a
lens of the character’s humanity to make it easy to understand
regardless of whether you have experienced the same emotions or not.
However, the games still have the flavour and feelings unique to a
male centric relationship, but rather than focusing on displays of
blatant masculinity there is an awareness of the mixed nature of
actual male bonds and how they are not so straightforward. Such
titles tend to be from amateur or indie groups or individuals who are
open to expressing their own feelings on this type of relationship
and can accept that their product will not have a mass market appeal.
They serve a valuable function in offering an antidote to the
exaggerated takes on Yaoi existing in the larger visual novels with a
more grounded take on the genre, but grounded is not the same as not
knowing how to have fun.
 |
| Bonds always remain |
To see this in action we can look to What
Happened The Night Before. This game follows a single relationship
between Mikage and Noah which is key to ensuring there is the space
to properly paint the bond between them. Having a focus around how
relationships change over time, especially when you are young, gives
the narrative a common emotional resonance to build its distinctive
romance in a way that appeals to all players. When it comes time to
the culmination of their love, the title presents it in a gentle and
loving manner where their masculine nature is never taken to an
extreme but is instead an extension of the love they feel for each
other. What Happened The Night Before shows us how a Yaoi narrative
can be sympathetic while still maintaining its appeal.
Unique Angle On Our Humanity
In
our differences we can find the common thread which link our humanity
and experiences, but also how those differences can demonstrate
particulars about our nature which would otherwise go unexplored.
Yaoi is a genre where this side of human nature can be investigated
and put through the lens of this type of relationship. The games
utilising this element tend to place the Yaoi in a prominent
position, but do not make it the sole focus and instead place it
alongside other genres, such mystery, in order to highlight important
aspect of one using the other. This allows them to act as mirrors for
the characters to explore who they are and in turn express themselves
in a raw and honest manner to the player. In particular the heavy
leaning into a male centric cast from the Yaoi provides a heavily
masculine leaning world view, but in a way where the vulnerabilities
of the male psyche are on display and truths relating it to a common
human experience can be teased out of the character’s actions.
 |
| The use of Yaoi does not need to be direct for it to be strong |
Hashihime of the Old Book Town offers up a strong example of how this
mixture can be utilised. It takes its three core elements, a
historical setting, an occult mystery and Yaoi, and weaves them
through each other and its character’s interactions with them.
Complimented by its visual style, this distinctive mixture is used in such a
way that the parts rub up against each other in an interesting manner to
produce conflicts that unveil expressions of the character’s
humanity. This gives Hashihime of the Old Book Town an angle to show
its themes and core ideas not open to a more conventional title and
the presence of Yaoi is key to helping it come across in a way the
player can empathise with.
Conclusion
Despite
not being the most prolific genre in visual novels, Yaoi still offer
one of the most distinctive narrative styles of any game. It can
create an experience tailored to appeal to a female audience through
a mixture of masculinity and playful violence. On the opposite end of
the scale there are plenty of games which present a more grounded and
sympathetic homosexual relationship to express its value to a wide
audience. Yaoi can also be a part of a greater whole where it acts as
key ingredient in an examination of human nature through the unique
masculine perspective it offers. Overall, Yaoi is a flexible genre
which expresses a distinct angle on romance which is not open to a
more conventional understanding of love.
Multiple Route Mystery – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels
Puzzle Pieces Scattered To The Wind
Putting
together a mystery in order to find the truth is one of the most rewarding
narrative and mechanical feelings it is possible to give the player.
The route based structure of visual novels places them in a unique
position to take advantage of this niche. They can spread their
mystery over the course of their story in a non-linear manner by
giving each route a piece of the puzzle to show the player which make
sense in whatever order they viewed. This is often referred to as a
Multiple Route Mystery style of narrative and is commonly found in
longer visual novels where there is a need to hold the player’s
attention with some sort of overarching thread. It is also incredibly
easy to overwhelm the player with information through this approach
and it requires a deft hand to ensure the complexity is appropriately
distributed to prevent confusion. Let’s put on our
deerstalkers and unveil what the Multiple Route Mystery brings to the
table.
Making Every Route Relevant
For
a visual novel with a large number of routes it is difficult to
create a feeling of unique identity for each of them and maintain the
player’s interest in the long term. The temptation for any player
is to just play the parts of it they want and then walk away which is a
real risk when there is nothing to propel them towards the next
route. Adding in a Multiple Route Mystery to this structure is one of
the most compelling ways of alleviating this problem. Humans are
naturally curious and all you need to do is dangle a mystery in front
of them to have them following you along. A Multiple Route Mystery
takes the breadcrumb approach to keeping the player intrigued and
spreads them out evenly across the entire experience to give a
constant stream of rewards for progression in order to make for an
experience where they are merged with the route’s narrative in
seamless manner. Of course this does not make the routes themselves
inherently better and it needs them to already have a strong story so
it can focus on carrying the player from one route to another. It also
creates an overarching world and characters who feel as if they are
relevant and connected to each other beyond the contents of their
respective routes which is important for selling an emotional sense
of place.
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| Despite is action leanings there is still a ever present mystery |
Ayakashibito makes good use of its Multiple Route Mystery
by carefully considering the pace at which it delivers its clues. It
starts in the common route where the game establishes the questions
it want the player to consider over its duration and makes them
closely tied to the characters and their individual desires. These
characters have an investment in the same mysteries as the player
creating another avenue of connection to the conflicts on screen
while still having a broader perspective then the characters could
ever dream off through the ability to witness multiple versions of
events through the different routes. Having this privileged position
is also a reward for the player as it makes them feel smart for
working out mysteries in a way nobody involved in the game would be
able to achieve. Of course it ensures they never get all the
information before the time is right so the motivation provided by
the mystery never diminishes.
Breaking Complexity Down
Mysteries
are rarely simple affairs and often contain a lot of layers to dig into.
This present a new problem, how do you prevent this complexity from
overwhelming the player and disconnecting them from the narrative of
the game? For visual novels, the Multiple Route Mystery provides an
easy to integrate solution which distributes the load of exposition
across the entire experience. Rather than trying to introduce the
ideas and clues of the mystery in bulky sections when the story feels
it needs to catch up the player, it instead presents them in a
gradual and light way where there are never large sections of
potential boring information. It can keep the pace of the narrative
swift and focused on other elements so there is never the sense that
the mystery is the only thing holding the experience together. This
perception also works to trick the player into thinking about the
mystery in looser terms and in turn being able to tolerate the drip
feeding nature of the Multiple Route Mystery as it gives them exactly
the amount of information they need and nothing more.
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| Breaking down core ideas is key for player engagement |
To see this
practice in action the best place to look is to a game which prides
itself on narrative intricacies, AI: The Somnium Files. This game has
a verity of complex sci-fi ideas lying at the core of its story and
presenting these directly would overwhelm the player leading to a
feeling of disengagement. So the developers opted for a Multiple
Route Mystery with each pathway focusing on one character and one
concept in order to build up towards a complete understanding of the
greater plot. Take Iris’ route, it not only expands on her
character showing us a side of her we have never been able to see
before, but it also covers what is and is not possible with the
Somnium device. Through this examination of the concept of the
Somnium device the player is informed about its functions while being
invested in this element due to how directly is effected a character they have grown to care about. Effective use of the
Multiple Route Mystery is very much an example of the power of how
showing something has a greater impact on a person then merely
telling them about it.
Non-Linear Storytelling
By
far the most interesting feature of Multiple Route Mystery integration
is the way it changes the nature of narrative progression. Given the
way visual novels like to provide of options for different routes the
player can explore, this means there is no way to guarantee the
order they are going to experience the elements of the mystery. As
such the mystery must make sense in whatever order it is played.
There might well be an optimal way to experience it as with Dies irae
~Acta est Fabula~ but even here the game does not actually enforce a
play order as it has confidence that the mystery will still make
sense no matter what route the player chooses to go down. This
non-linear nature acts as a common connection for the various tightly
structured routes and allows for the expression of themes in a
pervasive but less intrusive manner to a direct storytelling element.
Such a fundamental shift in narrative effects how the player
perceives the game. They start to view it from a higher perspective
since the Multiple Route Mystery demands they see the work as a whole
rather than a series of isolated routes and the non-linear sense of
progression further reinforces this sentiment which often results in
stories favouring intellectual over emotional stimulation. Some
visual novels take this aspect to its logical extreme such as Zero
Time Dilemma, where the entire game embraces the non-linear nature of
the mystery and its entire structure shifts backwards and forwards on
a time-frame in a way which best suits the story. This approach is
rare for a good reason since it could easily cause the player to
become confused about what is going on and in many ways loses a lot
of what makes the Multiple Route Mystery such a powerful tool.
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| Dies irae makes for an interesting example of what a Multiple Route Mystery can look like |
Conclusion
Of
all the structures a visual novel can employ there are few which have
the flexibility, yet demand so much in return, of the Multiple Route
Mystery. If a game is willing to commit to the kinds of narratives
which synergise with this structure it can add a continuity through
all its routes in order to make them all feel important. The natural
distribution of the mystery throughout the title works as a means of
reducing the perceived complexity of narrative elements by breaking
them into easy to digest chunks. It also opens the possibility for
some non-linear storytelling since it needs its elements to make
sense in any order and this can be taken advantage of and helps
express themes and ideas. Overall, the Multiple Route Mystery offers
a lot to a developer and is something you should consider if your
visual novel deals in some kind of greater narrative arc.
SRPG – Uncovering The VN Hybrid
Mixing Words And Chess
If you want gameplay that mixes the grand feeling of strategy while still maintaining a strong character focus then the SRPG is generally the way to go. Hence why visual novel developers find this style mechanics appealing and select it to form a hybrid with in order to compliment the visual novel's narrative tone. Here the SRPG will be defined as a strategy game using a grid systems where the player and the enemy take turns moving their units such as in Fire Emblem or Disgaea. The stories using SRPGs tend towards two types, a grand strategy tale about big conflicts between factions or one with a larger cast where a lot of them are involved in combat. These share the common trait of being on a scale beyond the normal small groups and personal conflicts and needing something equally big to properly express them. Just copying and pasting basic SRPG mechanics to form a hybrid often leads to repetitive feeling battles and adding in a some unique element is required to make it more distinctive. However, this is something the SRPG can struggle with and is reflected in many hybrids. Let’s checkmate our opponent and explore how SRPGs function in visual novels.
Expressing A Strategy Centric Narrative
Grand
is the stage of a story pitting groups of people against one another,
be they between villages, nations or anything in between. As such a
visual novel focused around such a topic must have equally grand
mechanics in the form of the SRPG. Its function here is to help sell
the scale and manoeuvring involved in the conflict without the
narrative having to spend valuable space spelling it out in a
potentially dry manner. Having the player act out these sequences
creates a sense of how the character in command feels when dealing
with the complexities of combat and this frees the visual novel from having to
express these ups and downs and it gives an emphasis to greater story by having it as the secondary focus. There is also an
understanding of how important the planning and macro movement which
occur outside the SRPG sections are in creating a steady sense of
escalation. So when the plan is put
into action and the player is pushed into the SRPG, they experience
the sense of being the one to put into action the cleaver tricks and tactics
the character have thought up.
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| Knowing how to up the stakes is something Utawarerumono does well |
The Utawarerumono franchise is a good
example of how this is put into practice on various scales of
conflict. Each game starts with low stakes encounters for the sake of
building a bond between the player and those they are commanding.
There is understanding in these games that the SRPG must follow the tempo of the VN
given the slower ramp up it has to follow or the two will start to
clash given vastly different focuses. As the narrative escalates into
an increasingly grand scale, so to do the mechanics of the SRPG grow
in complexity to create a united sense of the actions of the cast.
Even as the scope increases the games never lose sight of the
characters who made this journey possible through their duel role as
powerful units and the emotional core of the narrative. The two
halves of Utawarerumono weave in and out of each other without ever
stepping on each other’s toes creating a harmonious experience
which the player feels the increased impact from both since they aim for
the same ends.
Stand In For Large Group Combat
Not
all visual novels using SRPG mechanics are interesting in grand scale
conflicts. There are many aiming for a smaller focus around a large
cast on a personal and local level to their lives. Presenting the
conflict through the lens of an SRPG allows for a stage on which all
the characters can be shown working together to help further the
camaraderie found in the narrative. It also gives each a unique
flavour through their skills and abilities which showcase the
identity the player has come to love. Everything
about the SRPG seeks to emphasise the feelings of intimacy formed in
the visual novel and make them kinetic in a practical setting. Here
the choice of an SRPG over a more traditional strategy game provides
both the benefit of scale without zooming so far out as to lose the
relationship and bonds visual novels thrive on.
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| The cast is so large that it can be difficult to choose who to add to your party |
Take Kamidori Alchemy
Meister, this is game focused around the lives of a slowly expanding
group of friends as they run their alchemy shop and get wrapped up in
each others issues. The SRPG works in this context to show the
increasing number of people surrounding the central four characters
and their slow development as a group in a manner where their
assistance has a greater direct impact on the player. Placing
characters first and foremost matches the contents of the visual
novel parts and allows it to synergise with the established tone so
it can sell it effectively. In addition it makes the expansive cast
more manageable to the player by having a constant reminder of who is
working with them through its mechanics and their involvement in the
conflict in both a practical and narrative context. This is
especially important when the cast gets into its later stages and it
can be hard to keep track of who is who as characters come into the
fold at such a rate.
Issues With Creating Mechanic Distinctiveness In SRPGs
From
a mechanical perspective the SRPG is a type of game which has always
struggled with diversity. It has a specific set of expected features
and there is little room offered for a new game to expand it to leave
their mark. Some do try to add their own unique spin on the formula
but it is rare for them to have any meaningful impact on the overall
experience of play. This is not as important to hybrid visual novels
as it is to a pure SRPG since it wants the broad and tactile emotions
the SRPG invokes rather than its complexity or difficulty. However,
that does not mean it is above suffering from the issues of
mechanical repetitiveness and many still try to include something unique to create a more memorable experience.
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| If only digivolving actually meant something |
Digimon Survive
attempts to do exactly this with its digivolution system. This is where
partner digimon have the ability to change into higher and more
powerful stages of evolution at the cost of continually draining
their SP and after running out they will return to their original
state. The idea here is clearly to encourage the player into the
shoes of the humans supporting the digimon by giving them access to
the same powers as the protagonist characters and make
them careful consider when to unleash it to swing the tide of the
fight. In practice there seems to have been some fear of actually
committing to this interesting idea and the SP cost is rendered
irrelevant through high SP totals and easy SP recovery meaning there
is never any reason not to go straight to the highest stage of
evolution at the start of the battle. This is an
extremely common trend among hybrid visual novels with many of them
adding theoretically engaging unique mechanics only to not properly
utilise them and render the SRPG feeling extremely standard and
uninspired. Its status as a secondary element might well be to blame
as resources are funnelled into the visual novel portion due to its
greater importance which results in these extra elements being
starved of what they need to shine.
Conclusion
When
considering the SRPG for a visual novel hybrid there is a great deal
it can offer in terms of thematic synergy and pushing an elevated
perspective on events. It provides the game with a sense of grandeur
through the scale it operates on and allows the player to put themselves
in the shoes of the character commanding this battle. Despite this
perspective it still has a much more personal angle to the units
being controlled than other types of strategy games which gives it a
greater compatibility with visual novel narratives. The major
downside to using an SRPG is the way it can be difficult for the
gameplay to feel unique especially when it is secondary to the visual
novel and as such has less development time to get it the mechanics
right. Nonetheless, if you are looking for style of secondary
gameplay that works with a larger cast or a grander scale then you
cannot go wrong with the SRPG.
Digimon Survive Review – Friends of Tooth and Claw
Genre – SRPG, Adventure, Sci-Fi Play Time – 23 hours Developer - HYDE, Inc. and Witchcraft VNDB Steam
Of Harmony, Morality And Wrath
As
a long standing franchise Digimon is no stranger to having game in
all genres imaginable made for it and so the choice of a hybrid
visual novel and SRPG should come as no surprise. For Digimon Survive
the most important part is clearly the visual novel
aspect of the game given the overwhelming amount of time spent on it
and the way the game heavily leans into narrative to drive player
engagement. Much like the original Digimon series the game follows a
band of children who are whisked away to the world where digimon live
while on a trip. However, rather than a heartfelt journey with their
new digimon friends, the cast of Survive are faced with the reality
of digimon as monsters covered with claws and possessing magical
powers which can easily kill a human. Their tale is one of clinging
on against a world that is out to get them. The SRPG battle systems are how
the game choose to emphasise this conflict and their results are
mixed to say the least. Does this package come together to create the
intense and engaging experience it is clearly aiming for or does it
take the concept too far and drive straight into the ditch of
unintentional absurdity? Let’s meet our destined partner and find
out.
Tale of Lost Souls – Narrative and Themes
It
is easy to forget with all the cute plushes and key chains that
digimon are by their nature monsters. Many of them are larger than a
children who are often the protagonists of these tales and have claws
and fangs which can easily kill a man. The potential danger they pose
and human reactions to them have historically been played on from time
to time by the franchise such as with Digimon Tamers, but there has
been a lack of such self-awareness in recent years. Enter Digimon
Survive, as it deliberately steps into this void and framing the
world of Digimon as not only a place of adventure but also danger.
From Fangmon to Arukenimon, a whole suite of threats are brought out
against the cast with each one of them offering a different avenue of
challenge. Some engage in trickery and must be outsmarted while
others simple aim to overpower through brute strength. Complimenting
this is the sense that the world itself does not want the cast there
as a mysterious fog slowly spreads and consumes anything in its wake.
All this lends Survive a sense of excitement and tension which helps
sell the arcs of the characters and provides a feeling of weight to
the player’s decisions knowing they may well result in the death of
someone they have grown to like.
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| It is a strange world out there |
If there is on weakness in Survive’s
approach it can be found in their handling of rookie digimon. In
order to provide a sense of escalating threat Survive works its way
through the evolution stages of digimon and the rookie level they
chose to start with was Gotsumon. Unfortunately there is nothing
nothing remotely scary about this child-like creature and having the
cast screaming at them like they are some sort of big threat comes
across as somewhat silly. This hurts the player suspension of
disbelief very early on and may result in them losing interest as
they cannot give the game the emotional investment it wants. Fortunately it quickly moves on from Gotsumon and onto
champion level digimon who better suit the tone which the game is aiming
for and prevents this poor choice in digimon from having a lasting
impact.
Sitting
alongside the danger of this new world is the sense of mystery it
builds up about the nature of the place the characters are trapped
within. This is mostly achieve through taking aspects of our own
familiar world and perverting them into a slightly uncomfortable form
that stands out against the otherwise green land. The alternation
made here is to place building in a state of decay as if they are
being reclaimed by the world around them, but still maintaining their
core form and identity. In doing so the game raises a lot of
questions in the player’s mind about the origins of these familiar
structures and why they seem to be related to the cast somehow. By
placing this seed in their minds Survive can add a motivation to
engage with the narrative mysteries surrounding what the antagonistic
digimon want and their connection to all the strange phenomena.
Having established a feeling of danger, it is utilised here to give a
pressing concern that demands the mystery be solved and a consequence
for failure. Adding excitement to even the most minor world building
and exposition is the name of the game and this merger of these
two elements does wonders to secure player engagement.
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| Are you Red, Green or Blue? |
Throughout
the story the player is given choices with three options which adhere
to three alignment, Moral, Harmony and Wrathful. Based on which of
these alignment you favour over the course of the game it
will present you with a unique path which makes up the last
quarter of the game. This alteration is quite significant and has a
major impact on how events play out, who survives and the type of
ending awaiting the heroes. All of this creates a strong sense that
the player’s choices matter, but only on the macro level rather
than each individual choice. This changes the emphasis to be on how
the player behaves overall and avoids the potential of an
inconsistent portrayal of the protagonist by encouraging the player
to commit to a single alignment for the best results rather the
jumping between them depending on their mood. Beyond the three
alignment paths there is also a true route which is unlocked on new
game plus that wraps up the remaining lose threads and acts as a way to tie the character arcs together to leave the player
satisfied.
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| Look who cannot get along again |
On a side note, the translation has some odd quirks to it
as you might have noticed from the odd choices for the names of the
three alignments. They are not really three sides of a triangle and
they do not really express the nature of the choices, for example the
Wrathful choices are more selfish than filled with anger as the name
seems to suggests. Other minor issues are also present such as many
of the digimon being referred to as ‘he’ despite having female
voice actors and being matched up with a female human or otherwise
depicted in a feminine manner. This causes you to pause, interrupts
the flow of your experience and it is exceptionally distracting from
what is otherwise a strong narrative. Overall these oddities are
infrequent enough to not completely destroy the story, but it is
something to note if you are sensitive to this kind of thing.
Bonds Beyond Our World – Characters
Digimon
is a franchise which lives and dies on the strength of its core cast
and their digimon companions even more so than other similar titles.
This mostly comes down the way it places a key importance on bonds
and how they can be formed between people who at first seem like they
might never get along. On this front Survive performs admirably and
even add its own spice through the use of a failure to achieve the
desired bonds. The main digimon and human pairing reflect each-others
weakness and together they grow and form a bond of trust that serves
to help them stay alive. Survive mostly avoids being nostalgia bait
with the partner digimon being some of the less well known monsters
which adds some much need freshness to the characters dynamics. Human
relationships share this variety as the group do not always see eye
to eye on many issues and resolving these conflict has a high stakes
given the dangerous situation they find themselves in. There is a
slight subversion to the normal formula between digimon and humans
with some characters failing to form bonds with their partners. They
take the wrong lessons from what is happening to them and cannot see
beyond their monstrous appearances to the delicate person within. As
such they suffer the dire consequences of that weakness which shakes
the other characters and pushes forward their own arcs in interesting
and exciting ways.
 |
| Ah repressed trauma |
The
plot is by far the greatest enemy of characterisation for Digimon
Survive. Having the need for specific events to play out in a certain
manner often leads to characters behaving oddly just to make sure
the narrative reaches its desired ending. The multiple path structure
is responsible for this as it needs to make each of them distinct
from the others and the game’s favourite way to do this is for a
different member of the cast become the focal point for the narrative
conflict. So in order to provide a sense of escalation towards a
climax the emotions of the characters are also amplified to keep up
with the story. However, this often pushes the character into be
caricatures of themselves were much of their depth is lost which is
much of their appeal. It is not an even change with only some of the
cast being overemphasised at a time meaning that there are still
balanced characters to counteract those who have broken away from
their original identities and they prevent this acting out of
character from being too overbearing through a contrast of
personalities.
Forgotten Gameplay – Visuals, Audio and Technical
If
there is one word which describes the SRPG systems in Digimon Survive
it is uninspired. Not for lack of trying, but instead from an
unwillingness to commit to its unique ideas and make them a
meaningful part of a player’s strategies. The main way it try to
differentiate itself other games in the genre is through the
inclusion of the digivolving mechanic. At the start of a battle all
partner digimon are rookie level but as the game goes on they unlock
more powerful stages of evolution from Champion to Mega and they can
change into them at any point. The down side to this is that being
digivolved causes the digimon to continually lose SP until they run
out at which point they return to being a rookie level. SP is the
resource also used for skills and the higher the digimon’s
evolution, the more SP is consumed per turn. The intention here is
clearly that the player should vary the stage of digivolution they
use to match the threat and hold the higher stages for key enemies.
However, in reality there is never any reason not to just choose the
highest stage of evolution the moment the battle starts. This is due
to the poor handling of the SP economy where the drain is too small
to be meaningful due to the short length of battles and the SP total available
increasing with each digimon’s level making the cost so
insignificant as to be forgettable. On top of this there are plenty
of SP recovery options available to render the cost a mere footnote
in the gameplay and remove the only unique element of the game’s
systems.
 |
| Agumon has the largest number of options yet it does not lead to interesting choices |
Artistic
style is a difficult thing to make your own in a pre-established
franchise and there is always the temptation to just copy what has
come before. You can feel Survive being constrained by the leash of
series obligations with its visuals. Nothing here is particularly out
there in terms of aesthetics and the digimon themselves are exactly
as they have always been in a clear move to be respectful to their
history. Instead Survive prides itself on the smaller details of its
world and characters. The decay of its human buildings preserves
their identity while smothering them in a greenery of this lush world
and leaving the impression they are only held together by threads. Each
character has a clean and distinctive design making them instantly
recognisable and providing a good base model to facilitated their
dynamics expression changes and movements. None of these elements
immediately pop out to the player but leave a strong sense of quality
in the mind and do not bring attention away from the important core
narrative. The weakest element is definitely the music due to the
rather limited number of tracks when compared to the game’s
duration and it can become quite grating to hear the same few over
and over again. Each track has a good audio design which sells
the emotional state of the cast and the danger they are in, but there
just needed to be more of them.
Conclusion
Having
such a diverse franchise history can be as much of a blessing as it
is a curse and Digimon Survive perfectly encapsulates this duality.
It carves out an identity of its own through its reviving of the
monstrous nature of digimon and the mystery and wonder of the world they
inhabit. This is reinforced by a core cast of flawed and interesting
humans paired with their digimon companions and their clean and
expressive character designs. Choice is then given to the player
through an alignment system which put them on diverging paths to
round out the package. However, it often struggles against the visual
limitations of what is expected of a Digimon game and often contorts
characters in order to meet the needs of its divergent paths. Add it
this the lacking SRPG systems which try and fail to differentiate
themselves from their peers and there are moments the game can seem
underwhelming. It is only in its totality that it becomes clear as to
the entertaining and pulse pounding ride Survive manages to achieve.
Verdict –
Digimon Survive successfully manages to reinvigorate the sense of
danger and mystery in the digital world. Even if the SRPG elements
are decidedly under-baked.
Pros
+
Manages to make digimon feel like the monsters they are and sells the
danger they pose to the cast.
+
Divergent paths and choices offer a good incentive for replaying the
game.
+
Crafts an atmosphere of mystery where the nature of the world becomes
a driving force for pushing forward.
+
Digimon and human dynamics are well presented and create interesting
conflicts.
Cons
-
Lacking SRPG systems which feel repetitive by the end.
-
Characters can behave in strange ways because the plot demands it.
-
The translation has odd quirks which can be distracting.
