Digimon Survive Is Getting Review Bombed On Metacritic

Digimon Survive Key Art
Image: Bandai Namco

Bandai Namco’s Digimon Survive launched last Friday, and many Digimon fans have rushed out to grab a copy of the game. Out on Xbox One, PS4, Switch, and PC, the game combines visual novel elements with some strategy RPG gameplay, and is a very different Digimon game altogether.

However, despite some fans’ excitement at getting this much-delayed Digimon game, Digimon Survive is currently being review bombed over on Metacritic. TheGamer reports that users are flocking to the aggregate website to share their opinions and score the game down. Over the weekend, the User Score for the Switch version was right down to 1.6, and by the time TheGamer spotted it, it had jumped up a little to 4.3.

The negative reviews posted to the site seem to share the same sentiments. One user, who has copied their comment across all four platform pages, says “It would be a Digimon game that I would really enjoy if it wasn’t so loaded with those VN elements that are completely out of place.” Others, on Twitter, state that the review bombing is down to “misleading marketing”.

When the game was originally announced in 2018, Bandai Namco stated that Digimon Survive would be “a survival SRPG that combines 2D & 3D with lots of genres”. And in various interviews, Digimon Survive’s producer Habu Kazumasa has clarified that the game would be more like an “interactive Digimon anime”:

However, the mix of genres and some of the earlier marketing has led to some confusion. We can understand people being disappointed when something isn’t what they expect it to be, though as recently as Digimon Con, the game’s producer has clarified that the game is “70% visual novel and 30% strategy RPG”. And recent marketing has also emphasised the cutscene and interaction portions of the game.

The game’s fans, however, have not taken this lying down, and have bundled together to help boost the game’s User Score on Metacritic across all four platforms.

One reviewer has said, “I don’t understand all the unnecessary hate on this game, IT IS a visual novel first, then an SRPG”. Another, in a 10/10 review, has been even-minded about impressions “If you like visual novels you will like this game. If you like strategy RPG combat. You will like this game. If you are only here for the combat though, this might be a tough sell”.

This push of positivity seems to be helping at the moment. At the time of writing this, the Switch version has been bumped up to 7.1 from 180 user ratings.

We’re currently working on our own review of the game — as review codes for the game went out late — but in the meantime, why don’t you check our our sister site Push Square’s impressions of this visual novel/strategy RPG hybrid?

Are you happy with the balance of gameplay in Digimon Survive? Are you waiting for more impressions before picking up the game? Let us know!

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