Verdict
With a true-to-life Tokyo and a vibrant, color-saturated Digital World full of life to explore, this is the Digimon game I’ve desperately wanted for the last ten years, and it definitely doesn’t disappoint. Unless my perfect game shadow drops soon, Digimon Story: Time Stranger is shaping up to be my GOTY for 2025.
In my opinion, Digimon is one of the most underrated franchises of all time, hiding in the shadow of Pokémon despite featuring much more mature themes, a unique line of tamagotchi-style pets, and equally, if not even more memorable, monsters. I've been a fan of digital monsters since I was a child, watching Digimon Adventure on my crunchy little CRT TV while my Digivice beeped at me incessantly, requesting I feed my virtual child.
I can understand why Pokémon is more well-loved, with its consistent release schedule and ties to Nintendo. But, after a few years of not-so-great games, I think now is the perfect time for a Digimon renaissance, and Time Stranger is absolutely the best place for you to come to grips with this series. So, with that out of the way, sit back, relax, and let me tell you why this may be my game of the year for 2025.
Digimon Story: Time Stranger is, at its heart, a monster-taming RPG with turn-based combat that allows you to utilize a team of six Digimon as you traverse real-world Tokyo locations as well as the Digital World. What sets it apart from other games in the same genre is its unique evolution - or Digivolution - methods (more on those later) and its slightly more adult themes.
I never like to spoil too much of a game's story when writing up my thoughts, so allow me to give you a quick overview that will hopefully pull you in. You take on the role of an ADAMAS agent who is investigating anomalies around Tokyo. That is, until a massive Digimon-related explosion pulls you eight years back in time.
In Tokyo of the past, you team up with a gutsy schoolgirl named Inori and are soon joined by a Digimon of mysterious origin named Aegiomon, who takes a great liking to Inori. The three of you explore Tokyo for a little while, completing side missions and learning more about the anomalies that took place during this time, before you're transported to the vibrant, filled-with-life, Digital World Iliad.
From there, you're tasked with the usual RPG fare. The Digital and human worlds are in danger, and it's up to you to make it back to your time while taking on increasingly difficult threats. It's an understatement to say that I was enthralled from start to finish, as the story is complemented so perfectly by the intensely vibrant and color-saturated Digital World and full voice acting.
The moment you step into the first Digimon city, you can see so many creatures deep in conversation with each other, running stalls, or jumping and flying around, minding their own business. I don't want to keep mentioning that other 'mon game, but it's hard not to compare the two when this looks and feels so good to play. I also think it's a nice touch that you get to choose a male or female protagonist at the start, but can switch back and forth from the main menu at your leisure without any penalty.
Now, let's get onto my favorite part of the game, which is training up a team of strong Digimon and following different evolution paths to see what new monsters I encounter. Unlike Pokémon, Digimon have branching Digivolution paths that require you to meet certain requirements. For example, Gabumon has six available Digivolution options. The obvious choice - and the one featured in the anime - is Garurumon. This path requires you to raise Gabumon's defense and speed stats. However, there are also other options such as Drimogemon, which requires higher SP, and Geremon, which needs higher HP.
This makes things much more interesting and requires more thought than just reaching a certain level or using an evolution item. However, the training can get a little fiddly as you chase different stats, and you need to Digivolve and De-Digivolve your monsters repeatedly in order to reach different conditions and raise your team to higher levels. I don't mind this at all, as I think it allows you to be much more fluid with your team members and try new things while training different party members. But if you're not interested in grinding, this may be a tedious aspect for you.
What makes the grind a little easier is that, while exploring, you can hit a button to get your Digimon to attack in the overworld. This will either kill the enemy instantly if you're a high enough level, or start a battle against your opponent with reduced HP. You can also use the auto battle mode against weaker enemies, allowing you to watch a bit of Netflix while you mindlessly level up your team.
That leads me nicely into combat. You're able to create a team of six Digimon, with three battle members and three reserves. That means you're only ever using three Digimon to fight, but you can swap these out at any point during a battle to one of your reserve members if you need to combat different weaknesses. Your Digimon have a slew of different elemental and physical abilities to use, and you can even equip them with more attacks and stat boosters if you think they're lacking in a certain area.
There's a pretty simple rock, paper, scissors-like formula in Digimon battles, except in this instance, it's data, virus, vaccine. Each Digimon also has elemental strengths and weaknesses, which adds an extra level of strategy to battles, as you need 'mons with the correct type and element to really succeed in those harder boss battles. It's quite an in-depth system, so I don't want to dwell on it too long in this review. I recommend checking out the video below for a nice, concise explanation.
There's a nice sprinkling of side missions, which range from fetch quests to battles with unique enemies. I never felt overwhelmed by the missions the game threw at me, and, if you have a completionist mentality, these are easy to get through during the main story without things feeling stilted. Alongside the side missions is a card game, which I'll admit isn't really my cup of tea, but that's also completely optional and a nice added touch that doesn't take up much of your time.
As someone with a lot of Digimon knowledge, I had worried that Story: Time Stranger may be a little alienating to new fans, as there's some heavy lore here. However, these fears were very quickly alleviated, as the game is great at explaining everything in ways that even someone who has never seen a Digimon in their life could understand. There are a few nods to previous games in the series, which are great for us old timers, but prior knowledge is definitely not a requirement here.
In the absence of a Nintendo Switch release, I played Digimon Story: Time Stranger on my OLED Steam Deck and had absolutely no issues. I'm playing the game on the 'High' preset, but have knocked the FPS back from 144 to 60, and it runs like a dream. I also have a Steam Deck dock and the ability to swap between handheld for grinding and TV for the more serious parts is great, and I think this may actually be the best way to experience this game as a handheld fan.
I need you to go and play Digimon Story: Time Stranger right now. The game has a free demo that you can try out, so there's nothing to lose, and if you enjoy that, you're going to love the full game. It's easily going to make its way onto my best Digimon game list, and there's plenty here to tide me over while I wait for Bandai to release a Digimon Go app.