I’ve heard great things about the Digimon Story series, but unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to check these games out yet. Digimon Story: Time Stranger is making me want to rectify that, as I had a fantastic time with the title during Summer Game Fest.
From developer Media.Vision and publisher Bandai Namco, this turn-based monster-collecting RPG is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam on October 3rd. The title takes place in the human world and the Digital World called Iliad. As the name implies, much of Iliad takes inspiration from Greek mythology: for example, the core Digimon in the game are called the Olympus Twelve, who serve as guardians of the Digital World.
I got to play a demo to get a feel for the setting and mechanics. It consisted of a brief walkthrough of Central Town and the surrounding area, a few regular battles, and a fun boss fight to cap the demo off.
Central Town and its surroundings feel vibrant and alive, with tons of Digimon NPCs around to chat with. The maps felt huge as well! To help with traversal, you can mount your Digimon and travel in style. I only got to talk to a few NPCs as I had limited time, but seeing such a thriving hub area was great.
As for combat, battles are fast-paced, strategic, and fun! Enemies appear in the overworld, and a turn-based battle initiates when you approach the enemy. A neat touch that I always appreciate: when approaching an enemy significantly weaker than your party, you instantly win and skip the battle entirely.
In battle, the strategy involves navigating a combat triangle system and an elemental affinities system. Certain Digimon and moves are more or less effective against certain enemies depending on their combat triangle relationship, affinity, and resistances. Once discovered, enemies’ elemental resistances are displayed in battle, so you just need to experiment with different elemental attacks first to determine these resistances.
Aside from combat, I also got to play with the game’s Digivolution system. I even got to Digivolve a few Digimon myself! With multiple branching paths to choose from, Digivolution requirements, and more, the vast possibilities became immediately apparent to me. I could absolutely see myself getting lost in this, trying every Digivolution possible just to check out all of the designs. The developers informed me that the full game will feature over 450 Digimon — the most in the Digimon Story series!
Finally, I got to round the demo off with a boss battle against Parrotmon. For this portion, I had a Digivolved party with more diverse move sets. The battle felt dynamic and involved, with new mechanics like environmental damage, enemy shields, and multiple targets to contend with.
The developers concluded my session by explaining how all Digimon Story entries have focused on three core gameplay aspects: training, exploration, and battle, all of which they aim to elevate in Digimon Story: Time Stranger. They went on to describe that the bond between Digimon and humans is an overarching theme for the franchise, and they spent a lot of time focusing on developing this theme throughout this game’s story. The developers hope that old Digimon fans will recognize this theme and that it will also resonate with newcomers to the franchise, with the game serving as a gateway to their Digimon fandom.
Thank you to Media.Vision and Bandai Namco for having me play this demo! I will definitely be looking forward to Digimon Story: Time Stranger’s launch on October 3rd, 2025. The game is coming to Steam, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. To learn more about it, check out the game’s official website. For more coverage of all things RPG, stay tuned to RPGFan!
