Digimon Survive teaser trailer published by Bandai Namco
Bandai Namco has published the first official teaser trailer for Digimon Survive, the new Digimon survival SRPG recently revealed. This trailer was first shown at the Digimon Thanksgiving Festival held last Sunday in Japan, where producer Kazumasa Habu divulged some more details on the new game.
As mentioned in the reveal article, Digimon Survive will have players assume the role of Takuma Momotsuka, a middle-schooler who got lost in a parallel world while camping with his friends. In the festival event, producer Habu mentioned that the team has been wanting to implement a gameplay system based on Digimon anime shows like Digimon Adventure, where Digimon will evolve based on how their partner character grows up and builds bonds between them.
The world setting in Digimon Survive is also made to feel nostalgic, as in more akin to the anime shows, unlike the more science fiction/cyberpunk setting that Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth games had. Habu-san also mentioned that unlike recent Digimon games, the protagonist's name in this game will be fixed to Takuma as other characters will actually call out his name during events. Selections available during conversations will play a major role as they will not only determine the course of the story or battles, but some characters may even end up dying as a consequence of the choices taken.
During battles, Digimon will be able to evolve after the requirements to Digivolve have been fulfilled. Digimon will consume EP (Energy Points) not only when evolving but also gradually for as long as they keep their evolved form. If they run out of EP, they will devolve back to their original forms. EP for each Digimon can be restored by having them attack enemies or talk with their partner during battles.
Finally, it is also mentioned that Digimon Survive will have around 100 species of Digimon. Habu-san said that the team wants to emphasize the Digimon's connections to the world setting and story rather than just adding quantity. All Digimon units that appear in the battle maps are also actually drawn with 2D graphics.
Digimon Survive will be released in 2019 for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. Bandai Namco's Asia branch has also just published the Chinese version of the teaser trailer, which confirms that additional Xbox One and Steam versions are also coming outside of Japan.
Update: Bandai Namco has confirmed Digimon Survive for western markets. It will be arriving on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC sometime in 2019.
Here is the English trailer: