Digimon Story: Time Stranger Reviews
It’s clear the goal was to bridge the Digimon series into the JRPG sphere at a user-friendly entry point. The mechanics are simple enough to grasp, yet there’s plenty of customisation and challenge for seasoned veterans. The Storyline is richly detailed and the art and animation are, for the most part, fantastic. If you’re after a story-driven adventure or a Digimon-focused battle experience, Time Stranger has plenty to offer. Just be prepared for the head-spinning, dimension-hopping twists and turns and maybe switch on that 5x speed from time to time.
Digimon Story: Time Stranger masterfully blends nostalgia and innovation, offering a narrative and gameplay experience that honours the franchise’s roots while appealing to new audiences. Despite a few flaws, its strengths make it a standout RPG worth experiencing for both longtime fans and newcomers. Whether drawn by the story, strategy, or your favourite Digimon, this game delivers a memorable adventure through time
Digimon Story: Time Stranger is easily the strongest Digimon game we’ve had so far. It works just as well as an entry point for newcomers as it does for long-time fans, thanks to how much care it puts into building a digital world that doesn’t feel soulless. Between experimenting with digivolutions and min-maxing stats, or just chasing after your favorite partners while diving into a combat system with depth, there’s always something engaging to do. The story leans a bit too hard into familiar anime tropes, but it never drags down what is otherwise the most complete vision of Digimon we’ve seen since Digimon Survive.
Digimon Story Time Stranger builds on what Cyber Sleuth did best, with sharper visuals, smoother evolution gameplay, and a solid mix of Tokyo and Digital World exploration. The slow start and repetitive fights drag things down, but raising and evolving your team stays addictive. After dozens of hours, it feels like a familiar return that finally gives Digimon fans something bigger to dive into.
Digimon Story: Time Stranger is everything I wanted from a higher-budgeted sequel to the criminally underrated and overlooked Cyber Sleuth. By upping the ante in terms of plot, length, stakes, visuals, and even gameplay, what we have here is more than a high-quality licensed manga game. This is easily one of the best JRPGs I’ve played in a while. Without a doubt, the best monster collecting JRPG with “Mon” in its name you can grab right now. Take notes, Game Freak.
Its story has some good moments, but it's riddled with clichés, and while it has interesting breeding and combat systems, some of its mechanics make it feel stuck in the past. Despite all that, it's a must-play adventure for Digimon fans that can be quite fun for those who aren't too demanding.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Digimon Story: Stranger is just what the series needed: a solid, accessible JRPG with enough depth to hook both veterans and new players alike. Its blend of classic structure, complex creature management, and tactical combat make it one of the most complete titles in the Digimon universe. It's not perfect, but you're going to enjoy it.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Time Stranger doesn’t reinvent Digimon, but it refines almost everything that makes it worth playing. The story finds its rhythm, the combat feels sharp, and the world finally looks like everything we ever wished for.
Digimon Story Time Stranger marks a strong addition to the franchise, offering an experience that welcomes both longtime fans and newcomers. With no prior knowledge required, players can dive straight into the Digital World and discover a vibrant cast of Digimon, each with unique traits and evolution paths. While the story itself may not break new ground, it serves its purpose well, providing a solid framework for the game’s true highlight: Digimon raising, collecting, and battling.
Digimon Story: Time Stranger isn’t perfect. The side quests are forgettable, and the slow pacing early on might turn off some players. But once it hits its stride, it’s one of the best Digimon RPGs to date. The expanded roster, deep customization, and improved world design make it a joy to play, and the emotional story beats land harder than I expected.
Digimon Story: Time Stranger is good. It's just that the story takes too long to get going, the fast travel is archaic, and there are too many menus to scroll through. You would think a game about time travel would do better getting with the times.
Bursting with creativity, charm, and depth, Digimon Story: Time Stranger will remind players why Digimon still remains so beloved after all these years. Its combination of deep monster-raising, satisfyingly strategic turn-based combat, and the endearing time-twisting narrative helps makes it a joy to play from start to finish, whilst the sheer freedom in how you raise and shape your Digimon ensures that experimentation is endlessly rewarding. It does have some imperfections, with its somewhat slow pace and uninspired dungeon designs being the worst offenders, but these are small complaints in what is otherwise a fantastic RPG that delivers an experience that will keep long-time Digimon fans and newcomers to the series very, very happy.
This game is utterly fantastic. I went into it thinking that if it was even half as good as Cyber Sleuth, it would be amazing, but aside from my distaste for launch-DLC locking quests behind it, and the fact that I like the characters a bit better in Cyber Sleuth, this game exceeds it in every way. The story is great, the world feels alive, the visuals are vastly improved, and it has a lot of quality-of-life improvements that previous entries in the series lack. It's extremely approachable whether you're a longtime Digimon fan, or entirely new to the franchise, and it manages to be challenging at times throughout(unless you go overboard on grinding, which you definitely can if you want an easier experience). This is the definitive Digimon game, and I cannot recommend it enough.
Digimon Story Time Stranger is a standout entry in the Digimon franchise, blending rich storytelling with an expansive Digivolution system that rewards strategy and patience. Set across dual timelines, the game introduces emotionally engaging characters, deep combat mechanics, and a highly customizable team-building experience that longtime fans and newcomers alike can appreciate.
The best Digimon title released to date
Review in Italian | Read full review
Digimon Story Time Stranger is a major milestone in the series. The game’s story, strategic gameplay, and detailed world-building all come together to make it a fun and comprehensive experience. Some of the game’s weaknesses, such as combat that becomes boring or puzzles that need a lot of trial and error, are made up for by its good points.
Digimon Story Time Stranger is the boldest entry in the franchise to date, delivering a thrilling narrative, stunning environments, and over 450 Digimon to collect. Its deep combat system, expansive quality-of-life improvements, and superb English voice acting elevate it alongside the best RPGs of the year. Minor issues aside, this is the definitive Digimon experience fans have been waiting for.
"Digimon Story Time Stranger" captivated me more than I expected. As a newcomer to the series, I quickly got to grips with the system – even though it is complex. What's particularly great is how all the gameplay mechanics interlock, so that even the smallest interaction affects the big picture. It's addictive! My main criticism is of the presentation. The graphics are mediocre and the linear dungeons can feel repetitive. But these are minor issues that have little impact on my excellent overall impression.
Review in German | Read full review
Without inventing anything new, but rather drawing on some great examples of the JRPG genre, Digimon Story: Time Stranger is probably the best game ever conceived about Toei's digital monsters. It is a title capable of reviving and improving a tried and tested formula, with excellent technical features and passionate artistic direction, capable of exploiting its full potential and delivering a wealth of content. It is difficult to find any significant flaws in Media Vision's excellent work: Digimon fans have finally got their revenge.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A stellar JRPG that finally challenges genre conventions, offering an addictive monster-collecting loop and a surprisingly mature, engaging story. While the opening is slow and tutorial-heavy, and the aging engine and excessive DLC slightly diminish the experience, Time Stranger is a triumphant, must-play entry for the franchise.