Saquila Digimon Story: Time Stranger Review

Upfront I'll say that this is the first and last time I spend 70€ on a video game. I bought it pre-release waiting for reviews to come out to try and get a refund if it wasn't good. I played the demo twice before release and LOVED it. Now after release, I'm 30hrs in and thoroughly impressed. Battles: I love that each digimon feels like it has its own identity. Nothing feels repetitive. I can make battles go faster or slower to my liking which I find myself adjusting often. I wish there were more button commands when battling but that's a nice touch as is. I can't wait to unlock the harder difficulties. Story: I love the sidequest more than the mains story so far but that is because I enjoy getting to know the individual struggles or situations with each digimon. The world is captivating to explore when doing sidequests. I still feel very early in the game so I'll update once I've completed the game ;) Exploration: gorgeous world building, digimon placement, atmosphere. Riding digimon is so freaking amazing, I want more! The puzzles are tricky enough, and I feel they put a lot of love into the world. Music is absolutely a vibe. As someone who loves Tim Hecker and bangers from Ben Frost, this soundtrack is proper electronic acoustic compositions. Digimon: I'm constantly rotating my digimon, finding ones I never knew or evolving them into another type. This is the addicting part as it's possible to build their personalities that impacts their stats. There seems to be endless variations and types, it's nice to organically rotate, experiment and fall in love with all of the digimon. What a treasure! Context: I grew up on the first 4 seasons and have introduced the series to my nephew. The story is still heartwarming and I'll forever cherish the values of relationships the series depicts. If your a digimon fan, this is a must! I can't wait to see how they continue to grow but until then, I'll be playing this on repeat!