Game review: Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth - Complete Edition (Switch)
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Complete Editionis a package that includes two Digimon tittles. It has 2015's Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, and 2017's Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's Memory. The two Digimon games were originally released on PlayStation 4 and were ported over to the switch at the end of October, a move that excited fans of the franchise.
On startup, you get to choose between the two games – but it doesn't tell you which to play first. This shouldn't be a problem for players who know the franchise, but it could be a huge issue for first timers.
The game places 2017's Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's Memory on the left, which could lead some players to choose it first. My recommendation would be to start with Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth as that will give you a better understanding of the Digimon world and will prepare you better for the second game.
Story
The two games have solid stories. In Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, you are introduced as a character in a chat room with people you do not know in real life. You all get blackmailed into meeting each other and the hacker in EDEN, which is a highly advanced virtual reality cyberspace.
In this universe, Digimon are introduced as tools that hackers use to do bad things. Your character will then be stuck in that virtual world as they try to find a way to retrieve their real-world body.
From there the game branches out into a world in which players help a detective with side missions, prove to the world that Digimon are living things and not just computer programs, and investigate why people fall into comas while logged into EDEN.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's Memory has a completely different story. The game assumes you have played its predecessor and that you understand how this world works. You play as a boy whose EDEN account was hacked, and he tries to retrieve it by getting to know a group of hackers. This one is nowhere near as exciting as Cyber Sleuth, but it does expand on some of the side characters to add to their story. It is still interesting enough to keep players hooked.
Gameplay
Both games play the same way. They are basically turn-based RPGs. It is hard not to compare Digimon games to Pokémon as in both games you need to collect "monsters" and Battle them. In Digimon however, you do not throw a ball or a device at the Digimon to capture – but with every encounter you learn more about that specific Digimon.
Players are equipped with a meter. When the meter fills up to 100% it indicates that you know enough about said Digimon to create your own version of it at the DigiLab.
This makes more sense to me than capturing a Pokémon and the forcing it to fight for you in battles. If you are patient enough to wait until the meter fills to 200%, the Digimon will have better stats.
The game allows you to level up and evolve your Digimon. It also allows you to devolve them and them evolve them again into something different.
Battles in Digimon are not a one-on-one incident: they require you to have three Digimon. This is a great mechanic as it forces players to strategically think about their lineup.
Style
The first thing you will notice about the game is how it is designed to look like an anime. This style gives the two games great personality.
The game isn't too demanding when it comes to graphics, which makes it perfect for portable mode.
However, the game doesn't do a great job in representing how women in an advanced technological world would be dressed which is a bit shameful. I just learned to roll my eyes and look past it as that is the only bad thing about the game.
Verdict
For anyone that likes turn-based JRPGs that revolve around collecting and battling virtual monsters, this is a great game. With around 90 hours of combined play time, Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition makes a great Nintendo Switch port packed with content at reasonable price.
Score: 8/10
