Digimon Survive has had quite the rollercoaster of a development cycle since it was announced all the way back in 2018. Fast forward to 2022, it now has a release date right around the corner at the end of this month. I got to check out a hands-on demo here at Anime Expo 2022 this week and I can now say I am officially excited.

Digimon Survive tells the story of a group of students on an extracurricular activities study session ending up in a mysterious world with Digimon. The demo was split into two different sections, story, and battle. The story mode plays out just as any visual novel type game would, through a text-style adventure with the many different characters introduced in the story. I enjoyed listening to the different characters' silly banter as they explored what looked to be a rundown school. Additionally, this section had two different modes, search action, and free action. Search action would let you access a smartphone and move it around the area looking for clues and free action would let you freely explore and interact with your classmates.

The battle mode plays as a strategy turn-based game. Think games like Disgaea, Final Fantasy Tactics, or Fire Emblem. The beginning of the battle had me select a set number of units to take into battle. There is a bit of verticality on the map and I was able to position my units in a way where I would do more damage attacking from a certain position. Each Digimon had a basic attack and a number of special abilities that depending on the range could take out multiple enemies. Additionally, certain Digimon could "digivolve" into their next form and become more powerful.

Overall, Digimon Survive seems to be shaping up to be a very solid game to keep me occupied during the summer. After getting a small taste of the exciting story and fun combat, I am very intrigued and eager to see more.