| Digimon Story: Time Stranger | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | DLC & Pre-Order | Demo Review | Full Review |
Digimon Story: Time Stranger was previously announced at the PlayStation State of Play for February 2025! Read on to learn how it plays, what it's about, and everything else we know so far.
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Digimon Story: Time Stranger Gameplay
Combat
Digimon Story: Time Stranger is a JRPG with monster-collecting and raising elements. As such, the core gameplay loop centers around collecting and raising Digimon to have them battle other Digimon. Battles support up to four active Digimon: three from the player’s roster plus a guest Digimon. Another three can sit in reserve and swap in mid-battle without using a turn; however, the guests act independently. Digimon not in active or reserve positions still earn reduced experience.
The game retains the series’ signature attribute triangle (Data, Vaccine, Virus), layered with elemental types. Virus beats Data, Data beats Vaccine, and Vaccine beats Virus. Additional elemental types and status effects play a role, though weaknesses are revealed gradually through trial and error.
Players can use buffs to enhance stats (e.g., critical rate, attack) during battle, though these only affect active Digimon; reserve units don’t receive these effects when swapped in. Moreover, the speed of battles can be adjusted from 1x to 5x, with the fastest setting streamlining animations, or use an auto-battle option for automated fights.
Digimon Taming
At the start of the game, players will choose one of three starter Digimon—Patamon, Gomamon, or DemiDevimon—who will accompany them throughout the game. With over 450 Digimon to train—surpassing the combined roster of Cyber Sleuth and Hacker’s Memory—Time Stranger offers the largest Digimon selection in the series.
Recruitment uses a Scan Rate system. Defeating or encountering enemies raises this percentage; at 100%, recruitment is possible, while 200% yields enhanced level caps and higher stats for newly recruited Digimon. Players can form bonds with these Digimon, which directly influences their growth and combat effectiveness. Raising Digimon involves training, feeding, and guiding them through evolution and devolution, which will allow them to explore various evolutionary paths.
Evolution plays a significant role in any Digimon game, as it allows Digimon to grow into more powerful forms with new abilities and higher stats. A Digimon's evolutionary path depends on several factors, including stat thresholds and level.
Exploration
Players will explore two parallel worlds—the human world and the Digital World of Iliad—to interact with Digimon communities and, if past Digimon Story titles are any indication, undertake quests to advance the narrative.
The R2 button functions as a field "blaster," which allows players to initiate pre-emptive strikes on weaker wild Digimon; when used on significantly weaker opponents, it automatically delivers victory while still granting full experience rewards.
There's also a new "DigiRide" mechanic, which allows players to ride on their allies to travel the Digital World faster. The August 2025 trailer shows this isn't limited to allies with hind legs, as Gankoomon is seen carrying the protagonist on his shoulder.
Digimon Story: Time Stranger Story
Players begin by choosing between protagonists Dan or Kanan Yuki, both agents of the secret organization ADAMAS tasked with investigating anomalies in Tokyo. While on assignment in a quarantined Shinjuku district, the chosen character encounters a Digimon and is suddenly caught in an explosion that transports them eight years into the past. The unchosen Yuki twin becomes their operator who guides the player from ADAMAS headquarters throughout the mission.
Reeling from the temporal displacement, the protagonist embarks on a harrowing quest to uncover the cause behind an impending global collapse. Their journey oscillates between two realms: modern-day Tokyo, particularly Shinjuku and Akihabara, and the Digital World of Iliad. Along the way, the protagonist navigates complex relationships and conflicts that arise from the intersecting themes of past vs. future, human vs. Digimon, and the duality of both worlds.
Central to the unfolding mystery are Inori Misono, a compassionate high-schooler whose history intertwines with the crisis, and her Digimon partner Aegiomon, a being deeply linked to the destiny of both worlds. The narrative also brings the Olympus XII—legendary protector Digimon—into focus as pivotal players in the battle against the escalating threat to Iliad. Together, these characters embody the story’s core exploration of bonds, duty, and the daunting responsibility of averting catastrophe across time and dimensions
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