Digimon Survivehas been touted as a dark take on the popular franchise in which death is a major theme. The game follows a group of teenagers who get lost in the woods and find themselves trapped in another world. They meetDigimon who swear to protect them, but their fate will ultimately be in the hands of the player. Difficult decisions abound, some can result in the death of other characters.
However, it’s still a bit unclear if Digimon can die inDigimon Survive.Digimon are typically hardier than humans, so it’s unlikely for them to be as vulnerable as their counterparts. It seems very likely that human characters will die, but far less likely that Digimon will. The death of human teenagers would be far more disturbing than the death of Digimon, so putting the digital monsters at risk might feel redundant.
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Digimon Don’t Really Die
Death has been a part of theDigimonfranchise ever since its first iteration as a Tamagotchi-inspired battle pet. Taking poor care of a Digimon or letting it get injured in battle could lead to its death, which was also true in the anime and in thefirstDigimon Worldgame. However, Digimon are typically reborn as eggs in Primary Village. The only way to truly kill a Digimon is to destroy its data, which only happens a handful of times in the anime.
Digimon Surviveexplores the idea that Digimon are actually ancient beings that humans have only just begun to perceive through the use of digital devices. They existed alongside humans long before that, but used to be thought of as ghosts, yokai, or devils. This would imply thatmost of the Digimon inSurvivewill have some level of immortality. Even if they can die temporarily, they would need to be destroyed in a very specific way to die permanently.
New World, New Rules
Digimon Survivedoesn’t actually take place in the Digital World. Producer Habu Kazumasa has said that the setting for the game will be entirely new, allowing players to explore the history of Digimon as ancient spirits. He even said that the teenage protagonists would be “spirited away” to the new realm, which could be a reference to Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film. Death might work differently in the new setting than it has inpreviousDigimongames.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that Digimon are more likely to die, but it does mean that the rules governing death will probably change. If the Digital World still exists but simply isn’t present inDigimon Survive, then Digimon might not come back to life the way they normally would.
Even if the new setting contains a location like Primary Village where dead Digimon are reborn, theloss of a Digimon partnercould still be catastrophic. While it may be possible to retrieve their digital egg, finding it could use up valuable time and resources.
Partner Up
Though Digimon generally want their entire group to succeed, they’re most devoted to protecting their individual human partners. The bond between the two is what gives Digimon the strength to Digivolve and fight. If a human character dies inDigimon Survive, it’s quite likely that their Digimon partner will leave the party. If so, then Digimon wouldn’t need to die inDigimon Survive; their presence would be felt all the same.
This could create interesting storytelling opportunities. ADigimon whose partner diesmight seek revenge on the party and become an enemy themselves. It may also be possible for dead human characters to be reborn as Digimon, which would be a new direction for the franchise.
It doesn’t seem likeDigimon Surviveplayers will be able to collect new Digimon, so if a Digimon partner were to permanently die, then their surviving human partner wouldn’t be able to participate in battles. This makes it pretty unlikely that Digimon will be able to die inDigimon Survive, but with a new setting, anything could happen.
Digimon Surviveis currently in development for PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.
