Digimon Story Time Stranger review: A renaissance for the Digital World 

Digimon Story Time Stranger opens up a new chapter for the Digimon IP. After the fantastic Cyber Sleuth, Hacker's Memory, and Survive, the series remained dormant for quite a while. With Time Stranger, Bandai Namco and Media.Vision aims to bring the Digimon IP to a broader audience, taking a full-blown JRPG route.

While growing up, the questions in my friend group were often not about which starter to pick, but which was better: Pokémon or Digimon? While most of my friends chose to chase Ash's journey of becoming the very best (like no one ever was), I found myself more hooked to the mysterious Digital World, where Taichi began his adventure.

Let's take a look at this review for Digimon Story Time Strangers to find out if you should get it, especially if you are a fan of the series and want to dive back into the Digital World.

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Why Time Stranger Feels Like the Digimon Game Fans Have Been Waiting For

Plot: An adventure through time and to the Digital World

The plot for Digimon Story Time Stranger is quite straightforward when it begins, and then it becomes quite complex in a typical JRPG fashion. You play as a secret agent from the organization, ADAMAS, and your duty is to solve anomalies. You will soon find yourself wrapped up in a catastrophe that destroys the world, and then get involved in some time-travelling shenanigans.

Inori and Aegiomon (Image via Bandai Namco)

You travel back to the past by some mysterious method and must now stop the apocalypse in the future, where the Digiworld (Illiad) is now merging with the Human World. This was just a simple introduction to the plot, and I won't discuss any more to avoid spoilers.

Digimon has always been special to me, as I felt that the stories often took a more heartfelt and grounded approach, with a hint of darkness. Time Stranger brings back that feeling, as it tells a story about the bond between a trainer and their Digital Monster (Inori and Aegiomon in this case), and what made Digimon special to me in the first place.

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Presentation: Music and Aesthetics

Digimon Story Time Stranger follows a typical cel-shaded art style that has become synonymous with many anime games, especially JRPGs. While the world is beautiful to look at, I will say I did not enjoy the Tokyo sections at all. On the other hand, I absolutely love what Media.Vision did with the Digital World, aka Iliad.

Exploring Iliad (Image via Bandai Namco)

Iliad is a mixture of real-world and fantasy elements, making it beautiful to look at and explore. There are many buildings you can enter, and while most of them are empty, it is a cool touch.

One thing I can't help but praise is the music. Digimon Story Time Stranger's OSTs are one of the best parts of the experience.

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Digimons: There are a lot

Iconic Digimons (Image via Bandai Namco)

A monster taming video game is incomplete without a solid catalogue of beasts for you to collect. Media.Vision went full length for Time Stranger, as there are over 450+ Digimons for you to collect. From the Olympus 12 to the legacy ones from the Digimon Adventures anime, to the Royal Knights, there are a lot of Digital Monsters for you to collect, train, and Digivolve.

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Gameplay

Digimon Story Time Stranger features a combat similar to its predecessors. Upon attacking a monster or if you get attacked, you will be transported to an arena where you must defeat your opponents. Similar to other turn-based combat systems, it follows a rock-paper-scissors rule, with a bit of elemental weaknesses mixed in.

Card Game (Image via Bandai Namco)

Outside of combat, Digimon Story Time Stranger offers you various biomes to explore. There is the human world of Tokyo, where you can explore around the districts, and then there is the Digital World, Iliad. Both of these have plenty of side activities to cover, including quests, TCG, etc.

Digimon Story Time Stranger is the most fleshed-out game yet, but it does run into a few problems like other JRPGs. Grinding is a must, and if you hate the system, you will not have a fun time. You will spend most of your time in dungeons, where you must battle digimons, and at the end, there will be a boss battle.

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Improvements over its predecessors

There are noticeable improvements that Time Stranger brings to the table compared to the last Digimon Story games, Cyber Sleuth and Hacker's Memories. One major quality-of-life update you will notice is that Digimons can be obtained through a new method called scan, instead of randomly encountering them.

Digimons are easier to obtain compared to their predecessors (Image via Bandai Namco)

Essentially, you must encounter Digimons in battle, and you will receive a scan rate. Once this reaches 100 percent, you can obtain that Digimon. If you are patient and get the scan rate to 200%, you will receive the same monster, but with improved stats.

Another change that I really appreciate is that menus are a lot streamlined and accessible. I love the Cyber Sleuth titles, but the UI and menus in that game are challenging to navigate through. Compared to those, Time Stranger has a better accessible menu, with shortcuts that will definitely ease the challenge.

Digimon Story Time Stranger also features a new Personality system you can change by having conversations with the Digimons you have equipped. These determine the various stats of a particular monster, and even give them passive buffs.

The combat has also seen improvements, receiving the ability to speed up the battle. Given that it is a typical JRPG, there is a lot of grinding you must do to progress, namely, battling while exploring dungeons.

You can speed up the combat up to five times, allowing you to complete and progress through a dungeon easily. The game also allows you to defeat weaker Digimon without going to the turn-based arena. You can attack and defeat them on your own.

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Some concerns

Digimon Story Time Stranger is a solid JRPG title and is the best game in the Digimon franchise, but there are a few issues here and there that affect the experience. One that personally did not bother me much but can affect the experience of a newcomer is the fact that the game throws too many complex mechanics at you all at once.

There are a few issues with Digimon Story Time Stranger (Image via Bandai Namco)

The Digivolution and the Personality systems are great, but extremely complex, with many layers of mechanics to look out for. If you are a newcomer, my advice is to learn how to Digivolve your Digimons as soon as you can, or else you will find yourself stuck even in the early chapters of the game.

The second complaint I have is related to the story, especially your assigned Operator. When you start the game, you can choose one character as your protagonist, and the one you did not select will become your partner. Their job will be to guide you through the world and offer tidbits of explanation for what is going on in the future, and even useful tips while approaching a dungeon.

But one of the most annoying parts of Digimon Story Time Stranger's story is the fact that after almost every cutscene, a dialogue section will play out, where the Operator will basically repeat whatever plot transpired in the cutscene.

While I appreciated them giving important tips, I found the constant back-and-forth between cutscenes and your Operator calling you to be repetitive and annoying.

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In conclusion

Digimon Story Time Stranger is a phenomenal RPG (Image via Bandai Namco)

Digimon Story Time Stranger marks a renaissance for Digimon games and is the very best in the franchise. It's a massive step up from its predecessors in almost every way, offering a deep, engaging, and incredibly polished experience that not only meets the high bar set by Cyber Sleuth but also surpasses it.

The game does not push any boundaries for the JRPG genre. But throughout the journey, it will captivate you and keep you hooked till the credits roll. What Media.Vision and Bandai Namco provide you will definitely keep you happy, whether you are a newcomer who enjoys RPGs or a longtime fan of Digimon.

The game is not perfect, as there are a few issues that you might find annoying. But Digimon Story Time Stranger offers the definitive experience fans are craving for and is worth buying. The QoL updates easily make it the very best that the franchise has to offer, and I look forward to enjoying more Digimon games in the future.

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Digimon Story Time Stranger

The Scorecard (Image via Sportskeeda)

Reviewed on: PC (Key provided by Bandai Namco)

Developer: Media.Vision Inc.

Publisher: Bandai Namco

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Release date: October 3, 2025