Digimon Story Time Stranger Preview – Promising Return Balances Nostalgia with New Ideas

At a recent Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia media event in Singapore, we got a preview of Digimon Story Time Stranger for a brief but exciting 15-minute session on the PlayStation 5. While the time was limited, it was enough to see that this long-awaited entry in the series brings both familiar elements and interesting new twists to the franchise. Set to release on October 3, 2025, the game appears to be shaping up as a worthy addition to the Digimon Story series.

Exploration and Tools

One of the first things you’ll notice during exploration is the return of the Digivice, which serves as more than just a nostalgic accessory. You can use it to scan areas around you, helping to uncover secrets and gather information about your surroundings. This feature adds a layer of interaction to the world that feels both practical and true to the source material.

The game maintains the party system fans will recognize, letting you bring three active battle members into fights while keeping three more in reserve. You can experience riding Digimon while exploring towns, which adds a fun way to get around.  However, not every Digimon you encounter can be used as a mount for transportation – for example, Rookies can’t be ridden.

Digimon and Story Elements

Your digital companions now have distinct personalities, which appears to play a role in their development. These personality traits may even influence the conditions needed for digivolution, adding another strategic element to raising your team.

The digivolution system stays true to series traditions while offering flexibility. When your Digimon digivolves, their level resets to 1, just like in older games. One good improvement is that you can do this anytime instead of needing to visit a vendor for this process. You can move both up and down the evolutionary chain – from Rookie to Champion or Champion back to Rookie – depending on your strategy. Higher-level digivolutions require meeting specific conditions, while Armor digivolution needs you to find the right Digi-Egg first.

During our demo, Digimon had a relatively low level cap of around 25, though this was likely just for the preview build. The Digifarm feature is returning in this installment, though it remains unclear if the features will remain the same as previous games. There will also be a mini card game within the game, though we’re not sure how it will be played out.

The Olympus XII group plays an important role in the story, though we didn’t get deep details about their involvement. What we did encounter were enemies called “Titans” – we faced off against a large Parrotmon that carried this designation. These appear to be either mutated or infected Digimon, though the exact nature of what makes them carry this “title” remains unclear.

Battle System Improvements

Combat feels more engaging than previous entries thanks to several key changes. You can swap Digimon during battle without using up your turn, giving you more tactical options. The classic type advantages remain – Vaccine beats Virus, Virus beats Data, and Data beats Vaccine.

Boss fights can have multiple phases with different parts you can target. The most interesting addition is the Critical Point (CP) system. Bosses can build up CP that gives them extra actions per turn and stat boosts. Attacking weak points increases their CP, making fights harder, but you can reduce enemy CP by building up your own through various actions. 

Skills are now split into two categories: Special skills (unique attacks for each Digimon) and Attachment skills (general abilities like Wolkenapalm or Critical Field that any Digimon can learn). Attachment skills can be bought from shops and equipped to your team, with each Digimon having four slots available. From our time during the hands-on preview, it seems there are no conditions to equip these skills, so every Digimon has access to all the attachment skills.

First Impressions

The Digimon models show clear improvements over previous games, appearing more lively and detailed. Special skills come with impressive animations and voice acting that brings the attacks to life. The overall presentation suggests the development team has put considerable effort into making the digital creatures feel more dynamic and engaging.

The CP system stands out as the most significant combat innovation, adding strategic depth that wasn’t present in earlier titles. Instead of simply attacking the strongest moves available, players must consider the long-term consequences of their actions.

While our 15-minute session only scratched the surface, Digimon Story Time Stranger shows promise as both a return to form and an evolution of the series. The mix of familiar mechanics with new features like the CP system suggests it could appeal to both longtime fans and newcomers to the franchise.

If you want to see more on Digimon Story Time Stranger, check out our preview video below.

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