Bandai-Namco has announced that the upcoming sequel to 2015’s Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth will be coming to the US and Europe for the PS4 and PSVita. Digimon games have a spotty history of Western releases, much to the dismay of US fans. The announcement trailer was posted to YouTube last week. Fans are already abuzz with excitement. Grab your Digivice (or VR headset, as may be the case) and get ready for an adventure!
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Hacker’s Memory will be told from the perspective of Keisuke Amazawa. Keisuke is a perpetually frowny teenager who is falsely accused of criminal activity. Fortunately, his superior hacking skills allow him to reach into the Digital World and take control of the programs we know as Digital Monsters. Hacker’s Memory will be set in the same near-future environment as the previous game. Some events will be retold from Keisuke’s point of view, but the main focus of his story will be clearing his name.
The Digiverse in the game has a bright, cyberpunk look. The monsters shown in the trailer look smooth. I appreciate the animation quality, because Digimon are more visually complex (and therefore more difficult to animate) than characters in similar franchises (Pokémon, Yo-Kai Watch, and the like). The energetic dubstep is perfect for a trailer, but it’s not clear yet if that will be the style of the whole soundtrack. Gameplay, like previous Digimon titles, will be turn-based.
As a fan of the original series, I was excited to see that Unimon will be making an appearance! There will be 320 monsters to scan, train, and battle. See if you can spot some familiar faces from the animated series in the trailer below. Who’s your favorite Digimon? Which Digivolution lines do you hope to see?
