Why a Pokemon Game Like Digimon Survive Would Never Work

gamerant.com:

MINOR SPOILERS AHEADThere was once upon a time when it seemed Digimon Survive would never come out, but fans were recently rewarded for their patience with its release. Its reception seems largely positive, although a few user reviews onDigimon Survive seem disingenuous about it being a Visual Novel. Still, with an interesting story and new take on the franchise, it seems to be making a lot of fans happy.

Pokemon and Digimon used to be competitors in monster collecting games in a similar vein to Battlefield and Call of Duty in FPS games, but that's not really the case anymore.Pokemon ran away with the idea of catching, taming, and working with «monsters,» even if Digimon had its own unique space compared to it. Both are near and dear to fans' hearts, but with the release ofDigimon Survive, some fans have mused about how its approach to «catching» monsters, choices, and other elements could work in aPokemon game. However, while there are certainly elements of the game that would work in the Pokemon franchise, there could never be a 'Pokemon Survive.'

Digimon Survive: All Routes (and How to Get Them)

Digimon Survive has a pretty wide appeal, at least on paper. A Digimon game, Visual Novel and choices, and tactical turn-based combat are all highlights, but perhaps the biggest draw of it is its darker story. And the developer was not joking when it said Digimon Survive was dark. Without delving into spoiler territory, the second death players can encounter is absolutely gruesome, and the fallout is sympathetic, hardcore, and heartbreaking. It's genuine in its approach. That could never happen in a Pokemon game.

Digimon was able to move away from its child-friendly approach, and that worked for it. It couldn't work for a Pokemon