Just Days After Launch, Angry Fans Slam Newest Digimon RPG as “Worst Digimon Game Ever”
When Digimon Story: Time Stranger released to massive player counts and solid reviews last year, many fans hoped it’d spark a Digimon renaissance. And in some ways, it has. Since Time Stranger was announced, Digimon has unveiled a few new projects in the works. Along with the mobile version of the Digimon TCG, fans were tentatively excited for the new free-to-play RPG, Digimon Up. The game launched worldwide on July 15th, giving players a chance to check out the first major Digimon mobile game. Unfortunately, it’s not living up to the hype for most.
Digimon Up is Bandai’s first real attempt at a mobile RPG for the franchise. So, Digimon fans weren’t quite sure what to expect. As release day approached, we still had relatively little in the way of official gameplay details. That may be partly why so many fans are expressing frustration and disappointment after finally jumping into the new Digimon RPG. Some are even saying it’s the worst Digimon game ever, and frankly, that’s saying something.
Digimon Up Disappoints Players With Auto-Battle Mechanics & Aggressive Monetization
When Digimon Up released earlier this week, fans rushed to see what the first major Digimon mobile game had to offer. As a lifelong Digimon fan myself, I was naturally among the day-one adopters. After all, free-to-play makes for a low barrier to entry. I was hoping to add this game to my steady rotation of mobile games, which is admittedly pretty Pokemon-heavy at the moment. But like many people who jumped in right on day one, I’m not sure how long I’ll be sticking with Digimon Up as is.
Not long after Digimon Up launched, fan reactions began rolling in on social media. So did the App Store reviews. Unfortunately, it’s not been a very warm reception so far. While many are charmed by the game’s adorable pixel art, its relatively idle gameplay loop and aggressive monetization structure have taken many by surprise. And not in a good way. At the time I’m writing this, Digimon Up has a pretty abysmal 2-star rating on the Apple App Store. It’s faring only just slightly better in Google Play, where it sits at roughly 2.3 stars on average.
For many, the game’s idle-heavy gameplay loop came as a surprise. Because Bandai shared relatively little about gameplay before launch, many Digimon fans weren’t ready for the idle battles that make up the majority of early-game activities. As one Apple review puts it, “Beautiful pixel art but no actual game.” Indeed, much of Digimon Up‘s gameplay consists of watching your Digimon battle automatically while tapping on the “Holograph Machine,” a relatively repetitive item-generating gacha.
And speaking of the gacha, therein lies the other major complaint that’s got Digimon fans lashing out against Digimon Up. The monetization in this game is pretty aggressive, even for a free-to-play mobile RPG. It features in-game ads, which you can watch to earn more currency. And you’re going to need it, because everything in the game comes at a cost. There are gacha pulls for Support Digimon, cards, and of course, the item generator. That means many players hit a progression paywall less than a day into the game’s release.
Played Digimon Up for a few hours. I'll be uninstalling soon.
— PixelShaun (@PixelShaun) July 15, 2026
Progression grinds to a halt when you run out of holograms, missions cant be completed. Big push to watch ads to reduce time but once you run out of ads to watch, nothing can be done until time has passed 1/3 pic.twitter.com/z1u56yJB85
In all, the lack of active gameplay and the heavy monetization have many fans ready to uninstall Digimon Up already. As one player puts it on X, “This is the WORST, and I mean the WORST Digimon game ever.” That said, it is early days, and Bandai could course-correct by tweaking monetization and gameplay to better meet fan expectations. Personally, my love for Digimon might have me sticking out a little bit longer to see where we go. But it’s clear the launch of the latest Digimon RPG hasn’t gone how fans had hoped it would.
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