I grew up in an age of watching anime television shows that really wanted to try and sell me things. Pokemon, Digimon, and Yu-Gi-Oh all wanted us kids to buy cards, video games, and toys. That said, I wouldn’t trade any of that weird anime for the world. Despite those anime television shows’ awkward voice acting and filler episodes, they all played a role in cementing my love for monster development and, I guess, animal husbandry. Why the weird reminiscence? Because I started playing Digimon World: Next Order which is a remake of the very first Digimon World game. It’s currently available on Steam.

Now, I never played the first two Digimon World games. My first experience with the Digimon World series was the infamously obtuse Digimon World 3. If you ever want to send Save State columnist Vincent Mahoney into a small tangent, mention the last key you need to obtain in Digimon World 3. So, I got to look at this with fresh eyes and a full day off of work. I decided to not use a guide and just fumbled around with Digimon World: Next Order and its new digital monsters to see what would happen.

The tutorial drug on for what felt like an eternity, but I eventually got to go wander its world with my Digimon. The first two battles were relatively simple, and then I wandered into a Goblimon fight and got my monsters bounced up and down the hillside. That’s when I realized that your level number was mostly meaningless. I just kind of hoped and prayed that a battle would go my way. Digimon World: Next Order’s learning curve wasn’t steep, but it took a slight readjustment from the titles I have previously played.

In fact, the whole thing almost felt like a roguelite, especially as my Digimon aged, died, and got reborn with slightly better stats. Every rebirth has better statistics than the previous generation and longer lifespans too. The only thing I couldn’t master is getting them to digivolve into exactly how I wanted them. So many times, it seemed like they picked the ugliest possible option available in their tree as their new form. For some reason, this seems to happen in every Digimon title I have ever played, and I don’t think that I am quite that unlucky.

While I am only six hours into Digimon World: Next Order, it so far makes me want to keep playing. It harkens back to older titles from my childhood like Monster Rancher. I was honestly taken back to the days when I had a handheld game device called a Skannerz, and I spent all day scanning barcodes in the kitchen cabinet. There is something I enjoy about being able to do monster breeding while building a family tree. Maybe it’s because I like creating little stories about their backgrounds.

If you also have that itch, I recommend picking up Digimon World: Next Order. Looking at this remake with fresh eyes for the Fresh Look column this week was highly rewarding. The gameplay is still solid, making it a nice hidden gem that you might not have experienced with the Digimon World series the first time around.