Scroll down all the way for the TLDR version
= Gameplay =
Digimon Cyber Sleuth's a standard Turn-Based RPG - which isn't a problem in itself.
The problem lies in the lack of depth of it's combat system which is common on most Vita-based JRPG games and the entire growth system for your Digimon companions feels like a watered down version of a standard Shin Megami Tensei title.
Let us go into the details regarding the Skills that a Digimon could learn.
- Skills -
There are essentially two kind of Skills in this game.
Inherited Skills (Skills that your Digimon learn and get to keep as they Digivolve/De-Digivolve) and fixed skills that are unique to each individual Digimon.
The Skills that you could Inherit are further split into various types - such as physical/magic attacks, buffs or support/healing type moves.
Damage-based skills are limited in terms of usefulness since they're usually awful and feels pointless by late game where a Ultimate/Mega level Digimon would easily have unique skills that far outstrips the usefulness of damage-based Inherited Skills and the slot limitations for skills means that it's far more useful to slot in Debuffs or Status Ailment skills.
The only refining point of DMG-based Skills is the lower cost as opposed to unique Skills but SP (Mana) isn't a problem in itself as there are literally healing spots everywhere in every single dungeon and the fact that you could easily regain your SP by absorption based skills or healing items.
The potential for tactical gameplay is further limited off by the fact that most Status Ailments are potentially useless.
Only a few Status Ailments last long enough and work well enough to be of any serious advantage whatsoever - namely Panic and Poison.
- Limitations in Setting up your Team -
Digimon are tiered according to the Fixed Skills that they have.
Some Digimon have abysmal Unique Skills like Wargreymon. (A fairly inefficient group attack and an extremely costly single-hit attack)
To make it worse, Unique Skills chew up your Skill Slots and affects the amount of Inherited Skills your Digimon could remember.
Then, there are Digimon that could deal really heavy blows like Seraphimon.
The game also expects the player to build an diverse team of Digimon owing to the Types weakness/strength system. (Vaccine > Virus > Data > Vaccine)
Both of these elements would affect the player's team and may prove to be a negative for players seeking to build a team of their favourite Digimon.
- Is it 'Grindy'? -
Not really.
EXP Gain could be easily influenced by several mid-game Digimon/Items owing to their attributes. (EXP multiplier)
The main chore lies in gaining the Skills that you want for each individual Digimon (Which would involve an arduous process of Digivolving/De-Digivolving/Leveling) and maximizing the stats of your Digimon.
This may prove to be off-putting to some as Digimon was set up yo be a franchise of which your Digital partners were meant to be your closest ally in the digital realm.
In this game, you're subjecting them to plastic surgery over and over again so they could learn something new.
Other than grinding for the appropriate skills for your Digimon, there's also the matter of additional stat points that could only be gained by placing your Digimon in the farm.
The player has minimal direct involvement in this stat gain and is primarily expected to WAIT IN REAL TIME for a Digimon's training regiment to be completed for their bonus stat points.
While it is true that there are food items / farm objects that could be used to directly influence stat growth, this may prove to be fairly repetitive and arduous for some.
- Dungeon Design -
Another problem plaguing this game is the lack of ANY decent dungeon design.
All of them are essentially a bunch of lifeless corridors where you run through - with the later dungeons involving a lock placed on a spot where you're expected to circle around to get to while fighting off random encounters.
They're primarily plain, flat and quite dry in general.
- Overall : 5/10 -
Generally, gameplay-wise, it's really just a fairly uninspired Turn-based RPG with nothing unique to set it apart from others in it's genre.... other than being slapped with some seriously watered down SMT mechanics.
= Story =
- General Plot -
It's nothing revolutionary nor is it particularly intriguing and the first half feels like it's more of a Devil Survivor game if anything. (It's not just the fact that both games shared artists - the entire setting felt oddly similar)
The pacing's rough and the plot flow's fairly erratic with some rushed character development inserted between each major chapters that feels fairly disjointed since they are mutually exclusive from the main plot arcs.
- Characters -
While some characters have a major role in the primary story of Cyber Sleuth, it may prove difficult for the player to develop any form of attachment for the characters owing to the minimal role they play till the later chapters.
Another problem lies in the main character where he/she's supposed to take on the role of a "Silent Protag" but has proven themselves to be far more vocal to actually fit in the role.
As this is a heavily Anime-themed game, the characters are also full of 'stereotypical Anime quirks'.
Problem is, the writer seems to be incapable of interjecting these elements at a appropriate pacing and character development feels like a pretty botched work where the game floats in between seriousness and your standard day-to-day Anime humour without delving far into either side.
As a result, most of the characters are pretty forgettable with the exception of a few like Kyoko.
- Overall : 4/10 -
The game generally lacks a 'personality' nor does it have the charm to draw the player into the story it's trying to tell.
The characters may prove to be somewhat interesting but were not properly utilised in the plot to flesh out either elements to the story.
It does have some pretty sweet tidbits on Japan though - Kyoko's lecture on the leylines have enlightened me further about the leylines of Japan.
Tour Guide Simulator 10/10
= Others =
- Translation -
Honestly, the translation's pretty decent... save for the times when they're trying to translate Japanese slang and informal conversations.
The translators did a really good job when it comes to messing around with stuff like accents and proverbs but it's miraculous how they managed to turn Nokia from a quirky airhead into an annoying narcissist.= Overall =
- Gameplay : 5/10
- Story : 4/10
- Digimon Nerd Factor : Varies
Truth be told, the primary appeal of the game lies in how much of a nerd you're over Digimon.
Gameplay and story-wise, Cyber Sleuth's pretty average in all aspects but if you could feel your inner nerd gushing at all the shiny Royal Knights and the Demon Lords, this might just be the game for you.
However, do consider the fact that Cyber Sleuth doesn't really emphasise on the companionship the MC has with his partner Digimon(s) (Like in the Anime series) - the 'bond' is evident for other characters like Nokia but in the player's case, it's a pretty cold world where he simply creates Digimon to dump them into a Farm for slave labour, sacrifice them for XP or subject them to plastic surgery multiple times to learn a very specific skill.
There are games with a similar, digitalised theme but with a far more engaging story like Devil Survivor or Fate/Extra but if you're in to solely witness the grandeur of Lilithmon's assets, this may be your cup of tea.