Unlike any previous Digimon game, Digimon Survive incorporates two distinct gameplay styles and mechanics for the different portions of the game. The story sections are all presented in a visual novel format, where you will read dialogue, make choices, learn about characters, and build up your Karma. Then, when battles break out, you are shifted into the tactical, grid-based battle system. While both are new to the series, it is the visual novel elements that have the greatest impact on the story presented.
Digimon Survive's story is very mature in its themes and how it handles its characters. It is also quite serious about the player's choices actually having meaning beyond just some flavor text being changed here or there. In fact, the ending you get will be drastically changed based on decisions you make throughout the journey, leading to multiple possibilities. In total, there are five possible endings you can get, so to make sure you get the one you want, here's what you need to do to get each one in Digimon Survive.
Note: There will be massive spoilers ahead for every ending in the game. We will list the requirements to get each ending before explaining the ending itself, but be warned when reading further.
Further reading
How to get the Moral ending
The first three possible endings all relate to your different Karma stats: Moral, Wrathful, and Harmony. Each time you make important decisions, you will earn points toward one of these alignments. Here's the ending you get for being Moral.
Step 1: Play through Digimon Survive with at least 25 Moral Karma points by the time you reach chapter 8.
Step 2: Save the game if you like.
Step 3: Choose the Be true to my friends option.
Step 4: Defeat The Master in the battle to cleanse it.
Step 5: You will learn that The Master was using child sacrifices to keep the two parallel worlds from collapsing, which would kill all the Digimon in it. Your characters will claim that the will and belief of humans will be enough to keep the world from collapsing and go back home to tell everyone about the existence of Digimon. Their Digimon partners all choose to stay behind until the human world is ready to accept them.
How to get the Harmony ending
The next Karma-specific ending will be for the Harmony ending, which follows the same fundamentals as the others, so be sure to build up your Harmony points before the point of no return.
Step 1: Play through Digimon Survive with at least 25 Harmony Karma points by the time you reach chapter 8.
Step 2: Save the game if you like.
Step 3: Choose the Save the world option.
Step 4: Miu will die, causing Kaito to form a new pact with Piedmon to form Boltboutamon, which you must defeat in battle. Afterward, The Master consumes Boltboutamon, who you will then need to battle.
Step 5: This ending will show the portal connecting the two worlds expanding and becoming stable, which could be a threat to both worlds. Your team, along with their Digimon partners, go to the human world and form the Japanese Institute of Electronic Symbiotes to help humans and Digimon exist together.
How to get the Wrathful ending
The final Karma-specific ending will be for the Wrathful ending, which follows the same fundamentals as the others, so be sure to build up your Wrathful points before the point of no return.
Step 1: Play through Digimon Survive with at least 25 Wrathful Karma points by the time you reach chapter 8.
Step 2: Save the game if you like.
Step 3: Choose the Stay with Agumon option.
Step 4: This will cause Saki to die and Aoi to fuse with Labramon to form Plutomon. The Master will then fuse with Plutomon to gain its power, which you must defeat in a battle.
Step 5: This ending shows the portal between worlds growing larger and is no longer possible to close. The team realizes the two worlds will inevitably become one again and head back to the human world with their partners. This time, the merging of the worlds results in chaos, with your surviving teammates fighting to try and keep the peace.
How to get the true ending
There is indeed a true ending to Digimon Survive. However, it isn't one you will be able to get right away, and it has some very specific requirements. Here's how to get the true ending.
Step 1: Beat the game and get any of the prior listed endings.
Step 2: Start a New Game + playthrough.
Step 3: Make sure Ryo has the highest affinity of any character.
Step 4: All characters need to survive.
Step 5: You will meet Haruchika and her Digimon Fanglongmon, who has gone into Ruin Mode. You will need to defeat it to revert it to a calm nature and release her, at which point all the kids, the professor, and their partners all return to the human world.
An epilogue narrated by Takuma tells you that, while rocky at first, the relationship between Digimon and humans has improved before showing the main characters near a shrine where they meet DemiVeemon.
How to get the bad ending
On the opposite side of the coin, there's the bad ending. Obviously, this isn't one you will want to get unless you're just curious about how poorly things can go.
Step 1: Play through Digimon Survive with at least 25 Wrathful Karma points by the time you reach chapter 8.
Step 2: Select the Never go back option.
Step 3: This will kick off the bad ending where Takuma refuses to return to the Digimon world despite the others trying to convince him. He instead goes home to his mother, leaving Miyuki and Agumon.
There's a small time skip that shows Takuma and his family evacuating as a state of emergency is called due to a portal opening up in the sky.
