Shortly afterHelldivers 2launched,I promptly made it clearthat it was already my game of the year. Even if it was only February, I was confident that nothing would top it…until I discoveredDragon’s Dogma.
I needed a large-scale single-player game to get lost in, so I thought I’d try out the original Dragon’s Dogma before its sequel was released. And despite being almost 12 years old, I was gripped and all in on the sequel. I pre-ordered, watched as many videos as possible,read reviews, and waited patiently.
Helldivers 2 Review: Freedom Never Sleeps
Liber-tea never tasted so good!
But before I could even jump into arguably this year’s biggest release,Dragon’s Dogma 2confirmed that it would not be overtaking Helldivers 2 as my game of the year. Even if it had some of the best gameplay imaginable, I simply can’t condone what Capcom has done with a $70 single-player game.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Is Riddled With Microtransactions, And That’s Not Okay
Dragon’s Dogma 2 might have receivedfavourable scores from critics, but players haven’t taken too kindly to the fact that Capcom has absolutely stuffed the sequel with microtransactions. Despite being a single-player game, Dragon’s Dogma 2 allows you to purchase Wakestones, which possess the power to bring the dead back to life; Portcrystals, which can be used to fast travel; and even an item that will allow you to edit your character. Seriously, Capcom wants us to pay to edit our character? What is going on?
Now, I will point out that all of these things can be obtained in-game without actually spending any money, but even including these options for a full-priced game is absurd. And I’m not the only one that thinks that.
“Paying for fast travel? paying for character editing? paying for revive stones? BRO IT’S A 100 DOLLAR GAME,” X userRimmysaid.
At the time of writing this article, Dragon’s Dogma 2 has a “mixed” review badge on Steam, with well over 8,000 reviews. While the reviews are starting to even out, Capcom shoving an ungodly number of microtransactions down players' throats actually kicked off Dragon’s Dogma 2’s launch with a"mostly negative" Steam badge.
Many of the 8,000 reviews criticize the game’s poor performance, microtransactions, and inclusion of Denuvo Anti-Tamper. “I did not expect the game to barely push 40fps in the wilderness at minimum settings with DLSS on Ultra Performance,“one reviewer said. Many others criticized the game’s microtransactions,saying, “$1.99 to edit your character appearance in a single-player game after spending $80.00.”
Helldivers 2 Does Microtransactions The Right Way
There’s a right way and a wrong way to include microtransactions in your game. Adding them into a single-player game where players are already spending between $60 and $70 to play is most certainly the wrong way, and I’ll stand by that statement forever.
Helldivers 2, on the other hand, is priced at a modest $39.99 on Steam and doesn’t offer any microtransactions that can give you an in-game advantage. It’s not the first live-service game to do this, and it’s generally the most accepted way to include microtransactions.
Fortnite, for example, is a free-to-play title thatmakes billions every yearthanks to its microtransactions. Much like Helldivers 2 though, Fortnite only offers cosmetic purchases, so there’s no real reason to spend the money if you don’t want to.
While you don’thaveto spend the money on Dragon’s Dogma 2 either, it simply comes across as a greedy practice to even offer these purchases and shouldn’t be encouraged by players. If Capcom sees its player base supporting these microtransactions, instead of calling them out, what’s stopping the studio from taking it one step further in the future and adding microtransactions that players actually need? I don’t know about you, but that’s not a risk I’m willing to take.
Dragon’s Dogma 2
Dragon’s Dogma 2: 10 Tips & Tricks For Beginners
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is full of complex systems. This list breaks down some key information you’ll need to know when starting up the game.
