Dragon’s Dogma 2 is Capcom’s first $70 title. However, you may end up disappointed that you need to pay more to access the most basic features that players often get for free. At least, that is the popular narrative. Dragon’s Dogma is rife with microtransactions that players said Capcom did not disclose.
On Steam, the game’s review sits at “Mostly Negative” with players pointing out every Capcom’s misstep on the title. Upon the game’s launch on Friday, March 22, 2024, players discovered that the game has 21 separate DLC features that can be purchased on day one.
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What was most disturbing is that some of the DLCs are features that should have come as in-game unlockable features rather than paid features. The DLC purchase that players found ridiculous was the “Art of Metamorphosis” which allows players to change the hairstyle and appearance of their character. But is that really the truth?
There seems to be a misunderstanding between the developer and players—or a lack of clear communication. Most of the DLCs that can be purchased are available in-game for free. However, because of their rarity, players who want to speed things up can purchase them instead.
For example, the Art of Metamorphosis can be found in-game but are extremely rare. Players struggling to find the item can go through the pay route which costs $1.99. Likewise, the Wakestone used to resurrect a player or one of the AI-controlled NPC is rare to find but can be purchased for $0.99.
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While players claim that Capcom failed to disclose the microtransactions, some reviewers pointed out that all the information was detailed in the review guide provided by Capcom. So, it’s either Capcom did not communicate clearly, or some gamers failed to read properly.
The many sins of Dragon’s Dogma 2 that pissed off players
While the microtransactions are at the center of the controversy, it seems more behind-the-scenes problems are making some players mad. It is being claimed that some of the microtransactions are adopting the ‘pay-to-win’ mechanics, offering advantages to players that can’t be naturally acquired in-game or that can’t be gotten without wearing out the player.
Players who purchased the Deluxe Edition of the game received A Boon for Adventurers: New Journey Pack which has 9 of the 21 day-one DLCs. The pack can be separately purchased for $14.99. Players who choose to purchase A Boon for Adventurers and all the other day-one DLCs will spend $38.87 in addition to the $70 tag of the base game.
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One X user with the handle @GiveMeBanHammer pointed out a list of everything they thought was wrong with Dragon’s Dogma 2 saying they were the reason why the game is getting a negative review on Steam. The list of the mentioned problems includes:
- Shoves Denuvo
- Shoves Microtransactions and PAID character edit vouchers
- Shoves anti-cheat
On Metacritic, Dragon’s Dogma 2 has enjoyed highly positive reviews, scoring an average score of 90 on PC, 87 on PS5, and 86 on Xbox Series X. This suggests the negative reviews on the game have nothing to do with whether Capcom delivered a great gaming experience or not.
It is rather a reflection of the sentiments of a group of players who don’t like the idea of games coming with microtransactions and those who are against the use of Denuvo (a digital rights management software that prevents piracy) in games.
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Earlier this week, it was revealed that Capcom topped Metacritic’s 14th annual Game Publisher Rankings which is based on the average review score garnered by the games published by each publisher in that calendar year. Last year’s winner, Sony, dropped to 13th place. Below is the list of the top publishers and their average Metascore.
- Capcom – 84.5 (last year: 6th)
- Raw Fury – 79.1 (last year: 16th)
- Chorus Worldwide – 77.6 (last year: n/a)
- Dangen Entertainment – 77.6 (last year: n/a)
- Annapurna Interactive – 80.2 (last year: 8th)
- Nintendo – 79.5 (last year: 12th)
- Aksys Games – 78.5 (last year: 13th)
- Bethesda Softworks – 80 (last year: n/a)
- Sega – 78.8 (last year: 7th)
- Thunderful – 79.1 (last year: 25th)
