Dragon’s Dogma 2 just came out and, well, people are definitely talking about it, although a lot of the discussion isn’t positive. You see, reviews for this version of the game on Steam have been mostly negative, citing performance issues and a massive day-one DLC lineup that’s making people uncomfortable.
Now, thanks in large part to discussion and debate on consoles about whether slaughtering a bunch of innocent NPCs is a good way to try and improve fps numbers on PC (they’re kidding, put the sword down), we already know what the game does to the hardware The consumption is huge. But now DLC is joining the fray, and, well, there’s a lot of it.
Let’s start by taking a look at how the game has been received on Steam so far. As of this writing, the game’s overall reviews have just returned to “mixed,” with only 40% of the 6,300 or so reviews to date being positive. As mentioned earlier, most of the reasons given for backlash have to do with performance, microtransactions, or both.
So, what’s wrong with the latter? Well, there are currently 21 DLCs available for the game, a list that may look very familiar to anyone who has played a Capcom game recently. The vast majority of content on offer is additional in-game items, from Rift Crystals to Awakening Stones, Gate Crystals, and Camping Sets.
Sadly, this has become the norm, and a big reason for the large number of microtransactions available is so that you can buy several different kinds and strengths of gem and crystal packs. Now, here’s the thing, if you’re planning on playing the game and not planning on making it easier or more convenient for yourself, you can probably ignore the vast majority of this stuff.
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As you play the game and hunt for stuff, you should end up with a decent amount of these items that filter into your inventory naturally, with most of them becoming available very early on. That said, there seems to be more debate over things like door crystals and the fact that you can buy a consumable “Art of Transformation” book that lets you change your character’s appearance.
Since the game severely limits the amount of fast travel you can do as a design choice, and doesn’t let you resize Arisen’s cups at any time, some players feel that including microtransactions based on these things is a bit like Capcom selling features back to you. That said, as mentioned, you can still earn both items by playing.
Oh, and there’s also a microtransaction that gives you a one-time key you can use to jailbreak — Capcom may need to use one of these to escape the prison of public opinion right now.