Dragon's Dogma 2 -- Capcom sure screwed it up!

[avatar! | 1,811]

I LOVED the original Dragon's Dogma! It was just beautiful. It combined both Western and JRPG motifs and ideas in the best way. Fans have been clamoring for a sequel for ages, and Capcom has delivered! BUT, what did they deliver --

First, many "professional" reviewers LOVE the game -- it has "universal acclaim" -- an 86 on metacritic, okay great!

Oh, and it has a 50% on STEAM -- why? How can so many players be hating the game.

MICROTRANSACTIONS

When you pay $70 for a SINGLE-PLAYER game, you're absolutely not interested in paying another $3 so you can effin' fast travel!!

Sure, to be fair, you can find these items in the game. But the mere fact that Capcom has microtransactions is more than enough for many players, and I can't blame anybody. By the way, if you read discussions, the game had far more negative STEAM etc. reviews than it currently has, which has had some people speculating that STEAM etc are either playing with numbers (hey more negative reviews means less people are going to purchase the game) or something else is going on -- but again, that's speculation right now. Regardless, I don't purchase games with shitty microtransactions. So disappointing, and I hope Capcom is hit in the only place which matters for such corporations, right in the revenue. Apparently I need to wait for Baldur's Gate III before playing the next truly wonderful AAA RPG.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,532]

Ironically, I'm playing the original right now (I gave up on it near release), and one of my biggest annoyances is that you have to spend in-game currency for fast travel so that you don't have to travel through the same mountain trails over and over again...

[DarkTone | 984]

Is there a way to find out how many people bought these?

[fox | 1,667]

It is still super doable to farm the mats you need in game to fast travel

Capcom has been doing this with all their games.  You could buy extra red orbs in Devil May Cry and extra ammo in Resident Evil, despite plenty to be had by just playing the game normally.  Seems only a fool would spend real money on these, but I guess a fraction of a percent of people are just super lazy and buy this stuff.  Capcom must have felt they would be leaving money at the table to not include them.

I don't think it is egregious enough to not play their games, most of their recent output has been really good.  Still kind of $hitty to include and they could have been a lot more upfront and transparent about the whole mess.
 

6 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Ironically, I'm playing the original right now (I gave up on it near release), and one of my biggest annoyances is that you have to spend in-game currency for fast travel so that you don't have to travel through the same mountain trails over and over again...

At launch the first game didn't have fast travel, it was one of their design principals.  They caved in the expansion to let you fast travel using rare resources.  Now in the sequel, the resources are only rare if you don't have a gold card.  What a 180!  XD

Edited March 25 by fox

[TDIRunner | 2,740]

I've said it before, but I don't get upset at the presence of microtransactions.  It's how they implement the microtransactions that determines whether I get upset or not.  If the game is designed to be impossible or near impossible without the extra purchases, that's when I start to get annoyed.  Or if the game requires EXTREME grinding in order to get simple items, I'm obviously not a fan of that.  I thought Capcom did it correctly with the microtransactions on the Resident Evil 2 remake.  All of the extra purchases were available in game and their requirements were fairly reasonable.  

Another thing to keep in mind is that Capcom sometimes has sales on their microtransactions.  They just recently had an offer for all unlockable items the RE2 and RE3 remakes and purchase price was either $3 or $4.  That included all of the extra outfits, all of the infinite weapons and all of the other unlockables.  

[wongojack | 215]

Hmmm - I have struggled to get into the original game.  I would very much like to play it.  I can't tell yet if this is discouraging me or not . . .

 

As for microtransactions, I've seen them done unobtrusively in single player games before, but it is a surprise to find them so prevalent in a single player game.  Oh well, I probably won't play this game for another 5 or more years anyway.  By then, microtransactions in the industry will probably be MUCH worse, and I'll wonder what the fuss was all about.

Edited March 25 by wongojack

[sp1nz | 612]

Microtransactions are part of the reason for negative Steam reviews and maybe most of the reason for some reviewers but the main issue for the negative/mixed review score on Steam is poor optimization, poor performance, crashing + DRM (Denuvo and/or Enigma, both of which can also causes poor performance for many and might be key player(s) in frequent crashing). Japanese devs often fumble their game's PC version launches, some fix them later but DRM stays there for a bit or indefinitely. DRM is just a plague on paying PC customers to suffer from issues while pirates get cleaned up versions and are rewarded for not paying.

[RH | 4,903]

2 hours ago, TDIRunner said:

I've said it before, but I don't get upset at the presence of microtransactions.  It's how they implement the microtransactions that determines whether I get upset or not.  If the game is designed to be impossible or near impossible without the extra purchases, that's when I start to get annoyed.  Or if the game requires EXTREME grinding in order to get simple items, I'm obviously not a fan of that.  I thought Capcom did it correctly with the microtransactions on the Resident Evil 2 remake.  All of the extra purchases were available in game and their requirements were fairly reasonable.  

Another thing to keep in mind is that Capcom sometimes has sales on their microtransactions.  They just recently had an offer for all unlockable items the RE2 and RE3 remakes and purchase price was either $3 or $4.  That included all of the extra outfits, all of the infinite weapons and all of the other unlockables.  

I doubt I'll be into this game but I clicked on this thread because of the title.  I'm pretty much in your camp when it comes to paid games with microtransactions.

IMHO, I agree, if you pay for a game, you should 100% be able to obtain it's contents with reasonable gaming effort but don't make me have to pay more to finish it.

That said, it sounds like this might be a microtransactions that are basically "cheat modes".  I think I'm cool with that.  It's kind of like saying "Hey we made a game that should take X hours of effort, but if you want to break it, exploit it or expedite the game, will provide features for you to do that for a fee."  Yeah, I guess that's cool in my book.

[avatar! | 1,811]

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Mods Undercut Capcom’s Controversial Microtransactions, Dish Out Infinite Save Slots

https://www.ign.com/articles/dragons-dogma-2-mods-undercut-capcoms-controversial-microtransactions-dish-out-infinite-save-slots

Just days after Dragon’s Dogma 2 launched amid a controversy over its microtransactions, modders have worked their magic, making much of what publisher Capcom is selling day-one available for free.

As IGN has reported, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is currently embroiled in a vociferous debate about its day-one microtransactions, which let players pay real-world money for useful items in the $70 single-player action role-playing game.

Items that can be obtained in-game or as paid DLC items include a character editor called Art of Metamorphosis, warp location markers (Portcrystals), Wakestones, which restore the dead to life, and gaol keys, which, as you’d expect, let players escape from gaol. Players can also buy a lightweight Explorer’s Camping Kit for $2.99.

These microtransactions have sparked a controversy not just for the sheer number available day-one, but because they make parts of the game deliberately designed to challenge players in certain ways either easier, less frustrating, or quicker. Players have already pointed out that these microtransactions help with fast-travel, which in Dragon's Dogma 2 is restricted.

At the end of the day, players are upset and I can't blame anyone. For most it feels like a slap in the face. These are not just cosmetic items, if that was the case I would be "okay, sure, who cares" but these are truly useful and arguably "important" items in the game, at least most people would certainly argue fast travel is important.

[avatar! | 1,811]

Not sure how I feel about this. The last time I ran into a game-destroying plague was with Darkest Dungeon, that whole Crimson Court DLC while nice in idea, was TERRIBLE in practice. So bad, that I absolutely do NOT recommend anyone install it. This kinda reminds me of it --

Dragon's Dogma 2 Players Are Freaking Out Over a Mysterious Plague That Turns Pawns Murderous

https://www.ign.com/articles/dragons-dogma-2-players-are-freaking-out-over-a-mysterious-plague-that-turns-pawns-murderous

Some players have been sharing their frustrations after Dragonsplague nuked entire towns in their games, seemingly cutting them off from critical story paths. But other players may have found solutions.

I personally do not see how this can be enjoyable? I know many people quit Darkest Dungeon when the Crimson Curse basically destroyed their game, and I've heard some people claim they also quit DD2 because the "dragonsplague" similarly destroys your game, basically locking you out of the story and progression. Yeah, there's technically a solution in each case, but the work involved is so much that it effectively ends your game and your enjoyment. Seems like an asinine idea that someone thought looked good on paper.