When Devil May Cry 5 launches next spring, it'll boast plenty of running, jumping, slicing and shooting. Another feature that's not as common to the series, however, will be microtransactions. If you want to make sure your characters level up as fast as humanly (demonically?) possible, you'll be able to fork over some real-world cash to expedite the process.
This news comes to us from Gamespot, who had an opportunity to go hands-on with Devil May Cry 5 during Tokyo Game Show 2018. During their gameplay, the team made a trip to the in-game Divinity Statue, which serves as a store of sorts where players can by new moves, abilities and the like. What they didn't expect to find, though, was the ability to fork over some actual cash.
In DMC5, players will defeat enemies to collect red orbs. If you've ever played a game from the series -- or just about any similar action game such as Bayonetta or God of War -- you won't be surprised to learn that these orbs can be spent on improving your character. If you want an extra dodge ability, you can spend some orbs on it. Want to extend your combo? Spend some orbs on it. In the market for a flashy new attack? You get the idea.
While you'll be able to collect these orbs through regular play and progress your character naturally, Devil May Cry 5 also boasts the ability to simply spend some actual cash on additional red orbs, presumably letting you max out your abilities early on so long as you're willing to fork over additional dough. The problem is that this kind of for-pay progression system has earned quite a bit of negative buzz in the past, even if the game otherwise plays as expected. Some argue that if players know they have the ability to simply buy new abilities, it can have an impact on how they experience the game.
According to director Hideaki Itsuno, Capcom decided to go this route to offer players more choice when it comes to how they play the game. In other words, if you just want to play the game like normal, you have the ability to do that. If you'd rather spend some extra cash to speed up your progression and move more quickly through the game, though, you can do that, too. It's a tricky balancing act, though. If players ever start to feel like the game is basically slimming down gains on red orbs in order to encourage spending actual money, I imagine the reaction isn't going to be pretty.
But, hey, at least it's not loot boxes! When it comes to this type of microtransaction, at least you know exactly what you're getting for your money. Still, considering the type of attention these premium systems have been getting since last fall when Battlefront II originally launched, it'll be interesting to see how fans react when the new DMC finally launches next March.
