Skip to main content

The real demons in ‘Devil May Cry 5’ are its microtransactions

Devil May Cry 5 - TGS 2018 Trailer

Devil May Cry 5 is shaping up to be a fantastic return for the series, which hasn’t seen a true sequel in over a decade, but it will come with some changes in design philosophy. Director Hideaki Itsuno revealed to GameSpot that Dante and Nero’s upcoming adventure will feature microtransactions though he doesn’t believe it will change the game for veteran players.

Recommended Videos

Itsuno explains that microtransactions are included as an option for purchasing the in-game “Red Orbs” currency.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

“If they want to save time and just want to get all the stuff at once, those people can do that,” Itsuno said. “But on the other hand, I don’t feel you have to get all the moves. You should be able to play it the way you want to play it.”

He added that the pricing for abilities and skills was set so the most advanced would be more expensive, while those the development team “[feels] people should get first” are cheaper. However, if you spend money on these earlier skills, you might not have enough Red Orbs to purchase the later abilities when you’re ready to use them.

“So you have to make the decision between going for the cheaper stuff or saving up — getting the thing that has a lot of application but [that] you’ll have to spend time learning and perfecting,” Itsuno said.

We’ve heard this explanation from other game companies in the past when discussing microtransactions in $60 campaign-focused games, including from Electronic Arts with Dead Space 3, and you could even purchase 300,000 Red Orbs for $2 in Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition, but Capcom should be careful about coming across as cynical with the decision. In a skill-based action game, giving rewards to the highest payer could sully the experience for those determined to only pay the standard $60.

In addition to the standard single-player mode, it appears there will also be some form of multiplayer, though specific details on the mode remain under wraps. Given the multiple protagonists — Dante, Nero, and new character V — it seems likely they’ll all play a role, but maybe Capcom has something unexpected up its sleeve.

Devil May Cry 5 comes to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on March 8.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
This Acer gaming PC with RTX 3050 is on sale for just $700
The Acer Nitro 50 gaming PC on a white background.

You don't need to spend more than $1,000 when buying a new gaming desktop, and you can spend much lower than that if you take advantage of the discounts from gaming PC deals. Amazon has an offer for the Acer Nitro 50 that you wouldn't want to miss: $100 in savings off its original price of $800, so you'll only have to pay $700 for this machine. It won't stay at 13% off for much longer though, so you better hurry and buy the gaming desktop right now.

Why you should buy the Acer Nitro 50 gaming PC
The Acer Nitro 50 is a decent choice for playing the best PC games, as it's powered by the 14th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card, and 16GB of RAM that will be enough for most gamers, according to our guide on how to buy a gaming desktop. It's not going to challenge the performance of the top-of-the-line models of the best gaming PCs, and it may struggle to run upcoming PC games at their highest settings, but the Acer Nitro 50 is an excellent and affordable option that will let you explore the world of PC gaming.

Read more
Where to find the cartographer in Dawntrail in Avowed
An environment shot of the Dawnshore Eastern Overlands in Avowed.

After the tutorial teaches you the essential tips and tricks for playing Avowed, you will be set free in the Living Lands. Almost right away you will encounter a man named Sanza who has an important side quest for you to locate a missing cartographer. While you might be eager to complete the main story, side quests are important for unlocking new abilities and exploring the world. Unlike most side quests, however, this one only gives you a vague written description of where the cartographer is instead of a marker on your map to travel to. Even though each zone in Avowed isn't massive, there is still a lot of ground to cover when looking for a single person. Here's where you can find the cartographer in Dawntrail.
Where to find the missing cartographer

The side quest only says that the cartographer should be located near some cliffs on the east side of Dawntrail, which is quite a big place to search. The area you're looking for is called Usher's Hand and is directly east of Paradis. If you go out the eastern exit and head north, you will find it no problem.

Read more
How to respec in Avowed
A player casting an ice spell in Avowed

Avowed is a very flexible game in terms of letting you use any weapon or piece of armor you want. Having a variety of offensive options is one of the best tips and tricks we can give you, but skills are slightly different. You will be investing points into your stats, to unlock abilities, and unlock companion abilities as you earn XP and level up. These skills will completely change how your game plays both in and out of combat, but you don't have to stick with whatever direction you picked first if you end up regretting it. Here's how you can respec your character in Avowed.

Read more