DmC: Devil May Cry, the 2013 reboot of the Devil May Cry franchise, gets too much flak. It rocks (I played through the “definitive edition” recently and yep, it still rocks). It was a natural evolution of the core ideas of the series. Gone were the bad camera and platforming. Nearly everything got an overhaul, including the main man himself, Dante, and therein lies the direction that most of the complaints about the game were aimed in. How DARE Dante have black hair and be hot, or something.
The game, developed by Ninja Theory, failed to meet Capcom’s sales expectations (as does almost any game developed or published by Capcom). Capcom took the somewhat vocal negativity to heart and decided to go back to the roots of Devil May Cry. DmC became an “alternate universe” and Devil May Cry 5 was born. It’s a direct sequel to the first four games and, give or take a few things, is very much like them.
Dante, older and cockier, is back. Nero is back, sporting a new haircut and not sporting his right arm. Lady and Trish are more or less present. The wonky camera is back and, while not as bad as it was before, still pretty wonky. The bad platforming is back and as bad as ever (but thankfully sparse). Capcom has catered to the “true fans”, the “real gamers”. Here is some fan service for the stalwart defenders of bona fide gaming.
Additions include two new characters, V, a mysterious man whom I’ll admit I’m attracted to a lot, and Nico, a driver and craftswoman who is unfortunately reminiscent of Cindy from Final Fantasy XV. Nero now uses various cybernetic prosthetic arm weapons called Devil Breakers (that were created by Nico) because of what’s revealed to have happened to the Devil Bringer (the demon arm thingie he had in Devil May Cry 4). It should come as no surprise that there are new weapons and abilities available. It’s even the best-looking Devil May Cry game to date, as it is the newest, believe it or not! Though I’m not a stickler for graphics, the visuals and motion capture work during the cutscenes did often impress me.
I was not impressed, however, by the plot. It starts off interesting enough by introducing a new villain named Urizen, a giant demon who sits on a throne with his head propped lackadaisically on his hand and easily fights off his opponents by simply pointing a finger at them. Then, almost immediately afterwards, I knew exactly where the story was going and it goes directly there. The reveal of who a certain character REALLY is is the most obvious of all obvious things ever. Anyone who has followed the basic premise of Devil May Cry for any length of time will be the polar opposite of shocked by any of the events that take place.
I also know the overall plot of Devil May Cry has always been silly and doesn’t really matter. What matters is the action. It’s the lifeblood of the games and what makes or breaks them. Devil May Cry 5 is an awesome action game. It’s pure kineticism, packed with so much energy and spectacle. It’s simply a blast. Based solely on the gameplay it offers, it wipes away nearly all the competition.
I was able to overlook all my disappointments, or at least push them to the back of my mind, because I was so caught up in the joyous combat. The environments are often drab, but who cares about that when you’re popping a wheelie on a demon’s face with a motorcycle that turns into chainsaws? Nero’s Devil Breakers are annoying to manage, but it doesn’t really matter when you’re in the middle of a beautiful flurry of destruction. V, my favorite character to play with, doesn’t even engage in fights at all, but his demonic bird, panther, and…demon do, and it’s amazing. I love barraging enemies with lightning, tentacles, and brute force power without even physically touching them except to give them a little poke with V’s cane when they’re near death. Did I mention I’m attracted to V?
Sure, Capcom went back to the well again in an attempt to get a better user score on Metacritic or whatever, but they also put genuine effort into making Devil May Cry 5 as much of a delight to play as possible. The passion shows. I could feel it level by level, chapter by chapter, and it was refreshing. Some elements of the Devil May Cry formula need refinement, but Capcom has nailed the main thing. The action is electrifying.
I wouldn’t have minded much if DmC became its own thing, but Capcom has succeeded in recapturing what made these games the impressive bombastic extravaganzas they were in the first place. Devil May Cry 5 is a terrific action game, filled with so many fantastic battles and setpieces, and while I was playing it I was reminded of playing the original (the first PlayStation 2 game I ever played) and I really, really love nostalgia sometimes. I don’t believe it should dictate where things wind up and it can be a dangerous barrier that discourages necessary risk-taking, but it can prove to be useful still. Devil May Cry 5 utilizes nostalgia, but gives it a shiny coat of paint so that it looks brand spanking new. Video games needed something like this again.
