Capcom is back making “Devil May Cry,” as they should be. After 11 years since their last title in the series, “Devil May Cry 4,” Capcom has been on a tear to start 2019, having already released the remake for the classic “Resident Evil 2.”
The “Devil May Cry” series has been trying to get rid of the stink from its Ninja Theory-produced reboot “DmC: Devil May Cry” in 2013. Though it was critically well-scored, it received backlash from die-hard fans who didn’t like the changes made to beloved protagonist Dante and his twin brother Vergil, or several other changes to key story elements.
The hack and slasher, third-person shooter, takes its first leap into next-generation software as stylish as the combat is known for, and it’s as addictive as ever. Focusing on how you slay demons, rather than how many demons you slay, the grading system is back with plenty of weapons to keep you satisfied defeating the hordes from hell in style.
Visually impressive and running on Capcom’s RE Engine, the same one “Resident Evil 2” and “Resident Evil 7: Biohazard” used, the game looks as stunning as ever. Though some of the settings can get repetitive after a while, only so much you can do with hell I suppose, it doesn’t take away from the sheer beauty the character models and environments have.
This time around, there are three main playable characters:
Nero the protagonist of the fourth installment is back and brings his “Red Queen” sword, his trademark “Blue Rose” revolver and “Devil Bringers” (arms that have different abilities from missile-punches to sending shockwaves). He plays smooth and fast. With his “Devil Bringers,” the action stays varied and everyone is assured to have an arm they like to use the best. They do break, so be careful.
The newcomer, simply named V, brings something completely different to the series. Where Dante and Nero are about in your face combat, V takes a step back and lets his three summons do the fighting for him (Panther, Griffin and Nightmare), with V swooping in to get the killing blow. At first, his combat seems a bit boring, but with upgrades, he becomes a nice change of pace from the usual fast-paced combat.
Dante, the fan favorite star of the first three “Devil May Cry” games, is back with more weapons and guns to experiment with than ever. He has four distinct styles (“Royal Gaurd,” “Gunslinger,” “Swordmaster” and “Trickster”), that along with the combination of his weaponry give him easily the deepest combat in the game. His charm and lovability are as potent as ever and he steals the show when he appears halfway through the game.
The combat has been the selling point since the beginning of the series in 2001; that is no different in 2019 and is by far the best part of this game. That’s fine because “Devil May Cry” has never been more than a fun B-list action film and doesn’t claim to be anything more.
That being said, the story does feel weak and narratively repetitive as the first four games. Urizen is the worst main boss the series has had and sounds like he’s talking through a respirator. There are, however, some great series-altering revelations that come towards the end of the game. Overall, the story was passable but felt like it was just getting started by the time it ended.
Even on its highest difficulty, the game is easy, I beat an endgame boss while I was barely paying attention and on the phone, but you do unlock higher difficulties once you beat the story once.
Fans hungry for more “Devil May Cry” will not be satisfied by this game. With the free ‘Bloody Palace’ DLC and more speculated DLC, perhaps this game can satisfy fans until ‘Devil May Cry 6.’
Rating: 4/5 stars
Ricardo Tovar can be reached at [email protected] or @rtovarg13 on Twitter.
