The latest entry in the Devil May Cry franchise was released by Capcom last month, and by all accounts, it was a well-received title. The game is set a few years after Devil May Cry 4 which added Nero to the list of playable characters in the series. Compared to its predecessors, DmC 5 is fairly short and should take 10 to 12 hours to complete on the standard difficulty. That doesn’t make it any less deserving though, and it’s probably the most fun you can have in a dozen hours or so.
The DmC reboot, although a decent game, got a mixed response from fans, so it’s not hard to imagine why Capcom went back to the original timeline and continued the story from there. Devil May Cry 5 builds on the dual character playthrough of DmC 4 and adds a third playable character, V to the cast. Quiet, mysterious and even menacing at times, V’s personality perfectly balances Nero’s adventurous (but naive) and Dante’s immodesty personality.
Devil May Cry 5: Story
The story plays from the different perspectives of each character and at the very beginning, you’ll be thrown into the climax of the first boss fight without much of an explanation. The game then fast-forwards to a month later and continues from there with multiple scenes and missions from the past, gradually clearing the air of confusion. Out of all the games in the series, Devil May Cry 5 undoubtedly has the best writing.
Combat and Characters
The main plot is solid and the characters are very well crafted, with some old and some new faces maintaining just the right amount of familiarity in the game. Dante’s character is the same as ever- seemingly arrogant, but surprisingly mature when needed. Compared to
V, on the other hand, is the complete opposite of both Dante as well as Nero. He’s the silent sort with a peculiar character that can be pretty unsettling at times. His personality isn’t the only thing that’s vastly different. The combat aspect of V’s path is also very unorthodox. You control a pair of demons who do most of the hacking and slashing while you keep an eye on things from a distance. They can severely injure any kind of foe, but not kill them. The final execution has to be performed by V himself which ensures that you don’t get sloppy and keep mashing two buttons repeatedly.G
Nero and Dante’s basic combat is unchanged from the last entry, although the PC version feels vastly superior due to proper mouse-keyboard bindings and a third person camera that follows you without causing much grief. Dante gets a few new weapons, all quite different from the ones in the previous games while Nero gets a customizable devil trigger that he can use to shoot energy beams, timed explosives and even a weapon supercharger that makes everything go boom.
The Antagonist
There is one weak thread in the story and that is the antagonist. Despite being oh so powerful, he just sounds like your generic tentacled boss who wants to rule the world. He’s not really all that intimidating and it’s only after you find out that beating him is quite impossible in the early stages of the game that you realize that he’s the main antagonist.
Furthermore, the game starts off on a very serious note where everyone is apparently on the verge of dying, but then towards the end adopts a really causal approach with a lot of humor. I mean I get it, that always has been part of DmC, but it really breaks the immersion at times, making the starting sequence look pretty fabricated.
Soundtrack and Visuals
Coming to the soundtrack and the visuals, Devil May Cry 5 really shines in this department. It not only looks gorgeous but is also very well optimized on PC with enough settings to satisfy even the most meticulous of gamers. The soundtrack is in-line with the previous games-a mixture of fast-paced power-metal and pop. And there’s one that really stands out and became popular even before the game’s release. Casey Edward’s Devil Trigger, otherwise known as Silver-bullet and Nero’s battle theme. We interviewed Casey earlier this year and he seemed super-excited for the game’s release. You can read the transcript here.
Devil May Cry 5: 4K Screenshots
Devil May Cry 5 marks two years of continuous success for Capcom which began with Resident Evil VII and has carried on through the battles of Monster Hunter World and the zombie-infested streets of Racoon City and now finally DmC 5. The publisher is doing really well and given the recent success with all its major titles, it’ll be interesting to see what it has to offer next.
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