Capcom, everyone in the gaming world should know who this company is due to their recent revival. Since their earliest years of development to their most recent outings, Capcom has always found a way to bring joy to the hearts of gamers. They've created many genre defining titles, from the competitive fighting series that is Street Fighter to the survival horror starter Resident Evil. But one of the most important franchises that they’ve made has to be one of the most action packed games of all time, and that game is Devil May Cry. The concept for the first Devil May Cry was originally supposed to be Resident Evil 4, as director Hideki Kamiya imagined a more tense game. You play as a badass with superhuman abilities and slice your way through hordes of monsters. The idea was rejected because it didn’t fit the terrifying themes the Resident Evil series was known for, but Capcom still saw potential in Kamiya’s idea. Kamiya then spent eleven days traveling around the United Kingdom and Spain, analyzing many gothic statues and architecture. He wanted his game to be the definition of the word “badass”, and luckily he would soon figure out what the gameplay would center around.
Capcom released a game named Onimusha: Warlords and there was an exploit in the game which allowed the player to constantly stun enemies by pressing a combination of attacks. Kamiya was inspired by this exploit and decided that his project would center around juggling enemies in the air and massacring them using stylish combos. This is what led to the development and creation of Devil May Cry. What started as a concept for Resident Evil 4 soon turned into a title that would go on to influence other hack and slash titles. Bayonetta, No More Heroes, God of War, Ninja Gaiden, all of these games wouldn’t exist without the invention of Devil May Cry. The original Devil May Cry was a massive success upon release, selling millions of copies worldwide and being declared as one of the greatest games of all time. Capcomn obviously took note of this and decided to keep their new franchise running as long as they could.
Each entry tried to improve upon what the original did and while some of the games didn’t live up to the first game, they were still considered amazing games. Well except Devil May Cry 2, but we don’t talk about that one. However after Devil May Cry 4 came out in 2008, things kinda took a sharp turn for the series. This was around the time major developers at Capcom started leaving the company and Capcom didn’t know what to do with their flagship franchises. In 2013, they released a reboot simply called DmC: Devil May Cry, developed by Ninja Theory the same guys who went on to make Senua’s Sacrifice, and fans of Devil May Cry weren’t happy with what Capcom released. They stated that the 20134 reboot shamed what the franchise worked so hard to build up, and that the series never needed to be rebooted in the first place. Ever since then, the Devil May Cry series hasn’t seen another major entry and much like Capcom’s other franchises at the time most fans assumed Devil May Cry was dead.
However after reviving the Resident Evil series in 2017 with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, a game that stuck to the root of the original games, Capcom saw potential in the work they could do. They thought about bringing a majority of their acclaimed titles back to glory and by god that is what they did. In 2018 they released Monster Hunter World and Mega Man 11, which were two highly acclaimed games, and later at Gamescom 2018 they announced Devil May Cry 5 which was scheduled to be released in 2019. Fans were hyped when Devil May Cry 5 was announced. Not only was Capcom making an amazing comeback, but they decided to bring Devil May Cry 5 back to what the series was known for. The story, characters, world, high octane combat, and everything the fans remembered from the first four games was back and better than ever.
Eventually in 2019, Capcom finally released Devil May Cry 5 and people were amazed with what they got. Many fans stated that Devil May Cry 5 lived up to the hype it built up and quickly became one of the best entries in the series. Some critics declared Devil May Cry 5 not only as one of the biggest returns of an iconic franchise, but also one of the best modern action games to come out in years. Proving that this style of gameplay and combat still worked to today's standards. I recently just played through the game for the first time and I have to say Devil May Cry 5 deserves all the praise that it gets. It’s possibly one of the best hack and slash action games I have ever played, and it’s one of my favorite titles so far this year. So today we’ll be talking about why I think Devil May Cry 5 is so badass and why it deserves your attention. So tear down the towers, fire up the flames, don't’ stop and show your style!
Story
After accepting a strange mission that was assigned to them by a depressed looking man named V, Dante and his friends Lady & Triss make their way to a mysterious tree located in the middle of Red Grave City. Nobody knows where the tree came from and why it’s growing towards the sky, but Dante is informed that strange demonical activities are happening within the tree and if he doesn't stop whatever is inside the tree then demons will appear all over Red Grave City and wreak havoc. Seeing how Dante is a skilled devil hunter that has defeated many demonical forces in the past, he thinks that the job will be a cakewalk and rushes right in without further questioning.
This is when things get out of hand and another one of Dante’s friends, Nero, rushes in to help out. In the previous game, Nero and Dante viewed each other as enemies, but overtime they began to trust one another and together became legendary demon hunters. Nero is accompanied by the mysterious stranger I mentioned earlier named V, who informs him that the demon Dante is facing off against is named Urizen, the same demon who is somewhat involved with the decapitation and stealing of Nero’s demon arm moments earlier. Nero soon arrives at the scene where he meets Urizen face to face, and sees Dante and his friends easily defeated by his hand. Nero tries to fight Urizen, but he realizes he isn’t powerful enough and gets knocked out during battle.
Before Urizen blasts Nero into a crisp, Dante turns himself into a demon thanks to his half demon abilities and tells V and Nero to run away before things get worse. Nero and V escape the gigantic tree alive, Dante loses against Urizen, and demonic roots spread throughout the city killing everyone within its reach. Several weeks have past and the once populated Red Grave City is now deserted and overrun by demons. Nero returns to the city now traveling alongside his friend Nico, who has received a call from V who states that there is a way to defeat Urizen before he can take over the world. Nero, wanting revenge against Urizen, fits himself with a new rocket arm developed by Nico, the Devil Breaker, and prepares to fight back against the demonic horde alongside his new companion V. Over the course of the high thrill ride adventure we’ll learn many things. The responsibilities that Nero has to handle, where V really came from, and what happened to Dante weeks ago. He’s alive. I’m spoiling it for you because it’s obvious for anyone who has been following this franchise for a longtime and know the many swords Dante got stabbed in the chest by. You saw the box art for the game. You’ve seen the trailers. He is the main character! You know he’s alive!
Gameplay
Much like previous entries in the series, Devil May Cry 5 focuses on dispatching huge groups of enemies using stylish skills and a wide variety of attacks to perform frenetic combos. There are three characters to play as throughout the game each with their own moves, weapons, and playstyles. Nero fights up close using a sword that he can rev up to do extra damage and he can grapple towards enemies using his Devil Breaker. You can unlock several types of Devil breakers throughout the game each with their own unique firing properties. You can burst out lightning, fire off a rocket arm to ride around on, and even shake the ground by slamming into it. You can only have a specific number of Devil Breakers equipped at a time and once you fire them all you can’t use your grapple abilities unless you pick up some more.
V fights off enemies from a distance using his array of demonic pets. Shadow is a panther who can shred enemies up close, Griffon is an eagle who can attack enemies above and afar using waves of lightning, and Nightmare is a colossal being that can be summoned to shoot explosive lasers which cover the entire screen. V doesn't have many attacks himself, but if his pets can weaken any enemy enough then V can quickly zoom in to perform a finisher. Just be wary that if V’s pets take too much damage they’ll retreat into an orb state and will be unavailable to use for a short amount of time. This leave V defenless and vulnerable to all sorts of attacks.
Finally there is Dante, who has the widest arsenal of tools among the entire cast. He has four melee weapons and four ranged weapons, meaning you can get really creative. He has a sword, dual pistols, a shotgun, gauntlets, a split motorcycle chainsaw, a hat that shoots red hot crystals rapidly, swinging nunchucks that can quickly turn into a staff, and a rocket launcher to blow enemies apart. You can even dual wield rocket launchers late into the game if you so happen to find the second one. Besides Dante’s wide range of close up weapons and guns, he has the ability to transform into a demon form which allows him to do mass amounts of damage for a short amount of time. There is also another form you unlock midway through the story, which is basically an even stronger demon form with overpowered attacks but they consume more of the energy which is needed to stay in demon mode. Only activate if necessary.
You will encounter many enemies throughout the game, most of them getting tougher the deeper you get into the game. You’ll have to react fast and dodge quickly if you want to beat them. There are small grounded bugs, flying bugs who may swoop in or spit acid, giant bugs who tank hits and can slam you into the ground, ghosts with giant scissors and will take multiple hits to break their defense, and much more. You are ranked for how well you perform during combat. The faster you dispatch enemies and maintain a chain of combos the higher the rank gets. Your rank does go down if you take damage or go a certain amount of time without attacking, so the game encourages the player to fight aggressively for a higher score. Why would the player want a higher score when it’s nothing but a letter grade. The higher your score the more red orbs you earn by the end of combat or chapters, which are an important resource.
Red orbs can be spent with Nico or upgrade statues to unlock new skills and abilities for characters. These skills can open up new attack combos for characters. increasing the amount of variety combat has. Red orbs can also be acquired by exploring each level and breaking objects that may contain clumps of red orbs. You may encounter gold orbs which can revive you during combat, or fragments to upgrades that will either increase your maximum health or devil breaker meter. If you fall during combat you have the opportunity to use the gold orbs I mentioned earlier. If not you can spend red orbs to revive yourself. Spending a higher amount of red orbs to revive yourself will give you more health and a higher refill of your devil breaker meter. Die again and you can revive yourself once more, but it will require a higher amount of red orbs. If you choose to quit you are forced back to a previous checkpoint, but you have to repeat the fight from stage one. You either pay the fee or get better with your tricks. Besides that there is nothing else I can say about Devil May Cry 5. It is extremely satisfying to play with easy to learn combat and controls, but hard to master and obtain high grade levels. Hopefully you can defeat Urizen, uncover the three truths, and rid the world of demons. Three times the power and three times the pain. Don’t stop and show your style!
Thoughts
Devil May Cry 5 is is another epic comeback of one of Capcom's most well acclaimed properties besides Monster Hunter World and Resident Evil 7. It has everything you'd want from a third person hack and slash action adventure. A diverse set of moves and weapons that allow the player to get creative with how they get through each combat scenario. Rewarding players for getting stylish and cutting down foes as quick as they can to reap the most rewards. A wide range of enemies and bosses that'll test the players skills and reflexes. A kickass soundtrack that keeps the player’s blood pumping as they rip and tear their way through waves of demons. Plus a story that pays respect to the games that came before it. I will admit that I would have had more appreciation for the plot if I had played previous entries. The story here is best for those who have been keeping up with the plot, so imagine how confused I was when they tried making references to previous characters or past significant features. It can also get cringy at times and some of the dialogue is pretty stupid. However, this is a Devil May Cry game and none of this should probably be taken seriously. All the characters are packed with personality and excitement to keep you playing till you roll end credits. They're likable enough, but V's story feels a bit rushed and his importance to the plat feels crammed in so they bring back a significant character from the past. I also don't really know why Trish and Lady are here. It feels like they could have been removed and nothing would be lost. Again, this is a good story I would have liked more if I was a DMC fanboy.
Devil May Cry 5 doesn't have the best environments I've seen in a video game. Nothing really stood out besides a few set pieces lying in the distance and I kind of hated it's color palette, but the visuals are stunning and there's some cool monster designs. This is one of the better looking games Capcom has made recently. The game only lasts a few hours, but it is highly replayable. It was made with replayability in mind. Once you beat the game on Devil Hunter mode you unlock Son of Sparda mode, and once you beat it on Son of Sparda mode it goes on and on and on until you reach Hell & Hell. You keep all the abilities you unlocked on previous playthroughs, stronger enemies appear earlier in the game, group encounters will be in larger numbers, and enemies will do more damage. Player skill expectancy is high on future runs, because they hope you got really good by the end of your last playthrough. Normal is basically practice mode. A warm up of what is to come, because the real action kicks on harder difficulties. You'll be dodging all around. Avoiding flurries of attacks and using overpowered combos to trivialize combat. Jugglign foes about and not even giving them a chance. Reaching that level of performance is tough, but I respect games that reward player mastery.
I do have a couple more complaints with the game. V is the character that takes some time to get used to, because his playstyle focuses on defense and distanced fighting rather than close ranged aggressiveness. The final boss who I'm not gonna spoil throws a massive difficulty curve at the player, and is unlike any of the other enemies and bosses you've been facing thus far. In fact, I think the game does a terrible job preparing you for them. If you're me who finds remembering the different combos confusing then you're probably going to stick to the most basic moves you have. I wish there was a little more to do inbetween combat challenges. You basically run through long hallways, but some platforming challenges or puzzles would have been nice. My biggest problem with Devil May Cry 5 though ties back to the difficulty settings I mentioned earlier. I like how combat scenarios change whenever you transition to higher difficulties, but hate how the game starts you off with the two lowest difficulty settings. It’s fine if you are new to the series like me, but imagine veterans who are used to Devil May Cry by now and want to start immediately on the higher difficulties. Forced to start off small.
Overall Devil May Cry 5 is a banger of a video game and I can recommend it to anyone trying to or want to get into the series. It’s one of the most accessible entries to date and forgiving Devil May Cry games with tight controls, fluid combat, and a high amount of replay value. In the end I am giving Devil May Cry 5 an 8.5/10 for being pretty good.
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