So, what’s say we end this party. After DMC wound up failing to reach the new audience Capcom wanted, it was obvious to anyone that the reboot wasn’t going to last. But the real question was whether it would take the series down with it.
The entire point of the reboot was to reinvigorate the series. if the reboot failed, which it did, would Capcom really go back to the original series? or simply abandon it entirely?
No one knew for sure. It’s rare for a series to ever go back to its original incarnation after it’s rebooted. Normally it moves on to a new reboot or just dies unceremoniously. Outside of an occasional cameo or throwback the original series is usually left in the past.
But there are occasions where they do go back to the original after a failed relaunch. Probably the best example is with Ghostbusters, which had a failed reboot in 2016 that was such a massive sh*t show they went and made a sequel to the first two movies and have since tried to ignore the reboot existed to begin with.
And another such example was with Devil May Cry. See, while DMC wasn’t the hit Capcom wanted, it still sold decently well, around 2 million units. This was a similar sales figure that Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition got, though that game released very closely to the release of DMC Special Edition which sold noticeably less.
Basically, the sales showed that there was still an interest in Devil May Cry. It just wasn’t for the reboot. Hideaki Itsuno, the man behind the series since Devil May Cry 2, had also expressed interest in returning to the series with a fifth entry. And if you’re wondering where Itsuno was during the DMC debacle, he was working on Dragon’s Dogma at the time.
With that game now being wrapped up, and Itsuno not having anything better to do, it was decided to go ahead and return to the original series with Devil May Cry 5. Bringing back all the original characters, cast and crew.
Itsuno’s wanted to make this the ultimate Devil May Cry experience. Taking all of what fans loved from previous entries, improving on the flaws, and hopefully find the mass appeal Capcom desperately wanted out of the series.
The game was announced in E3 2018 during the Microsoft showcase, and I remember it distinctly because the hype was insane. People were very excited for this one. Not just the old fans, but younger ones just being introduced to the series for the first time.
I think the reason was that, by that point, Devil May Cry had gained a reputation for being this legendarily good action game. It isn’t hard to find video essays and reviews exonerating the games and all they accomplished. I can imagine a lot of younger gamers saw the newest entry as an opportunity to jump in and see what the fuss was about.
It also probably helped that hack and slash games like Devil May Cry had become increasingly popular over the years since Devil May Cry 4. The Bayonetta games being an obvious example, but you also had Metal Gear Rising Revengeance and its incredible memes, and the God of War series.
So, there was a lot of hype going into Devil May Cry 5. It was set up to be the biggest game in the series yet, and boy oh boy did it ever succeed at that. Devil May Cry 5 wasn’t just a return to form for the series, it was the most spectacular comeback for a gaming series since Resident Evil 7. Another Capcom property funnily enough.
Critics and fans loved it. with many calling it the best game in the series. In fact, in a recent fan poll held by Capcom, Devil May Cry 5 was voted the best Capcom game ever made. Granted fan polls aren’t an entirely trustworthy metric. But even if we factor in things like recency bias or such, the fact that it ranked so highly speaks volumes of its quality.
People love Devil May Cry 5, and after playing it, yeah, I can see why. This is one of the best action games I’ve ever played and certainly the best Devil May Cry game. At least, for the gameplay. Everything around the gameplay though, that’s a bit more mixed.
And I might as well get the weakest part of the game out of the way, the story isn’t very good. I know that Devil May Cry isn’t a series known for its narrative. The plot is simply there to facilitate the action and it’s more focused on having cool characters do cool things.
In that case, Devil May Cry 5 succeeds with flying colours. It has all the over the top, stylish action set pieces you would expect from the series, and it has a cast of characters that are easy to root for.
Dante and Nero return and they’re as cool as ever. Dante is the same lovable goofball we all know and love, and Nero is the same angsty, rebellious punk with a heart of gold trying to prove himself.
I liked them both a lot in the last game and I like them here too. I know technically they weren’t in the last game since that was the reboot, but I’m going to do what everyone else does and forget that existed, at least for this review. Get it, got it, good.
I do think Dante comes across a lot better here than in 4. He has a larger presence in the story, and he feels a lot more grizzled while keeping his devil may care, laidback attitude. He feels like an older more mature character but doesn’t lose his core. I like that.
There’s also a brand-new main character with V. He’s got a bit of a goth poet thing going on with him which is different at least, but he’s only here to serve another character I’ll get to later.
I also like the other new character Nico. She serves as the crew’s gun smith and has a southern sass to her that leads to some fun exchanges. She’s even related to the woman that made Dante’s guns.
Which leads me to one of the more interesting aspects of Devil May Cry 5’s story. Devil May Cry, like a lot of game franchises, has media outside the games. There’s an anime series, some manga and a couple of light novels.
Well Devil May Cry 5 incorporates characters from those other media into this game. There’s even some lore you can unlock that references them. Effectively making all of it canon to the games.
This is something I’ve noticed with a lot of franchises recently. Trying to make any and all media in that franchise canon. Sega are doing something similar to Sonic. And like with Sega’s efforts, Devil May Cry’s attempts are a mixed bag.
For one thing they race swapped one of the characters. Morrison is one of the characters from the anime, and there he was a white guy, but here he’s a black guy. There’s nothing in game to explain this, so I guess the events of the anime are canon but happened differently in the game? It’s a little confusing.
But this isn’t a huge deal, mainly because a lot of this isn’t important. It doesn’t tie into the main story in any significant way with most of it being little more than a brief callback. It’s just fan service really.
Aside from that though, there really isn’t a lot going on the story. The main plot has a giant demon tree called the Qlipoth sprout in the middle of a city. This is caused by a new demon named Urizen, who wants to use the tree to create a fruit that will let him rule the demon world.
Dante is hired by V to stop this while Nero joins in because Urizen sliced off Nero’s Devil Breaker arm and stole the Yamato, so he wants revenge. Although he isn’t the only one specifically going after Urizen. Both Dante and V are after him because he’s connected with someone they both know.
That someone is Vergil. Trust me this is not a spoiler; the game tries to make it a mystery but if you know anything about this series you can tell it’s him almost right away. I think the game is aware of this too because they reveal what’s going on about halfway through.
Vergil survived the events of Devil May Cry 1 and tracked down Nero to take the Yamato back. He then used the Yamato to split his demon and human halves apart, the demon half being Urizen and the human half being V. V hires Dante to stop Urizen both to atone for his actions, and to allow him to fuse back with Urizen since he’s dying.
You may have some questions about this. How did Vergil survive Devil May Cry 1? Why did it take him so long to get Yamato back? especially given he was in a near death state and needed Yamato to live. How did he know Yamato could split his human and demon sides? All good questions that never get answered.
Devil May Cry 5 doesn’t explain things, at all. Things just seem to happen at the will of the plot. Sometimes it’s funny, like how Nico can just drive her van anywhere they need to, even through the ground, but other times it feels like the game is rushing to a desired result without properly setting things up.
I don’t like using this word, but it feels lazy. There’s no cause and effect here. If the writers want something to happen it will regardless of whether it makes sense or not. Contrived is the word of the day here.
The main issue with the story though is that there’s just not enough substance. It’s got a lot of fun moments, but there’s no emotional core tying everything together to make you care. Well, sort of.
There is an attempt to do something with Vergil. Revealing his lust for power largely comes from Vergil feeling his mother abandoned him as a child. This helps make him a more fleshed out character, and his rivalry with Dante is explained a lot better here. They finally made me buy these guys as brothers and rivals, which I never got in the previous games.
Nero’s background is also expanded upon. This is the game that revealed Nero is Vergil’s son, which explains why he had demonic power, and Dante’s interest in him. This could have been an interesting wrinkle to the story, if they bothered to do anything with it.
The pieces are there for some interesting family drama, but it rushes through it all without having a moment to let the characters talk about any of it. Really reflect on the events and revelations transpiring.
Granted Devil May Cry isn’t one for quiet moments. It’s too boisterous for that, but if that’s the case, why even attempt the family drama at all. That kind of story requires slower moments where the characters talk things out. Things that are antithetical to the righteous roller coaster Devil May Cry wants to be.
It’s funny, I look back on this series and I realise the only story I liked was 3’s. That was the only one where I got emotionally invested in what was going on. Which makes me ask, why?
Why was 3 the only game whose story resonated with me. It’s not like that game didn’t suffer problems the other games had, it did, but it worked so much better. I thought about it for a bit and realised the answer.
The reason why Devil May Cry 3’s story worked is because it had a core theme. The whole game’s narrative had a thematic through line of familial bonds. It was all about family and how the connections between them can ultimately fall apart, either through tragedy or through abuse.
It wasn’t especially deep or anything, but it was there and ran through the entire game. Every character and major event were tied into this theme. Which made it easy to get invested in the story.
5 doesn’t really do that though. There isn’t a core theme to tie everything together. I think the game is trying to be about legacy, since the game ends with passing the torch to Nero proper, but it isn’t a theme that resonates through the whole game. It only really comes up at the end.
Which is another issue. The story doesn’t get interesting until the very tail end of the adventure, and by that point it’s too late to do much of anything with it. No wonder it all feels rushed; it waffles about so much that by the time it gets to the important stuff it has to speedrun it.
Alright look, if all you want out of a Devil May Cry story is fun action and cool moments you will get exactly that. And maybe that’s all it needs to be, but after 5 games I want at least a little substance out of the narrative. Just something to get invested in. As is, I just don’t care anymore.
But, as per usual, the story is at least presented well. The cutscenes are all very well done and the voice acting, and motion capture work is top notch. The series has always done well in these regards, well except for the first game…
Couldn’t resist. Anyway, since we’re on the subject of the presentation, let’s talk about it. Audio wise it’s great. The voice acting, as I said, is top notch. Most of the actors from previous games returned and they do a great job as always.
Rueben Langdon is always awesome as Dante, and Johnny Yong Bosch does a better job as Nero here. Not that he was bad before, but 5 gives him a better opportunity to show his range as a voice actor. And Daniel Southworth is still as cool and menacing as ever as Vergil.
The other actors do a great job too. Brian Hanford plays V and he plays his melancholic poetic side well, while also properly portraying the weakening state of the character. Lady and Trish also got new voice actors in Kate Higgins and Wendee Lee respectfully and they do a good job.
Both are veteran voice actors with tons of roles, and there experience shows here as both did a great job. I should note that Higgins was actually brought in to re-record Lady’s dialogue in the special edition of 4, replacing her original actor Kari Wahlgren. Not entirely sure why though.
Finally there’s Faye Kingslee as Nico. I haven’t heard of her, and she doesn’t have many credits I could find, but she isn’t bad at all. Though her southern accent can be a little too over the top. It sounds fine for the most part, but there are places where it almost becomes a caricature of a southern accent. Like a less goofy Foghorn Leghorn.
Then there’s the music. Straight up, it’s the best in the series. This soundtrack absolutely slaps, from the battle themes, to even the menu music. It’s all great stuff, with the highlight for me being Pull My Devil Trigger, Nero’s battle theme. Hands down my favourite battle track in the series, well except for one but I’ll cover that later.
There’s a lot of fantastic music to pick from here with a variety of different genres. There’s a little pop punk, death metal, industrial, power metal, ok a lot of it is rock or metal themed but I love those genres, so it works for me. There’s a reason a lot of the music here became memes shortly after it came out.
As for the visuals, I’m a bit more torn on it. If we’re talking pure graphical fidelity, this is one of the best-looking games I’ve ever played. It was made using the RE Engine, which is the same engine Capcom uses for the new Resident Evil games, as if the name didn’t make that obvious.
The engine is a powerful bit of kit. The amount of detail it’s able to render is impressive, and Devil May Cry 5 takes full advantage of it. This is one of the most richly detailed games I’ve seen. From the environments to the character models, it all looks borderline photo realistic.
This is most noticeable on the characters. They were all modelled on different actors and if you look up images of them, they’re almost one to one with their model basis. It’s some uncanny valley level sh*t.
Thankfully, they still look recognisable even with the new face models. Dante still looks like Dante, Nero still looks like Nero, etc, etc. The character designs are a little different but are still in line with characters original look.
Nero had the biggest change, going for a predominately blue colour scheme over the red he had before, but I think it works better for him. Helps make him feel less like a Dante wannabe and ties in with his connection to Vergil. It’s a much better design.
It’s in the environments where I think the visuals come up short. The game takes place in two main locations, a destroyed city, and the Qliphoth tree itself.
The levels in the Qliphoth are the best looking in the game. They have a lot of twisted, plant like but still clearly demonic architecture, and there are some levels in the late game that are very visually striking.
The city levels aren’t nearly as interesting. There are still some cool settings, but a lot of it is standard ruined cityscapes you’ve seen in a bunch of other games. I do like how the city has a clear European design to it, not looking like a particular country but having a mix of design ethos from various countries on the continent. Makes it feel more unique.
But the big sticking point for me was the lack of colour. The game has a very muted colour palette which makes a lot of them blend together.
While I enjoy the Qlipoth levels the best visually, they’re also the most visually repetitive. I wish these levels each had a more distinct colour pallet. Would make the environments pop a bit more.
Then again, maybe that was the idea. To make the levels not stand out as much so that you more easily focus on the enemies. I guess that makes some sense, and the enemies do have bright colours in at least some of their designs to make them stand out. I didn’t have an issue spotting them.
But I never had that issue in the other Devil May Cry games either. Even with 4 and that was way more colourful. Even in similar action games like Bayonetta 2 where it’s significantly more colourful and has way more intense visual set pieces, I never had an issue tracking the enemies.
So, I think it was all an aesthetic choice. The game clearly wants to invoke an apocalyptic feel, since the whole story is about stopping the end of the world. Which is fine, but it comes at a cost of the series traditional style. A lot of the gothic horror overtones are noticeably toned down this time. It is still there it’s just not as pronounced this time.
I can’t say the game looks bad. Not at all. The level of detail is unmatched, and the animations and facial capture is some of the best I’ve seen, and it isn’t like the game is lacking in style either. The character designs are great, and the cutscenes have the same over-the-top fight choreography you’d expect.
And the enemies are great. They have creative and inspired designs, though yu miss out on a lot of the finer details during gameplay. Take some time to look at the enemy gallery, really makes you appreciate how creepy a lot of them look.
The game is visually fantastic, I just wish it had a bit more colour and leaned into the classic gothic horror look a bit more. But that’s just my own personal preference. Really there isn’t a lot the game gets wrong graphically. It knows the style it wants and how to get the most out of it, and I can respect that at the very least.
But alright, let’s finally get into the meat of things and talk about the gameplay. Because this is where Devil May Cry 5 truly comes alive.
And the best thing about it is that it does so by, largely staying the same. Rather than try to reinvent the formula and shake things up, Devil May Cry 5 sticks to its guns and provides the same action gameplay you should be used to by now.
In short, that same deep, rewarding to learn but difficult to master combat is here in all its glory. The move set, ranking system, control and overall structure are exactly as you remember them. Which makes sense considering the intent was for this to be a return to form for the series.
So, I don’t really have much to say about the basics of combat that I haven’t said before. That feeling of styling all over enemies is still here and just as satisfying as ever. Basically, if you played the previous games, you could jump straight into Devil May Cry 5 and not skip a beat.
That isn’t to say there haven’t been any changes. There have been plenty of tweaks and adjustments to make this feel very much like its own thing, without radically changing the games fundamentals.
First, let’s talk about the level design. This was my major critique of Devil May Cry 4, the level design there was so tedious, repetitive, and drawn out that it sucked the life out of the experience.
Well, I’m happy to report that isn’t the case here. The level design in Devil May Cry5 is perfectly fine. It’s nothing great, it’s lacking in a lot of memorable set pieces and some of the boss arenas are a little too big for their own good, but for what it is it’s serviceable and shows a marked improvement of what came before.
Devil May Cry 5’s levels are far more linear. There is very little backtracking required for progression. Whereas older games would have you look around to find an item/upgrade needed to progress, this game doesn’t. You get all the traversal skills you need early on and the levels are just about getting to the end.
4 attempted to do this too, but still kept a lot of the old design. It was a half-measure that didn’t really compliment either style. 5 fixes this by just going all in on the linearity. It picks it’s lane and it sticks to it.
Though despite the increased linearity, levels still have alternate paths and secret area’s to uncover. Often containing goodies or maybe an entrance to a Secret Mission. Which are now hidden via pentagrams that can only be seen via special glowing spots.
You’ll need to really pay attention to find these as they can be pretty well hidden. Admittedly I did need a guide for some because it wasn’t entirely clear on how to unlock the path to reach them. Or I could just be an idiot, that’s a very high possibility.
On the flip side, the Secret Missions themselves are a lot easier this time. Some were certainly a little tougher than others, but even the more difficult ones I was able to finish in a couple of tries. They no longer require specific abilities to complete, but some skills will make them easier.
They aren’t nearly as hard as the one’s in previous games. Best part is you don’t need to replay the level if you want to go back and complete one you couldn’t earlier. Once you’ve found them you can replay them from the main menu. Much more convenient.
Not that I mind replaying these levels. Most of the fluff that made going through the levels in 4 such a chore have been removed and they fly by at a brisk pace. Even the longer levels never outstay their welcome.
And by fluff, I mean the platforming and puzzle solving. Both have been effectively excised. For all intents and purposes, they’ve gone all in on the action.
Well sort of. There are still some mild platforming sections, including one particularly creative that involves rocket skating. Remember that cutscene in 3 where Dante rode the missile? It’s like a playable version of that, though it doesn’t involve Dante. I’ll explain later.
It’s not great sequence. It’s very awkward to do properly, to the point where it’s better to cheese it with a workaround. But it is more interesting than a lot of the other platforming challenges we’ve seen. At least for the original series, I still think DMC had the better platforming.
The puzzles though, they’re gone. Besides finding keys or things to break there’s zero real puzzles in this. Which I’m ok with. The puzzles in the older games always felt tacked on to begin with, Devil May Cry is better when it focuses on pure action. I’m glad they finally embraced that.
Looking at these changes, there is something I find interesting. Way back at the beginning of this retrospective, I mentioned that Devil May Cry started out as a version of Resident Evil 4 but was changed to be an original IP due to how different it became.
Despite the change it was still obvious that it started as a Resident Evil game. Not just due to the horror elements, but also the use of the fixed camera angles, having singular locations that you had to explore and backtrack through, and having puzzles to solve. All of which are synonymous with Resident Evil or at least were in the case of the fixed camera angles.
These have always been a part of the series. In a way it’s always had a tiny bit of that original Resident Evil DNA in it. So Devil May Cry 5 removing them is like it’s purging the last vestiges of RE from itself.
Even the fixed camera angles have been axed. Taking a cue from DMC, hey something good came from that after all, Devil May Cry 5 now has a fully controllable camera. I guess Devil May Cry 5 is where they took the RE out of DMC. And yet it’s still being built on Resident Evil’s engine, it just can’t escape from it.
As for the camera, it works well. It’s not perfect, it can be easy to lose track of things during the more chaotic battles, and while the lock on does help it can be hard to be precise with it when there’s a ton of enemies surrounding you.
Still, it works more than it doesn’t, and I prefer having complete control all the time rather than the sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t approach that 4 took. I still prefer fixed camera angles for action games like this, but I have found there is a benefit to having full camera control. Like being able to hide secrets in more interesting locations.
Devil May Cry 5 has a much larger emphasis on exploration, with much of the downtime between combat being looking for Red Orb stashes, Secret Missions, or blue and purple orb fragments to boost your health and Devil Trigger meter respectively.
You’ll want those last ones too, especially since there are no healing items in this game. The item system has been removed entirely. Instead, levels are filled with green orbs that will heal you up, again putting a larger emphasis on exploring the levels.
You can’t just stock up on healing items and plough through enemies anymore. Instead, you can stock up on Golden Orbs and plough through everything. These are replacements for the Yellow Orbs in past games and act as continues.
These are everywhere too. I had over 20 of the things by the end of the game and that was without buying any in the shop. Which the game limits how many you can purchase at a given time in a vain attempt to limit you.
Suffice to say, finishing Devil May Cry 5 is not hard. You’ll have plenty of resources to get you through the game, but the real challenge in these games has always been getting a high rank.
Which does get affected if you continue. So, if you just want to chill and have fun you can abuse the Gold Orbs, but if you want to go for the high ranks, you’ll still need to get good at the game to finish the missions without dying.
The game still provides a decent challenge, but if you just want to enjoy the combat casually you can do that two. It satisfies both camps well without giving something up for either.
But let’s talk about the shop for a second. Since healing items are no longer a thing you obviously won’t be able to buy any. Instead, you’ll be spending everything on permanent upgrades like boosts to your health and Devil Trigger or new combat skills.
There’s only one consumable item you can buy, but I’ll get to that later. Because the shop has been streamlined so much there’s no need to have multiple currencies, so Proud Souls are gone with everything now purchased through Red Orbs. Which is for the better.
Having two currencies worked fine in DMC4 because it incentivised you to get the high rankings. It was the only way to get the Proud Souls you needed. But since Devil May Cry 5 puts a bigger emphasis on exploring the levels, having Red Orbs be the only currency makes it more rewarding when you find a huge stash of them.
But you do still get a Red Orb bonus at the end of a level. With higher rankings having larger pay outs. So, the game still rewards you for getting good at the combat. Meaning whether you want to explore the levels, or go for the higher rankings, you should have plenty of orbs to get what you want.
On top of that, the skills are now sold at fixed rate. They no longer increase when you buy other skills which makes it much, much easier to get everything. You’ll still need to get a lot of Orbs because a lot of this isn’t cheap, but you no longer need to grind like a mad man for them all like you had to in 4. It’s a much better system overall.
Alright, I’ve talked about everything else, let’s finally dive into the combat. While there isn’t much more I can talk about I haven’t already, there is still one thing I can go over, the playable characters.
Like Devil May Cry 4, we have multiple playable characters to pick from. Three in this case as opposed to the two we had previously, not counting alternate campaigns of course. Thankfully this is handled much better than it was in 4. You don’t spend half the game as one character then switch to the other one, you swap between the characters fairly regularly.
This helps add variety to the proceedings, and means the pacing is much, much better. There are still stretches where you play as a character for a little longer, but this usually lasts maybe three to four levels before you play as someone else.
It’s balanced in a way where you never play one character too long before playing as another. And in keeping with the improved level design, none of the characters repeat any levels. They all have their own unique levels, with only two of the twenty levels featuring multiple characters to play as, though you thankfully only need to play these once.
In short, it’s everything 4 should have been. But what of the characters themselves. Well as I said we have three to go over, Dante, Nero and the newcomer V. I’ll cover Dante first because he’s more or less the same as he was before.
He still has the four styles and multiple different weapons to pick from. The styles are the same as they were before, you have Trickster to dodge attacks, Royal Guard to block and counter attacks, Sword Master to get the most out of your Devil Arms, and Gunslinger for getting the most out of your guns.
Like always I mainly stuck with Sword Master, but I did try out more of the other styles this time. Trickster was great for dodging attacks. It’s a good one to use for beginners learning the enemy attacks.
I found Royal Guard to be very useful in certain boss fights. The whole gimmick is blocking attacks and building up power, then releasing that power in a big attack that does a lot of damage. The timing for this is tricky, but the damage you get out of it makes it worth learning.
The only style I didn’t get much use out of was Gunslinger. I liked the spinning move you get with the pistols in the air, but that’s about it. I always used guns to compliment my damage not as a main source, so focusing on them didn’t fit my style. I’m sure there are others who can get more out of it, but it wasn’t for me.
As for his weapons, Dante has eight. Four guns, and four Devil Arms. Thankfully, unlike in Devil May Cry 4, you don’t have to have them all equipped. You can if you want, but you now have the option to swap weapons out. So, if there’s a weapon you don’t like you can just remove it and focus on the ones you do. Much more convenient.
For guns, Dante doesn’t have much new. He still has the pistols and shotgun at the start and they’re exactly as they’ve always been. Though the pistols do have a new charge attack that boosts their power for a short time.
He also has the Katilina Ann rocket launcher he had in Devil May Cry 3. It’s literally just a rocket launcher, it goes boom and nothing much else. I can’t complain though, rocket launchers are always a fun weapon to use, and it makes for an effective crowd control tool.
The only new gun is Dr Faust, and boy what a weird one this is. It is, I sh*t you not, a magical hat and scarf based on Michael Jackson. Yeah, that sounds appropriately campy for Dante.
It’s not just the idea for the weapon that’s weird, but also its practicality. The whole idea for this weapon is it uses Red Orbs as ammunition. With you being able to place the hat on enemies to gain Red Orbs as you attack them.
Admittedly I didn’t really try this one out. The idea of losing my Red Orbs to do damage wasn’t appealing to me, so I didn’t really see what it was fully capable of. Maybe once I play more of the game, I’ll get what the appeal is, but for now I can’t really comment on it. Cool concept, but that’s all I can say.
Now when it comes to the Devil Arms, those are a lot more interesting. By default, Dante starts with his sword and the gauntlet weapon. These two kinds of weapons have been in every game in the series. However, Devil May Cry 5 handles them differently.
Dante doesn’t have the one sword. Like in the very first Devil May Cry he gets multiple throughout the game. He starts with the Rebellion which is exactly as it was in previous games, then gets the Sparda sword which works the same but has slightly more power and range. The final sword is where things get interesting, Devil Sword Dante.
This is supposed to be Dante’s ultimate weapon and it feels that way. Devil Sword Dante works mostly like all the other swords, but with the main difference being that all the moves previously got through Sword Master are available in its standard move set.
This gives you even more combo options than Dante has ever had before. Being able to do the air combo alone makes this the best sword in the entire series. But if this is the case, then what does Sword Master do?
Well, it gives you spectral swords that can be used on top of the main attacks. Increasing your combo capacity even further. You can even charge the sword and have these spectral blades mirror your main attack or charge up the Sword Master attack to send them out like a buzz saw, which absolutely rips enemies apart. It’s a little broken not going to lie.
It took me a bit adjust because I’m so used to how the swords worked before, but once I understood it, this became my favourite sword in the entire series. I’m not the best when it comes to crafting combos, and even I was able to do some crazy combinations with this thing. It’s ridiculously fun.
Now, you don’t have the option to swap swords out in the main story. You’re stuck with whatever sword the game gives you, but you do get the option to swap swords after you beat the game. So if you want a more classic Devil May Cry experience you can always play with the older swords. I don’t know why you would, but it’s always good to have options.
The gauntlets, Balrog, are different too. They no longer act as the slow but hard-hitting weapon, instead the gimmick is you can swap between a punch mode and a kick mode. The punch mode being more for rapid fire attacks, while the kick mode is more for general combo’s.
The main game plan with Balrog is heating it up. It will do so after hitting enemies enough time in punches, or by charging it in kick mode. The latter of which leaves you wide open, so what you want to do is use the punches to build up heat then start doing damage with the kicks.
I was getting tired of the gauntlet weapons, but this is a nice change of pace. I didn’t end up using Balrog much in the endgame, swapping between modes got a little too much during the more chaotic fights, but I don’t think it’s bad. It takes some skill to use, but that might make it better for some players.
Since Balrog isn’t the slow powerful weapon, that position goes to a brand-new weapon, Cavalier. The best way I can describe it is a pair of club like chainsaws that combine into a motorcycle. If that doesn’t make you excited this is not the series for you.
Yeah, this is an insane weapon. It’s slow as molasses but it does a lot of damage. It also doesn’t combo the same way as the other weapons. You can only link moves together if you land a hit, otherwise you’ll be left open, and timing the next hit just right greatly increases the damage. For this weapon precision is key.
This is also a weapon you need to use Sword Master with. Since that style is the only way to use the motorcycle aspects, which not only helps with mobility, but adds more combo routes that are just so much fun to fun to pull off. What other weapon let’s you pop a wheelie in someone’s face? Nothing that’s what.
This weapon kicks all kinds of ass. Of all the slow and powerful weapons in this series this is easily my favourite. It’s one of the most creative and fun weapons I’ve ever seen in action game.
That said, I didn’t use it all the time. It’s slow speed and precise nature made it one I only broke out when I was certain to get a hit, either swapping it mid combo or against larger enemies. But when they came out, they tore sh*t up.
The final weapon is actually a returning one. It’s the Cerberus nun-chucks from Devil May Cry 3. Great seeing these back considering how much fun they were there, and they’re just as fun here.
It still has all the flippy dippy ice shenanigans, but now it has some new moves to play with. It has new fire and lightning elemental properties, and it’s Sword Master techniques turn it into a staff. They just took a good weapon and made it even better.
It’s a solid line up of weapons. I can’t really think of one I would call bad. There were some I used less than others, but that was simply my own personal preference. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, and they’ll be some you like that others might not.
The only thing left to cover with Dante is his Devil Trigger. It works the same way as it has before, giving you a power boost and healing properties. You can only transform if you have enough meter, but the magic meter can also Devil Trigger meter for some additional attacks.
Remember how I said Devil Sword Dante could charge itself? That costs Devil Trigger. This was the case in previous games too, but there’s a lot more instance of attacks like that for all characters.
But there is one more thing you can do with it as Dante. You can sacrifice Devil Trigger to charge up another meter for a brand-new form, Sin Devil Trigger. This is like Devil Trigger on steroids. It hits harder, it can fly like older Devil Triggers, it gets a bunch of powerful projectile attacks, and it heals faster on top of that.
Of course, the downside is charging the Sin Devil Trigger up takes a lot of energy. It takes a full bar of Devil Trigger and some change to get it filled up, and doing so during battle can be a hassle. It’s best to fill it up early and save it when you need it.
Unlike regular Devil Trigger, the Sin variant is more something you pull out in a pinch. It’s worth going for though because it absolutely destroys basic enemies, and it does great damage against bosses.
That about covers Dante. As I said he’s probably changed the least as far as his basic gameplan is concerned, but the changes they did make do shake up his gameplay in fun ways and feel like a natural evolution of his gameplay in 4. This is by far the most fun Dante has ever been.
Then there’s Nero. When it comes to his basics, Nero hasn’t changed much either. He has a lot of the same combo’s and moves he had in 4, and even possesses the same weapons. Red Queen which has the same system where you can rev it up to increase its power, and the Blue Rose that can still be charged up to do more damage, but this time it can store three special shots that cause more stun.
The real change with Nero comes with his Devil Breakers. Due to the story, Nero no longer possesses his Devil Bringer arm. Instead, he has a set of robot arms called Devil Breakers, which all have different attacks and skills.
There’s a bunch of them too. There’s one that does a powerful electrical punch, there’s two that use shockwaves blow enemies away and add extra mobility, there’s one that replicates the Devil Bringer, and there’s even a Mega Buster from Mega Man. Because it wouldn’t be a Capcom game if it didn’t reference other Capcom games.
That’s only a small handful of them. There’s about 11 of these in total, though only 7 were part of the base game. The rest were released via DLC, but the Special Edition, which is what I played, comes with those unlocked by default.
All this sounds awesome, but there’s a catch. Unlike the Devil Bringer, the Breakers are not permanent. They’re called breakers for a reason, they can break, quite easily actually. Get hit while trying to use one and that sucker is gone.
Once it breaks you won’t be able to use it until you find a new one or buy one at the store. This is the sole consumable item I mentioned earlier, and also likely why the items were removed. So you could have enough Red Orbs to keep your Devil Breakers stocked up.
You can equip up to 8 of these, though you start with 3 and will need to unlock additional slots. You can equip multiple of the same type, and the order you put them in is important since you can’t swap out Breakers. You can only get the next one by breaking the one you currently have.
In fact, one of the mechanics is breaking them yourself. Either as a get off me tool or by overcharging them to do an extra powerful attack.
This creates a management system where you need to think carefully about the Breakers you want to take with you and the order to use them in. Although you can just use a recommended load out to get into the action faster.
You also need to be mindful not to break them too willy nilly and be careful not to lose to many from enemy attacks. Since, if you run out, you lose access to the grappling hook attachment, and become handicapped until you find a new one.
It’s a balancing act. One that I like a lot. It adds a layer of strategy to Nero’s gameplay in how you use the Devil Breakers. There are some Breakers whose charge attacks are incredibly powerful, but you might not risk using because you want to keep using it. Do you break it now for a powerful attack or keep it for later. It’s a nice risk vs reward system.
There were definitely Devil Breakers I used more than others. Tomboy being the worst in my opinion, never got much use out of that due to how slow it was. But for the most part I found a use for all of these things.
Gerbera was great as a movement tool to get around the battlefield and could cheese certain platforming segments. It’s charged laser attack was also one of the best in the game. In the right circ*mstances it could decimate entire groups.
Punch line was great too. Its standard attack could keep an enemy in place to let you focus on others making it great for crowd control, and while it’s charge attack isn’t the best it has an alternate mode where you can ride it like a surfboard. This is what you use for that platform sequence I mentioned a while back.
But my favourite was the Mega Buster. Not because it was super powerful but simply because I’m a big Mega Man fan and I got a kick out of the reference. You even teleport in like the Mega Man games if you have it equipped at the start of a mission. Love that little detail.
I really like the Devil Breaker system. There’s a lot of complexity and strategy to it, and the variety of Breakers make it customisable and fun to experiment with. That said, I don’t like it as much as the Devil Bringer.
Maybe I’m a simple man but grabbing enemies and throwing them around was just way too satisfying. It’s part of what made Nero so much fun in the last game. There is a Devil Breaker that replicates it, but not only is it one of the more expensive ones, it’s also fragile and breaks after a few uses. It’s just not the same.
I think the game is aware of this too. Because after you finish the main story, Nero gets the Devil Bringer back. Meaning you get the joy of slamming bitches around and the versatility and strategic elements of the Devil Breakers.
That’s awesome, except you only get this after you beat the game. Same thing goes for Devil Trigger since Nero doesn’t get one until the finale. It makes Nero feel incomplete until the end. He still has plenty of depth, but you don’t really get to explore it all until the story is concluded.
This is as good a time as any to mention the structure of Devil May Cry 5. Like previous entries there are multiple difficulty options, but the only way to get hard mode, or Son of Sparda, is to finish the game on the medium difficulty, Devil Hunter.
This isn’t new. All the previous games did this, but Devil May Cry 5 feels intentionally designed around this idea. Son of Sparda doesn’t just make enemies tougher, it gives them new attacks and remixes encounters so you fight more powerful foes earlier.
But by the time you play that difficulty you’ll have already figured these guys out and gotten plenty of upgrades, which seems to be what the game wants you to do. You play the normal mode to learn the basics and build up upgrades, then you play the hard mode to get the most out of the combat.
You could argue the previous games did this too, but none of them pushed you into it as much as 5 does. Them keeping a lot of Nero’s stuff locked behind completing the game only furthers this idea.
I don’t usually do this, but for the sake of the review, I actually did play a little bit of hard mode. The game seemed to want me to do it, so it was only fair to do so. I didn’t do a full playthrough on hard, but I played about half-way through to get a feel for it. I’ll talk more about the difficulty later though.
One downside to this structure is it feels the game doesn’t fully open up until after you’ve finished it. This isn’t a bad thing, not by any means, but if you’re someone who wants to get stuck into the action and all it offers you should be prepared for a slower burn than the previous entries.
That’s enough of that tangent, let’s talk about that last character now, V. And I’ve saved him for last because he’s a very different kind of character.
V’s entire schtick is fighting alongside three familiars. Griffon who fires energy bolts and lightning attacks, Shadow who can shapeshift its body for a variety of physical attacks, and Nightmare who acts as V’s Devil Trigger to mess things up. If those names sound familiar, heh, it’s because they’re all based on enemies from the first Devil May Cry. That’s neat.
V doesn’t fight the enemy directly. His familiars are the ones that do all the fighting while V stays behind. That doesn’t mean V’ playstyle is entirely passive. You still need to control the familiars yourself, with Griffon being the gun button and Shadow being the melee button.
Nightmare is the only one you don’t control, you just let him loose to do his own thing. There is an option to control him, but I prefer to just let him do his own thing.
The best way to describe V is he’s a puppet fighter. A character archetype in fighting games where you control two characters at once. Think Zato from Guilty Gear or Rosalina from Smash Bros, that’s the kind of playstyle V has.
The only thing V does himself is finish the enemies off. The familiars can only stun the enemies when they whittle their health down, V is the one that finishes them off with his cane.
This prevents V you from playing things too safe since you need to be close enough to get to the enemies while they’re stunned. Since they won’t stay that way for long, and if you don’t finish them you’ll have to fight them all over again.
Fortunately, V does have some options for finishing them. He has a teleport to get in faster and he can unlock an AOE attack that kills all stunned enemies. So you don’t have to stay too close, you can stay back a bit which is how V is supposed to play.
V is easily the most unique character in this series. Which means he’s one of the more divisive characters from what I can gather. He’s the marmite of Devil May Cry, you either love him or you hate him.
Personally, I liked V’s gameplay. At least once I got used to it. It was weird at first because it felt like I was playing Devil May Cry at a distance since you spend most of the time as V away from the enemies.
Even though you have some control over the familiars, you don’t have full control over their movement which makes V’s gameplay feel a little automated, but not really. It’s weird at first.
But once I adjusted to it, I thought V made for a fun change of pace. One thing that helped me adjust was learning to lose control of the familiars. You can spend Devil Trigger to overcharge the familiars, making them stronger but losing control of them for a short time.
It’s a useful tool to help keep focus on one familiar at a time while the other is still doing something. Alternatively, you can overcharge both and just focus on dodging, but you also want to save meter for Nightmare too since he can be very useful for crowd control.
The one thing to watch out for with the familiars is their stamina. V is the only one who can take damage from enemies, familiars will lose stamina if hit by enemies and when they run out, they’ll be incapacitated for a short time. The only way to get them back faster is to stay near their remains or summon Nightmare to resurrect them immediately.
Everything with V is a balancing act. Balancing the familiars, making sure you mix up there attacks, balancing your resources so you have meter to spend when you need to, balancing keeping your distance to avoid taking damage but not being too far away that you can’t go in for the kill.
V’s playstyle is a bit more methodical than Dante and Nero. While it’s still possible to be flashy and stylish it is a lot harder to pull off with him. The key to playing as V is keeping your distance and being more strategic with your familiar’s attacks. It can be a bit much, especially if you aren’t used to puppet fighters.
I don’t think V is bad, but he is my least favourite of the three playable characters. I prefer Dante and Nero’s more direct gameplay styles. I can see why V is so divisive, but fortunately you don’t have to play as him much as he has the fewest missions. I think even the developers knew not everyone would vibe with this guy.
And that about covers Devil May Cry 5. Really my only major complaint with the game is the story and graphical presentation, and even then the graphics aren’t bad at all I’m just not 100% sold on the photorealistic style. So, if anything, the only real problem is the story.
Everything else though is great. The gameplay is the most refined we’ve seen, the level design is a huge improvement, and it streamlines things to focus entirely on the action which was always the series strong suit.
I have no qualms saying this is the best game in the series. It’s easily the most refined we’ve seen yet. But that all just covers the main campaign. There are still a few extra modes to go over.
Firstly, the main campaign is roughly 11 hours long. Since the game is designed with replayability in mind this is a perfect length for it. Not too long it makes replaying it a chore, but not too short that you feel ripped off.
You’ve also got multiple different difficulties to unlock and try out. Including special difficulties where you die in one hit. The Special Edition version even includes a new difficulty mode, Legendary Dark Knight, that features way more enemies. It’s also unlocked from the start if you want to go in with an extra challenge. I wouldn’t recommend it, but the option is there.
Devil May Cry 5 isn’t too difficult to get through. Normal is a little easier than previous games, and with the amount of Gold Orbs you get you shouldn’t have much issue finishing it.
Son of Sparda is a touch more challenging, but not as bad as the older games. It’s about on par with Devil May Cry 3’s normal mode. Challenging but still fair, with the occasional difficulty spike here and there. Mostly coming from some of the boss fights. With Urizen and King Cerberus being the worst of them.
Outside the main campaign, you also have the returning Bloody Palace. Once again, it’s an enemy gauntlet where you pick a character and fight through waves of enemies and bosses. It’s still a fun time, and a good way to experience the combat without having to run through the levels.
Some of the changes to Bloody Palace are a Warm Up feature that lets you practice any floor you’ve completed. It’s a good way to train as you attempt to beat all 101 floors. There are also rest areas, but only if you play as Nero. They’re there to let you restock your Devil Breakers, so no point in Dante and V having them.
Other than that, it’s the same fun mode it’s always been. Funnily enough though, it wasn’t in the game at first. It was only added later as a free update. At least they didn’t charge you for it. Thankfully the Special Edition has it in without needing an additional download.
Speaking of which, the Special Edition also comes with all the additional DLC that was added post launch. I already mentioned all the Devil Breakers, but there are also additional outfits and colours, some of which are locked behind the harder difficulties but they’re basically super modes that make the character uber powerful. Makes sense they’re tough to get.
But the big thing with Special Edition is a new campaign featuring, you guessed it, Vergil. Because it wouldn’t be a special edition of a Devil May Cry if it didn’t have a playable Vergil.
Vergil is pretty much identical to how he was in the previous games. Same weapons, same concentration gauge that rewards precise attacks, it’s Vergil’s gameplay in all its glory. The only difference being that Vergil has a Sin Devil Trigger like Dante.
Vergil played great in the previous games and the same is true here. In fact, I think he plays better here than in previous games. I don’t know what it is exactly, maybe the control is smoother, or his concentration gauge is more forgiving, but I had a lot more fun playing as Vergil than I did in previous games.
The only downside to Vergil’s campaign is that some of the bosses are clearly not designed for him. Vergil’s campaign sees him playing through all the levels from the main campaign with some slight tweaks to the level design.
While he can get through most of them just fine, some are far more difficult than others. This is most evident in the V boss fights, particularly Nidhogg as he was designed specifically for V’s unique gameplay style and is much harder to hit for everyone else.
These moments do put a damper on Vergil’s campaign. I know Vergil is always meant to be a bonus, but I wish at some point we get a Vergil campaign that’s built with his unique skill set in mind.
I still like playing as Vergil, but I hope that Vergil becomes a main character in a future entry. He’s more than earned the position. Oh, and his battle theme is easily the best in the entire series. It’s worth playing Vergil for the theme alone.
And that’s it, that’s Devil May Cry 5. Itsuno said he wanted to make this his greatest game and I think he more than succeeded at it. Devil May Cry 5 takes everything that made the series great and fine tunes it to near perfection. This is easily one of the smoothest playing, most richly deep action games you can play right now.
It’s also the most accessible game in the series. The difficulty and challenge is just right, and it has plenty of accessibility options to make playing it more comfortable. It even comes with a recap to catch you up on the series events, so if you want to jump in with this game you can. I think 4 is still a good place to start, but 5 is probably the best place to start.
Bottom line, Devil May Cry 5 is amazing. Do I think it’s Capcom’s best game like that poll suggested. Not really, I think there are other games by them that are more important and better designed, but it’s easily in the top 5, top 10 at the very least.
It’s a fantastic game that’s great for veterans but has enough accessibility options for newcomers too. I highly recommend it but would say to go for the Special Edition since it is the most complete version. But the original does go on sale a lot, and you can get all the Special Edition stuff as DLC, so just get it however you can.
But now that this is all over, what do I think of the series overall. Well, it got off to a rocky start. The first Devil May Cry isn’t a bad game, it was revolutionary for its time and can still be enjoyable, but it’s aged and is hard to go back to for those used to modern action titles.
Devil May Cry 2 is awful. Just complete trash on every level. That is the only one I say you should skip without reservations. Even the recaps in the later games basically gloss over it. if you must play it, get it via the HD collection. Do not buy it separate.
But from the third game onward the series hits its stride and never loses it. Even DMC is a fun time. It was just an ill-conceived idea that suffered from a ton of behind-the-scenes drama. The actual game was pretty good.
But as for the rest, 4 is the weakest mainly thanks to its weak level design but it’s still a very fun, accessible action game with a ton of content. 3 is great with the best story in the entire series, but it has a steep difficulty curve that makes it difficult to recommend to newcomers.
Then there’s 5, which as we’ve been over is the best game in the series. It took everything 3 and 4 did right but cut out or fixed where they screwed up. Honestly though, you can’t go wrong with any of them. They’re all available on modern consoles and I recommend all of them to fans of stylish action games.
Well that’s one series off my bucket list. It was fun going through these games, except 2, and I can safely say that I’m a fan now. I’m now hoping to get a sixth entry. With how popular 5 was it’s bound to happen.
That said, I still wouldn’t say it’s my favourite action series. I think I still like the God of War series more, specifically the Greek games. I like the story and world of that series more, and while Devil May Cry is arguably better, God of War still has satisfying, visceral combat. Both series are excellent, I just like God of War a tiny bit more.
I’m glad to be finished with this little retrospective. It’s nice having actually finished a project like this for once. There are a couple of other series I have been meaning to get too that I might give the retrospective treatment, but that won’t be for a while.
Until then I think I’ll work on smaller projects. There’s a new Mana game coming out soon, and I have some more video game movies to review, and I have a plan to look at a certain spooky fighting series for Halloween. So, stay tuned because I have a lot I want to talk about.
