Review for Devil May Cry 5. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 08/03/2019
Devil May Cry 5 is simply the best character action ever conceived. There are titles that can mark an era, games that, after their release, are able to shake up the market, creating new genres or promoting interest in elements now snubbed by the public. Very often we tend to think that these titles are also the best of their respective generations, but the speech is a bit different. The work that changes the cards on the table is the one that conveys the idea itself and that will probably be able to bring the trend itself to the apex but it should be specified that the creator of a genre does not always manage to be the best exponent.
In character actions for example, the great Devil May Cry 3 failed to keep the title of "best character action" for itself, despite being the best title in the saga that invented the real concept of the genre. Extremely valid titles such as Bayonetta 2 or Nier: Automata have often questioned the relevance of Devil May Cry, making Dante's adventures seem almost a purely elitist title, especially after the half misstep of the fourth chapter.
For years, Capcom's reaction to Platinum Games' dominance in action has been expected, but fans have always received silences in response ... at least until 2018. Capcom - which figured as a fallen giant in an industry that is losing more and more authority and she's decided to pursue cinematography and even gambling as an evolutionary method - she woke up and decided it's time to get back in charge. After the excellent Resident Evil 2 Remake, which demonstrated how a 20-year-old saga can continually renew itself with the mix of talent and passion, the legendary Japanese developer has decided, through one of its spearheads Hideki Itsuno, to take back what belongs to him by attacking the Colossus of Platinum Games, to return to being the reference in the character action genre. And what better way to react than with Devil May Cry 5?
Dante and Nero return after 10 years and a failed reboot, and carry on their shoulders the enormous weight of having to re-propose a fifteen-year-old formula in a world where the focus is now on elements totally alien to the saga, such as cinematic storytelling, open exploration world, RPG elements etc ... Yet Itsuno has understood something that many ignore: You don't need to adapt to laws dictated by others, to create a legendary game.
Devil May Cry V exudes style from every pore, every element, every design and even every video has a distinct identity. The title begins with a very different pace than what happened in the previous chapters, immediately throwing you in the center of the action and then slowing you down in order to build for the whole adventure what will be the final arc of the game. In a way then, Capcom has managed to renew their formula, but keeping intact everything that has made Devil May Cry special for over 15 years. The game manages to be very different from its predecessors, considering that it no longer has maps divided into sectors, environmental puzzles or Resident Evil-style labyrinth maps; but he does not forget the main focus of the series, indeed managing to reinterpret it with modernity.
This can be clearly seen in the change in the aesthetic sector of the title. Gothic is fascinating, but after four titles, there was a need for a change of direction and Devil May Cry 5 is not afraid to propose a strongly different aesthetic from that of the previous chapters, which however is carefully constructed for the representation of a title that does not seem to belong to a separate universe. The characters present perfectly represent how Capcom has managed to integrate the classic designs of the series with the new more “punk” style and no one seems out of place. The change of artistic direction has also benefited the variety of settings of the title: despite being entirely set in Redgrave, Devil May Cry 5 offers a good variety of settings, with different artistic inspirations and a wide color palette. Obviously, helping the Itsuno team to realize their vision is the increasingly surprising RE engine, able not only to give us the most aesthetically varied and inspired Devil May Cry ever, but also to keep the performance of the title at 60. Fixed FPS on PlayStation 4 Pro.
Devil May Cry 5 is the only title in the saga to behave as an actual sequel but, being a Devil May Cry, the focus is not on the narrative: this is instead designed mainly for fans and only later for novices, who in any case will have an archive is available that can explain everything you need to know. Throughout the story, characters dear to fans will be shown, even coming from secondary works such as the anime and the light novel. The way in which they are inserted, however, does not lead the player unaware of the facts to be confused, since these characters will not only be secondary, but will be managed in such a way that they can be perfectly inserted into the context as if they were "new", or they will simply be easter eggs for veterans.
Isn't there then a real barrier for the novice? Yes and no. The game's narrative is perfectly enjoyable even without having played the previous titles, but much of the emotional and tense build of the ending rests on the writing processes that occurred in other titles. Only the Devil May Cry 5 scenario is enough to feel the epicness of the final sections, but the whole knowledge manages to perfectly contextualize the motivations of Dante and Nero (V being a new addition, it remains little touched by this element). Another good point of strength of the simple but effective narrative was the choice of placing the characters in a context in which they not only have to prevent an apocalyptic situation, but above all they fight for purely personal reasons. This narrative device is quite simple, but it helps to empathize with the situations that the protagonists will face.
Saving the world is the stuff of heroes with which it is difficult to empathize given the enormity of the story, but knowing the personal reason behind the struggle manages to give a more real dimension to the ridiculous concept of "saving the world from the king of demons". However, as repeatedly repeated, the plot is not the focus of Devil May Cry, and it won't be in this fifth chapter either. While modernizing, Devil May Cry 5 did not want to try to propose a heavy narrative as it is so appreciated to do lately, thanks also to the amazing results obtained by The Last of US or God of War. Rather Itsuno wanted to concentrate on closing the various "open circles", left largely by the incomplete Devil May Cry 4, without giving up the over-the-top and caciarone style that has always characterized Devil May Cry, a choice that we appreciated.
The real focus of the game however, the soul of Devil May Cry, is in its gameplay: in Stylish action. And being Stylish has never looked so good. Devil May Cry 5 takes everything 4 has excellently evolved and takes it to an extreme, expanding its possibilities and restructuring it so that it can be both more accessible and more satisfying to learn at high levels.
Nero has had an outstanding rework; deprived of his characteristic arm but enhanced by the Devil Breakers, extremely diversified weapons with which the character's moveset evolves exponentially. To counter Dante's obvious greater potential in the previous chapter, Itsuno thought of the Devil Breaker as an element to compensate in Nero for the fact that the latter does not have the arsenal of his "mentor". The result is surprisingly satisfying. The Devil Breakers are varied and have movesets that can be well integrated with the already known possibilities of Nero. The style of play obviously enters the mechanics, since it will be possible to improvise, with the various arms scattered around the map, or it is possible to use a customized loadout in order to have the preferred combinations for each fight.
Initially we were doubtful about the mechanics of the Devil Breakers, because although exceptional, the fact of not being able to change them without sacrificing one did not convince us. However, with the ability to tweak the sets offered quite frequently, we found the mechanic well thought out, also because if you get hit while using the Devil Breakers, they will break, diminishing your offensive arsenal. This involves a necessary "nerf" of the game mechanics, so as not to make it too unbalanced; something totally absent in the Devil Bringer of Devil May Cry 4. For the rest Nero is essentially the character of the fourth chapter, but improved in the moveset and better written in the narrative. The young protagonist manages to get out of Dante's shadow, managing to be memorable despite the original protagonist being in one form dazzling.
Speaking of Dante, the character has remained quite unchanged compared to Devil May Cry 4… at least at first glance. After all Dante was already practically perfect in the fourth chapter, yet Itsuno also wanted to expand on the protagonist of the saga, with very appreciated additional mechanics and through very particular weapons that strongly change the style of play based on how you want to use them. In particular, the "Cavaliere" is a very slow weapon, which needs a particular study to be used; yet once you understand the "trick" it turns out to be excellent, as indeed all the other weapons available to the legendary demon hunter. A particular mention for DR.Faust, a decidedly unusual "firearm", with a moveset so thorough that it can be used to all intents and purposes to make entire levels.
Finally we come to discuss the new addition: V. V is a type of character rare in video games, and even rarer when you consider the context in which it is placed. V is frail, helpless in the face of the enemy, but can command 3 demons with which he protects himself. Usually a game would limit itself to creating a character that has summons as a "weapon", but not Devil May Cry 5. Two of V's three summons are separate characters: they have their own HP bar, their own moveset and can be controlled simultaneously. Playing with the new character means having to constantly monitor 3 characters, being careful to keep the summoner safe during battle. In the context of Stylish Action the very concept of having a character to protect is a heresy; yet V manages to be charming and incredibly stylish.
Using summons to their best, you can create phenomenal combos, which can be linked with V's Devil Trigger, capable of summoning a semi-automatic golem that can help. Discussing how V can be stylish despite its atypical gameplay is difficult, but the fact that it can only deliver the final blows leads you to think differently about how to create destructive combos. The fact is that, pad in hand, V did not simply convince us, but made us fall in love with a character so experimental as to seem almost destined to be purely controversial..
These excellent gameplay bases are enhanced by varied enemies, which require different strategies to be taken down. The variety of opponents is perhaps the largest ever contained in a Devil May Cry, especially because almost every type of enemy has something special that differentiates it from the others, they are not stronger versions of previous demons, as in Devil May Cry 3, but of real different enemies. This obviously is a vital source for a title that is based on being able to fight with as much style as possible. But that's not all, in fact, the additional difficulties return that not only modify the life of the enemies and their damage output, but also change their spawn, aggressiveness and even moveset.. In particular, the bosses are obviously benefiting from the additional moveset and aggression. Devil May Cry V in particular offers an impressive amount of bosses, nineteen counting three variants and two mini bosses, and each of them evolves beautifully as you scale the various difficulties.
Obvious mention of honor goes to the soundtrack, and how it's integrated into the game. The music system, linked to the stylish ranking, is a phenomenal idea, very well done, since this mechanic too becomes more and more prominent with the subsequent difficulties. In Human or even Devil Hunter (difficulty in which we played our first run), you can easily hear the ost even struggling to build the style rank ... but since Son of Sparda style has become essential. To best appreciate the Devil May Cry, you need to succeed and perfect their combat system, and although getting SSS is already satisfying, being able to have a phenomenal soundtrack gradually grow in intensity while fighting makes being Stylish even more satisfying and memorable. .
Small parenthesis on the subject of "Microtransactions". The presence of this practice in a single player is very dangerous, but with the previous chapters Devil May Cry has always managed to insert them without harming the gaming experience, since the rate of obtaining the orbs has always been well calibrated. This fifth chapter is no exception, in the course of three runs we never felt the need to buy orbs, and even just by completing the first mode we tried we were able to buy many skills for all the characters. Currently, microtransactions are also disabled, so we reserve the right to criticize them if the game balance is subsequently altered.
We also appreciated the small online component, very well inserted in the context, although the small population of the pre-launch server did not give us the opportunity to fully enjoy this feature. However, we feel we can promote the way it was inserted, as we found it interesting to see other players go through sections of different levels and be able to judge their “stylish”.
Devil May Cry 5 is a pearl of this generation. A game that does not compromise with the successful trends of recent years, but offers an adventure that brings its strengths to peaks never reached before. A game where, after more than 2000 words, we feel we have not yet explored enough the reasons why we have appreciated it so much. Where the flaws reside outside the focus of the game and are eclipsed by what the title does well. In short, Capcom is back to dictate the law in the action genre ... with a Devil May Cry who really did "Jackpot"
► Devil May Cry 5 is an Action-Hack and Slash game developed and published by Capcom for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 08/03/2019
