Devil May Cry 5: Review – Smokin’ Sexy Stylish AF!

Devil May Cry is a story-based action-adventure hack and slash, third-person shooter video game series that started on August 23, 2001, for the PlayStation 2. It was developed by Capcom and created by Hideki Kamiya. The franchise has 5 Main titles to date, with 1 spin-off and 1 HD Collection remaster.

Devil May Cry 5 is the latest installment to the video game franchise and following the previous title Devil May Cry 4 with respect to the chronological timeline of the story. It has been over 10 years since the continuation of the series’ storyline. This latest addition to the series has the best game mechanics of all the titles of the franchise to date, staying true to the series story, combat, style, and aesthetic wise, while further improving the gameplay experience.

STORY

The game takes place several years after the events from Devil May Cry 4 that involves the incident with the Order of the Sword. An unusual phenomenon suddenly sprouts in Red Grave City in the form of a gigantic tree known as Qliphoth that uses its roots to attack and drain people of their blood.

The Young Devil Hunter, Nero has now set up his own demon hunting agency based out of a van with a neon “Devil May Cry” sign Dante gave him with support from Kyrie and accompanied with his engineer-self-styled “artisan of arms”, Nico. A month before the incident, Nero encounters a demon and rips off his Devil Bringer Arm and uses Yamato to open a portal and make his exit. Having lost his Arm, Nero is assisted and provided by Nico a new weapon through his right arm known as the Devil Breaker.

A few days after Nero’s incident, a mysterious man known as “V” comes to the “Devil May Cry” office to hire Dante with the support of Lady and Trish as to Dante’s request to eliminate a Demon king known as Urizen that appears to be the cause of the Qliphoth sprout.

Having learned of the incident in Red Grave City, Nero rushes to the scene, crossing paths with Dante and the others as they share the same objective. All hell broke loose when the demon Urizen showed his might and defeated every demon hunter in his sight. Dante is ejected from the Qliphoth, Lady and Trish were captured, while V and Nero escaped. With Nero and V being able to flee, they re-establish their ground and plan on their next actions as more mysterious events unravels itself as they proceed.

GAMEPLAY  

Devil May Cry 5, like the previous titles from the franchise, is as stylish as ever, remaining faithful to the series with its game mechanics with improved and additional features. The Latest game title provides players with 3 main playable characters: Nero, Dante, and V.

Red Orbs are the main currency in the game just like it was in previous titles. These orbs can be spent in different ways: from Abilities, Upgrades, Weapons, consumable items, to revival. Red Orbs are obtained from defeating enemies and completing missions. The amount of orbs obtained depends on the performance ranking of the player.

Devil May Cry 5 sticks to its formula in storytelling, Missions are in linear form and are relatively chronological in order. Different characters are used depending on what chapter is the mission present. Levels follow often a distinctive pattern which consists of area exploration, defeating hordes of demons, some puzzles, and an ending boss fight.

At the end of every mission, the overall performance of the player is graded from “D” being the lowest grade to “S” being the highest. These ranks are determined and evaluated on the accumulated ranks of players have achieved per wave of demons. Maintaining higher ranks means having a higher mark at the end of a mission which will reward players with a higher amount of Red Orbs as well.

Aside from the story missions, there are also secret missions that are hidden within different areas in the game. These are sidequests that are optional and does not affect the storyline at all. Although these challenges reward players Blue Orb Fragments, which increases maximum vitality upon collecting 4 of them. These are activated through aligning the camera view to forming a pattern while standing at a certain mark in-game. Once aligned, the prompt will pop up to accept the secret mission.

Most games nowadays have their own versions of Photo mode, especially when it comes to single-player video games. Devil May Cry 5 has a Photo Mode function as well which is a first one from the series. To activate this feature, simply pause the game and access it from the menu. Unlike other advanced photo modes, Devil May Cry 5’s version is pretty straightforward with just simply having angles and zooming controls and without any filtering options or frames and other features that other photo modes have, still the effects and environment speaks for itself.

The Devil May Cry franchise is known for having multiple difficulty modes. In Devil May Cry 5, two difficulty modes are unlocked by default namely: Human and Devil Hunter. Other difficulty options are unlocked upon clearing the story in different modes.

Disclaimer: this review only covers the standard edition of the game, meaning deluxe exclusive content: skins and weapons will not be covered or discussed in this article.

In Devil May Cry 5, Nero has a lot of tricks up his sleeve and is very versatile in combat. The Red Queen is his main weapon which is in the form of an anti-demon engine blade that can be revved up to 3 times and bursts into flames burning its enemies. The Red Queen has a lot of skills and combos to offer, these features are unlocked through using the required amount of Red Orbs.

The Blue Rose is a special revolver that shoots two bullets at the same time. This gun also has a “Color Up” ability that lets Nero fire multiple rounds to one or multiple targets while dealing increased damage.

The Devil Breaker is a new weapon built to compensate for Nero’s lost arm. The Devil Breakers comes in various types with different abilities that come in handy in dire situations. By Default, the Devil Breaker also comes with a “Wire Snatch” ability that allows Nero to pull enemies towards him or to pull himself closer to a huge target.

Overture is the first available Devil Breaker that is introduced in-game. It produces an electrical lightning-like flash that damages surrounding enemies in this area.

Gerbera launches powerful shockwaves that fire high-energy beams when connected. It can also be used to launch Nero to a certain direction for an additional evasive maneuver.

Ragtime produces force fields that slow down time for enemies trapped within them. It is useful for controlling situations to re-establish a strategy or positioning.

Punchline is a devil breaker that attaches and also detaches from Nero while punching enemies successively in random directions. Nero can also utilize its jet propulsion and ride the devil breaker to slam it unto an enemy dealing massive damage.

Buster Arm is a close recreation of Nero’s old devil arm. It is a powerful arm that produces devastating blows and sends foes flying.

Helter Skelter is a three-layered drill that pierces through demons and most guards and shields upon each successive drill attacks.

Tomboy is a support type devil breaker that enhances Red Queen and Blue Rose’s power in exchange of accuracy.

Rawhide is an intricately powerful sharp whip that boosts Nero’s Snatch ability. This Devil Breaker unleashes a whip attack that attacks successively around Nero’s area allowing for multiple hits and combos. Rawhide also grab attack that swings enemies around before discarding them.

Nero’s true Devil Trigger form is a bit different from Dante’s and Virgil’s Devil Trigger and Sin Devil Trigger in appearance. This ability is unlocked up until towards the end of the story, Nero is shown to have spectral wing-arms that shapeshift at will. The True Devil Trigger form enhances all of Nero’s abilities giving him increased damage and skill sets. His spectral wing-arms acts as an additional weapon attacking simultaneously with the Red Queen which is also used to perform new attacks, combos, or strings that can be unlocked via customization by using Red Orbs.

Dante just like in previous titles, fights in different styles. In Devil May Cry 5, the legendary devil hunter fights in four distinctive styles namely: Trickster, Swordmaster, Gunslinger, and Royal Guard. These fighting styles have different capabilities that could be used in battle that could turn the tide of battle. Swapping between these styles simultaneously will make a tremendous advantage depending on the player’s strategy and play style. These styles are upgraded by 3 to 4 levels which are unlocked by spending Red Orbs, each level grants additional abilities or effects depending on the style.

The Trickster Style is made for evasion and quick movement, this style is useful for dodging enemy attacks or gaining the upper hand. The trickster style, however, doesn’t affect Dante’s combat prowess but it makes up for its maneuver abilities that are useful in combat as well as exploration.

The Swordmaster Style is one of the standard styles used in combat due to its attack oriented effects and abilities. The swordmaster style affects all of Dante’s melee weapons giving them additional attacks and strings that can help clear out a crowd, or further increase a combo string to get that Smokin’ Sexy Style grade. The style effects vary depending on the weapon wielded.

The Gunslinger Style grants Dante different abilities for all of his guns and ranged weapons. This style is useful for a continuous assault while maintaining a good distance from hordes of demons or a boss fight. The Gunslinger style could also be used in mid-range, mid-air, or close range to extend attack chains giving more stylish points.

The Royal Guard Style is the definition of “the best offense is a good defense”. This style is used to block or guard against enemy attacks, causing zero or dramatically decreasing damage to Dante. If timed properly, enemy attacks tanked by the Royal Guard style will be absorbed and fill a gauge that allows Dante to perform a Counter Attack sending back the accumulated damage to the enemy.

Ebony & Ivory are Dante’s infamous dual pistols that are built for speed and accuracy. You can charge up to deal heavier damage for an amount of time. These dual pistons charge up automatically in Gunslinger style.

Coyote-A is a modified shotgun by Dante that is built for close range combat. It has high firepower but relatively slow in speed. Like Ebony & Ivory, the Coyote-A could also be charged up but only for a single powerful shot per charge.

Dr. Faust is a hat given to Dante by Nico later in the game. The hat consumes Red Orbs to launch special ranged attacks. Dr. Faust is a tool specialized for farming Red Orbs with its different skills and abilities.

The Kalina Ann is Lady’s signature rocket launcher. This weapon is secretly found in the game by taking a quick detour during Mission 11. The Kalina Ann launches missiles from a long distance and dealing a good amount of damage. It also has a charge ability that launches a single power missile and acquires skills while on Gunslinger style. The Kalina Ann 2 is a replacement for the previous version made by Nico after being lost from the battle against Urizen. This weapon gameplay wise is an identical twin of Kalina Ann. The Double Kalina Ann weapon can be unlocked once both Kalina Anns are obtained. This feature improves everything about the equipment, double the firepower and double the skill effect utilizing both identical rocket launchers in a single slot.

The Rebellion is the signature sword of Dante left for him by his father Sparda. The blade is made for fast and accurate swings and slashes and has a decent amount of abilities.  Progressing through the story, the Rebellion will break apart and Dante will use his father’s blade, Devil Sword Sparda once again. This blade keeps the abilities that the Rebellion offers and has a set of skills of its own. The Devil Sword Sparda can also change in forms of a scythe and a spear performing different attack abilities and chains.

The Devil Sword Dante is a newfound and the true weapon of Dante that is introduced in the game. By impaling himself with the broken Rebellion and merging with it along with the Devil Sword Sparda, the Devil Sword Dante was forged and awakening a new form, the Sin Devil Trigger. The Devil Sword Dante has all the abilities of both Rebellion and Devil Sword Sparda possess and a lot more. One of the most notable skills of this blade is the Sword Formation which conjures four spectral blades that automatically attack, evade, and block along with Dante.

The Balrog is a weapon made for hand-to-hand combat. It is a devil arm that appears as a set of gauntlets and grieves that has the sealed power of the King of fire hell. Balrog has two forms, the Kick and Blow mode. These modes exhibit Dante’s Kick attacks and abilities and his Boxing prowess respectively. Balrog is a useful arsenal for stringing stylish combos and delivering fast, accurate, and damaging blows, utilizing it’s two forms.

The Cavaliere is a unique weapon that has two forms: a two twin-clubbed buzz saws and also a motorbike that could both be used for offense. The Cavaliere deals a huge amount of damage in a wide area but is slow in execution.

The King Cerberus is a devil arm in the form of a tripartite nunchaku infused with fire, ice, and lightning infusion and can change to two additional forms: a fire bo staff and lightning chain forms. The nunchaku with its ice, fire, and lightning affinities utilizes close, ranged, and crowd control combat respectively with their different set of skills and abilities.

Dante’s Devil Trigger form regenerates his vitality over time, gives additional damage to his attacks, and allows him the ability of flight. The Devil trigger form enhances all of Dante’s attacks and improves his speed during flight and he could perform different attacks while in the air.

The Sin Devil Trigger is the ultimate Devil Trigger form for Dante and Vergil that was introduced in the game. Sin Devil Trigger is a whole new different form that has its own set of abilities and all mighty powerful damage. To active this form, it has its own gauge that is needed to be filled up using points from the normal Devil Trigger gauge.

V is a new character that is introduced in the latest game title as a mysterious man that hired Dante to defeat the demon king Urizen. His fighting style is a lot different from both Nero and Dante, fighting with his ability to summon familiars: Shadow, Griffon, and Nightmare. Shadow and Griffon have their own health bars that could be depleted if they’ve taken too much damage which will render them incapacitated for an amount of time, while Nightmare is only present as long as the Devil Trigger gauge still is not depleted.

V does not have much combative prowess but still gets involved physically using his cane. He uses his cane mainly for warping to a decent distance and dealing finishing blows on demons individually, or a wide area using his Royal Fork ability.

Shadow is one of V’s familiars that mainly takes the form of a beast that resembles a lot like a panther. Shadow is V’s main source of melee combat. Shadow morphs into various forms dealing different range of attacks from close to long-range combat.

Griffon is one of V’s familiars that takes the form of a demonic form and is the most sentient out of the three familiars and has the ability of speech. Griffon is V’s main source of long-range combat with its ability to perform different types of lightning based abilities and a normal attack that shoots projectiles.

Nightmare is one of V’s familiars that takes the form of a giant golem that attacks enemies in a wide range of close and mid-range distances. V summons this colossal titan consuming three devil trigger gauges turning his hair white with the option to mount on the golem’s back and granting him a wider area and huge damage output, and a set of abilities of its own.

V’s Devil Trigger form differs a lot from Dante, Nero, and Vergil. Upon transforming to this state, V’s black hair reveals its natural white color and offers the ability to summon Nightmare. Unlike the other two playable characters, V can replenish Devil Trigger gauge points at will by reading his book.

VISUALS & PERFORMANCE

Devil May Cry 5’s visual style took the franchise to another level. The moviesque special-effects driven detail with the apocalyptic hellish environment both in the city and into the underworld accompanied by the photo and motion capture elements all matches well in harmony. Not just the in-game environment, but as well as the overall style, interface, sound effects, and soundtrack itself provides even more aesthetic value and compliments the game itself.

In terms of Gameplay and Mechanics-wise, Devil May Cry 5 indeed is the best of the series and has the bar from its previous titles. There was never a bug graphically and from the gameplay experience, executing stylish combos and commands are as fluid as they can be. Camera controls Exploring, Dodging, Using Photo Mode, switching weapons and styles works without fail.

Chaining combos and then swapping to different styles and arsenal to execute even more stylish combos work well and is a real treat to the eyes and extremely satisfying to pull off. It’s all up to the skill of the player to get that “Smokin’ Sexy Style” or “SSS” combo rating as often as possible even in different situations, making use of the various mechanics is vital in achieving this feat.

Newcomers to the series need not worry in performing amazing chains for the reason that you can practice strings in “the Void” which is an area where players can test out attacks and commands of the 3 characters with the addition of choosing a specific enemy from the list of demons. All the commands work exactly the same in the void, with the addition that you can change settings of the behavior of the demons, and the chosen some of character’s buffs as well.

VERDICT

Coming from both a Devil May Cry and a hack and slash video game fan, I thoroughly enjoyed this game even just after finishing my first playthrough of the game in Devil Hunter difficulty. Devil May Cry 5 reminded me of why I loved the video game series itself. The overall experience was a mix of both nostalgia and being introduced to something new at the same time.

Devil May Cry 5 stays true to the franchise, a story based action-hack and slash shooter game. This vital point is what made the game spectacular, using its old formula and introducing new mechanics as well using the new game engine, therefore providing a more fluid combat system and magnificent graphics and effects. Although some levels may contain simple puzzles that tend to be tedious at times, they are all manageable and quick to figure out. This minimal offset is compensated heavily by a wide range of enemy types and different boss battles that will keep players engaged and pumped up for combat.

The game could be enjoyed by both a returning and a new fan. The “History of DMC” section is a quite useful section for new fans that want to play the game but would want to know more about the story without having to play the previous games. Overall, if you’re a fan of single player hack and slash games, this is an absolute must.

[This review was done using a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher]