DmC Devil May Cry Definitive Edition Review

This is the written review for DMC Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition. For the video review, click here.

Capcom and Ninja Theory collaborate to reboot the classic action franchise Devil May Cry. DMC Devil May Cry Definitive Edition brings this exciting action reboot to current gen consoles to create a comfortable, mechanically sound experience for fans of the hack’n’slash genre. While this game’s story and characters leave much to be desired, its controls and style make it one of the best Capcom games of the generation.

DMC Devil May Cry

From the time you start playing DmC it wastes no time establishing tone. Dante is surrounded by strippers, and is engaging in debauchery to showcase his edgy untamed nature. Then his carelessness is displayed as he bares all in front of a visitor at his front door. Things take a turn as, without any explanation Dante is dragged into Limbo, a parallel dimension where demons exist, and they don’t hesitate to launch an attack on him. Turns out, it’s the work of Demon King Mundus, who wants Dante’s Nephilim head on a platter.

You spend the entirety of the first mission getting comfortable with the controls as you fight hordes of rather basic demons. The controls are very easy to learn, and you’re adequately limited. The best way I can describe this game’s combat is by saying that it’s like a juggling routine. You start off with three balls to juggle with and you’re doing a good job. With each new move you learn, and each new style of demon introduced, you’re getting another ball, and while it’s more complex, your routine looks and feels amazing once you master it. By the time you’re able to swap between all of your available weapons and abilities to string together epic combos, you’re left with some of the best game feel in the industry to date.

The definitive edition compliments this quality with its incredible specs, running fluidly at 1080p and 60fps, allowing Dante’s delicious attack animations to flow like water. Combine that with different amounts of tension and screen shake, as well as different weights and sound effects associated with each weapon, and you have the most realistic feeling action experience available in this genre.

That being said, the story does fall short quite a bit, with characters feeling very edgy for the sake of being edgy. Thankfully, the definitive edition removed some of the cringe inducing lines by Mundus’ mistress, as well as Vergil’s fedora. But that doesn’t change Dante’s slurred, angry, almost unprovoked attitude that plagues the game’s dialogue. You will find some reward in completing the game as characters do go through interesting development curves.

Dante and Kat.

Dante and Kat.

The actual game flow of DmC is interesting. The game is divided into missions, which allows for short bursts of gameplay. Yet with so many different enemies, and styles of combat you can pursue, you never quite get a monotonous atmosphere from the game. This is a good balance, as you get to post-mortem your approach to any given mission based on your grades and percentages awarded at the end of each mission.

The game demands you to learn, as boss battles do build off of the basic enemies patterns in some ways. There are few boss battles, unfortunately, but they are impactful and effective.

Outside of the main game, there are side modes. These include special missions where you are forced to fight under specific conditions. For example, enemies will only die in the air. Or Dante will die in one hit. On top of this, there’s the post game DLC Vergil’s Downfall. Quite fun, and similar in tone to the original series. I’d recommend ignoring it until you’re done with the main story, but thankfully it comes bundled with the definitive edition.

DmC Devil May Cry is a special experience on current gen consoles. I’m normally not crazy about “complete” editions of games, but this one truly does offer enough content for the value it’s sold at. Anyone looking for a rad action experience should give this game a go!

 

Thank you all for reading and/or watching! This is the first of a new wave of Game Room Reviews. I’m setting quite a bit in motion, and you can expect the blog to keep growing as I keep working hard. For more on games like Devil May Cry, and other dynamic action experiences, come back soon for more from the GAME ROOM!!!

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