Distilling everything that's made the series great to this point and offering a razor sharp modern take on the combo-heavy character action genre that DMC helped instigate, Devil May Cry 5 is a juvenile-yet-very-adult game for those who like their monsters grotesque, their combat stylish and their demon-hunting boys and girls dumb but outrageously sexy.
The hook in these games, if you're unfamiliar, is that the quick, satisfying combat system and overpowered characters are generally enough to make light work of the various bloodsuckers and beasts throughout the levels, but the real challenge is to dispatch them as stylishly as possibly. The game grades you on your style in real time, which makes you feel like a real idiot if you're just slashing away and doing the bare minimum, but like a leather-clad god if you're effectively taunting, chaining attacks and mixing things up.
Newcomer V makes for an interesting story point and twist on the combat.
Of course the characters and story are also a big selling point here, and the level of bone-headed edgelordiness on display is truly fantastic. Among the playable cast is returning protagonist Nero, whose demon arm has been severed and stolen by an incredibly powerful monster, and whose new prosthetic allows him to make use of powerful, disposable hands in addition to his standard sword and guns.
Then there's the original hunter Dante, who plays more like a throwback to the older games and can switch between various styles, melee and ranged weapons. He can even rip his own motorcycle into two pieces and bludgeon enemies to death with them, an act which may just be the very embodiment of this whole series.
They're joined by the mysterious newcomer V, a gangly high school goth that I can't help but love despite (or perhaps because of) how painfully pretentious he is. V's combat is totally fresh, in that he doesn't actually do much fighting at all. Instead he avoids danger and commands three vicious spectral familiars simultaneously, only teleporting in to deliver each killing blow.
The game is more straightforward and combat-focused than previous entries (and ignores , with very little puzzling or platforming to do, but the rotating characters keep things fun. V's stages make for excellent palette cleansers, and having him read poetry aloud while walking very slowly backwards out of danger's way never gets old.
Nero's new associate Nico — aka "god's gift to gunsmithin' and the queen of machines" — also deserves a shoutout, as the bawdy, backwater creator of cybernetic hands is great comic relief. However I was disappointed the women characters were all relegated to support roles this time around. Girls like getting waist deep in demon gizzards too.
Flashy and ribald though a lot of the thrills are, DMC5 also has a lot to offer fans of technical fighting systems and anime melodrama alike. Those that just want to mash the buttons, take in the gorgeous visuals, chuckle at the lowbrow jokes and secretly enjoy the wailing buttrock soundtrack can do so. (There's even a mode that practically plays the game for you if you're just along for the ride.) But there's a lot more under the surface to uncover, from the raft of unlockable combos and secret challenge rooms to the true nature of V and his connection to the demon world.
Devil May Cry 5 is out now for Xbox One (reviewed), PC and PlayStation 4.
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