After a long wait we finally got to test Devil May Cry 5 thoroughly, let's see in this review if the title lives up to the expectations and fame of this series!
Devil May Cry 5 is a title that brings back to the present day one of the most loved series by many long-time gamers. Will he be able to satisfy the old fan base and win a place of honor in the hearts of newcomers? Let's find out in this review.
Devil May Cry 5, breve ma intenso | Review
Time passes, and nothing lasts forever. Under this premise the events of Devil May Cry 5 start, peace has come to an end and a new catastrophe is upon us. We are already faced with what seems to be the end of the world, with Nero who has lost an arm, Dante in a fight that seems to be hopeless and a mysterious character named V who finds himself involved in the events.
The beginning is therefore full of mystery, with several pieces of narrative that have been omitted to lead the player to discover them all during the unfolding of the plot. This does not evolve in a linear way and uses the flashback technique extensively and the change of playable character to give it a certain variety. It is a story that, after all, is simple but its narration (really excellent) manages to make it a little pearl of the video game world.
To make it even more profound are the secret levels that manage to add a little more to the narrative. It is also wonderful to have foreseen a secret ending that allows you to finish the game ahead of time: we really appreciated the presence of this gem as it testifies that there are never unbeatable enemies. The work done from this point of view is therefore truly excellent, only one point perhaps the duration of the story itself in terms of hours can be criticized but, in a game that focuses so much on replayability, it does not turn out to be a real flaw: something more extensive (in terms of hours) would have bored in the long run.
Devil May Cry 5, endless surprises | Review
We knew that within Devil May Cry 5 it would be possible to play with different characters, what we didn't know was how different the gameplay was when the character changed. We weren't expecting too much difference, but we had to change our minds. Let's start by saying that it will be possible to play with Nero, Dante and V. Each of them will have different techniques, weapons and approaches to battle at their disposal.
Nero, having lost his arm, takes advantage of one series of potentially related to an artificial limb, that as the support used changes, the approach to battle changes. The artificial arms, however, do not last indefinitely but will break, in this way we will be incentivized to manage them wisely and, above all, to choose which ones to equip according to the challenges we will then face.
Dante is probably the most classic character but at the same time the most varied. We will have 8 weapons in total and each will have its own different approach to battle. In addition to this Dante has 4 different game styles available that allow the player to manage the battles differently depending on the situations that we will have before us.
Finally V is the most distant character from the classic Devil May Cry gameplay that we could ever have imagined. We will have 3 allies available during the battles and we will attack through the latter. In this way we are faced with battles that will be faced in a very strategic way. In some levels then we could choose which character to use: depending on the choice these will be different.
In addition to this there is the classic character enhancement system which is based on the acquisition of skills to make combos on combos and obviously become more and more powerful. All three playable characters then have a series of skills that are unlocked by loading a bar of "demonic strength", but we leave you the pleasure of discovering what kind of skill it unlocks to avoid plot spoilers.
Devil May Cry 5, rigiocabile all’infinito | Review
So far we have looked at what the first run offer of Devil May Cry 5 is. But, of course, the title offers an experience that goes far beyond the first game. We have different levels of difficulty available that gradually make the game more complex, but at the same time suitable for using increasingly complex combos. You never feel the feeling of being too strong and you immediately realize that the level of challenge is always adequate to what are the possibilities of our characters.
Yes, the name of the difficulty levels has always remained the same: and woe to do otherwise, this nomenclature is now a milestone in the series. With each subsequent run, at a higher difficulty level, we obviously won't lose our upgrades and unlocked skills. Thereby we could 100% unlock all skills and then make the most of all the combo possibilities offered by our characters.
The combos, the real key to obtaining high scores in the levels, can be carried out "manually" (as it has always been in all Devil May Cry), and also in assisted mode favoring those who approach the title for the first time without having played the others. About that the initial recap on the previous chapters of the series was very welcome (whose viewing is optional) which allows you to enjoy the story to the fullest even without having played the previous chapters.
Devil May Cry 5, technically excellent | Review
Well yes, from a technical point of view Devil May Cry 5 is a masterpiece even if it is not free from some small flaws. Let's start by saying that the Xbox One version we tested did not present uncertainties or crashes on any occasion, the only bug we were able to find is inherent in a loop jump animation. The graphics level on the Xbox One S is truly remarkable and the settings are amazing, so much so that it leaves us speechless.
We noticed the presence of some censorship in some scenes, and a "nerf" of the breasts of the girls featured in the title compared to previous chapters. The soundtracks that accompanied the player for the entire duration of the title are very accurate, the voices in English and the sound design system of the title itself are excellent. Less well, however, are the subtitles in Spanish which in some cases do not appear to be totally faithful to what the characters say in English. Perfect the control system of the characters and discreet the camera which, on some occasions proved to be difficult to manage especially against large hordes of enemies or bosses.
The level design is instead very simple but not for this not usable, the secrets are well hidden and, icing on the cake, the animations of the characters are close to perfection. The only drawback of this title is the presence of some invisible walls: it would have been better to use some tricks to hide the boundaries of the map. The online system of the game is instead totally insipid, so insipid as to be totally secondary and never really central to it, in theory you can collaborate with other players, in practice none of this happens: a missed opportunity.
Devil May Cry 5: Return in style | Review
We have reached the end of our review of Devil May Cry 5. As you may have understood, we are facing a pearl of this 2019 that offers gamers a truly varied experience with a level of challenge that is always balanced and never frustrating (except looking for them in the Heaven or Hell mode). Then the story is really interesting and well told and the title extremely engaging. If you're wondering no, it doesn't stop there: we will certainly have other sequels to this glorious saga.
We highly recommend purchasing it regardless of your past experience with the Devil May Cry saga, this is the best chapter to start and also the best for veterans who will be happy to have their favorite title with a new look and above all an evolved and deep gameplay as we had never seen in this series!
Devil May Cry 5 - Special Lenticular Edition - PlayStation 4 - Revolutionary Graphics - Developed with the proprietary RE engine;
Devil May Cry 5 - Special Lenticular Edition - Xbox One - Revolutionary Graphics - Developed with the proprietary RE engine;
Devil May Cry 5 - PC - Frenziedly stylish action with 3 playable characters each with a different fighting style;
Points in favor
- Highly replayable
- Excellent technical sector
- Perfect from Day One
- Plot narrated in an excellent way
- Extremely engaging
Points against
- Short storyline
- Sometimes annoying camera
- A few too many invisible walls
- Tasteless Online Multiplayer
