DEVIL MAY CRY 5
Who you gonna call?
FOLLOWING THE RELEASE of the Resident Evil2 remake, Capcom is on a roll, and is bringing its console games to PC in exactly the right way. The engine is a monster, and console ports that once would arrive with little or no customization options are now taking full advantage of PC graphics.
DevilMayCry is a console-centric series of third-person brawlers, however, that has not always appealed to the PC faithful. It calls out for a controller, although mouse and keyboard controls have been given the same amount of thought as the rest of the game. It also deserves to be played at the highest frame rate you can manage—dropping down to 1080p is a small price to pay for smooth demon-killing.
DMC games are a strange mix of the deep and the shallow, the smart and the dumb. The plot follows an insectoid demonic invasion, which can only be stopped by young men who also have a touch of the Luciferian about themselves and can string fighting moves together like you’ve never seen. There are three protagonists: Dante, Nero, and V, each of whom have different fighting styles. Dante uses swords and guns, and also in one memorable scene a motorbike that comes apart into two ax-like weapons, with multiple fighting styles. Nero can switch between mechanical arms that destroy demons in different ways. And V can summon a demon, big cat, and griffon to do the fighting for him.
It’s all very silly, preposterous even, the tone set by a slow-motion intro sequence that has its tongue firmly in its cheek. The game’s depth comes from the fighting combos, as you prowl around its levels killing just about everything that moves, and collecting orbs that lead to upgrades. A system of ratings, applied at the end of each level, supplies the impetus to replay to improve your skills, but the sight of characters sliding smoothly between lock-ons, gunshots, weapon sweeps, moves that pull you into the faces of enemies, then explosions that knock you back out of harm’s way is reward in itself. There’s even a weaponized hat you can throw on to enemies’ heads, even those of bosses.
It’s also taken the New Game + concept, which, once you’ve beaten the campaign once, deposits you at the beginning of the game with all your unlocked gear and skills to face harder and refreshed enemies. So much is changed, it feels like a continuation rather than a restart.
DMC5 is flashy dumb fun that’s going to repel as many as it attracts, but it’s great to see the series on PC with a port that’s had so much thought and love put into it. If you’ve never played a game in the series before, this is a great place to join the hype train. –IAN EVENDEN
VERDICT 8
Devil May Cry 5
REVELS Fast; good looking; easy to pick up; tricky combat.
DEVILS You might wonder what’s going on.
RECOMMENDED SPECS i7-3770/FX-9590; 8GB RAM; GTX 1060 6GB/RX 480 8GB.
$60, www.devilmaycry5.com, ESRB: M