Devil May Cry 5 Xbox One X Review

Devil May Cry 5 delivers exactly what is expected from this franchise since it debuted back 2001, with over the top action and ridiculous boss fights. This latest installment doesn't diverge from the series' formula and instead builds or slightly modify the mechanics that series veterans know and love while also giving newcomers some easier options. Devil May Cry 5 is a rocking good time that will keep everyone coming back for another round of demon hunting.

Devil May Cry 5 has players taking control of Nero, Dante, and newcomer V. A mighty demon by the name of Urizen has taken over Red Grave City and is gathering human blood to increase his own power. Each character within the narrative has their own reasons for stopping the demon such as Nero losing his Devil Arm. Each character's motivation is made apparent as your journey through the story, some of which dedicated fans of the series will be able to predict. However, the writing team predicted this and added some shocking hidden secrets to keep even the most dedicated fans hooked. The narrative jumps between different periods of time, always effectively communicating the player when the events are happening within the overall timeline. The story has been written to accommodate fans of the series and those new the series will need to do some research to understand the plot.

The narrative is well-paced but does stumble a few times. Most significantly it glosses over a significant detail about a specific character that never is mentioned. For the sake of spoilers, we cannot say what but it seems the community is unified in this problem. Since story DLC will not happen this question will likely go unanswered until the next game.

The gameplay does remain true to the original formula with slight changes. Dante and Nero play mostly the same as their Devil May Cry 4 versions with some modifications. Nero lost his arm and must instead rely on disposable forearms provided by his weapon maker Nico. These arms can be purchased or found in the environment and offer the young Devil Hunter new options for combat.

Each arm has distinct functions and has 2 unique attacks. Each arm can perform a single function the tap of a button or a charged up option that changes the arm to break. Since Nero cannot swap arms on the fly the only way to remove an arm is to destroy it either through combat means to block a lethal attack. Nero also comes with his classic Red Queen sword that can be charged up to 3 times and his Blue Rose gun that can store 3 charges instead of the 1 from his debut adventure. 

Dante is slightly stronger than Nero and has access to more weapons and methods. This includes Trickster, Swordmaster, Gunslinger, and Royal Guard, each of which must be manually switched to access the unique moves linked to the style. Dante can also swap between weapons easily, opening up a lot more combat options as compared to Nero and V since Dante obtains new weapons throughout the game.

V is the brand new character and plays fundamentally different from Dante and Nero. Unlike the other Devil Hunters, V uses 3 demonic allies known as Familiars to fight for him. The Griffon uses projectiles, the panther named Shadow is a close-range physical fighter, and Nightmare can only be accessed through Devil Trigger and uses a high powered laser and powerful fists to attack. V cannot fight and lacks the maneuverability of Dante and Nero but must inflict the final attack on his demonic enemies since the familiars cannot kill demons.

This doesn't mean you can just stand back and just allow your AI allies to fight, V must play a direct role in combat. Players must input commands for V's Familiars to attack and remain close by to recover their health and if a Familiar does die V must stay close to its fallen orb to revive the fallen ally. It does take a lot of getting used to since you're relying on an AI ally to attack and they don't always perform the strikes you want but these are minor issues once you adapt to the system. This constant need to remain close to your demons while avoiding damage creates a lot of tension during the harder fights since V lacks Dante and Nero's speed and vitality. 

Devil May Cry V does offer a variety of modes similar to past games that change up the enemy rotation. In harder difficulties, more powerful enemies become more frequent and will sometimes gain higher defenses. However, the developers also decided to include an auto-assist option to prefer more intricate combos if you're having trouble and the ability to map the controls to your preferences. These added options are greatly appreciated and show that the developers had players of all skill levels in mind.

Devil May Cry V's animation has dramatically improved from previous games. The protagonists move more realistically, with a sense of momentum in both their swings and dodges. In fact, evading damage has been slightly changed to accommodate this new style with the characters evading and dodging enemy attacks using slight dashes instead of giant rolls, although the option for that is still available. This keeps you invested in combat as they look and feel like cinematic experiences especially in 1 on 1 boss fights with the camera behind you at all times. 

The enemy variety is astounding. Devil May Cry is known for having a lot of creative and challenging boss fights and this game is no different. Players will face a constant stream of new enemies throughout their adventure that requires specific techniques to defeat. But the game is forgiving enough that players are encouraged to try out the various combos available to them to increase their score. The bosses, in particular, require a lot of creative thinking if you wish to maximize your score.

One notable change to the franchise's iconic system is the devil trigger. This system usually served as a last resort to either recover health or perform highly powerful attacks. While the transformation still does give an offensive boost the amount of health you recover has been reduced and the damage you take increased. In addition, enemies, including low-level demons can stagger while in this state which is vexing. 

Devil May Cry V features the same scoring system as past games, with players given a rating based on their performance during and after a mission. This favors creativity as your score will only rise if you constantly switch up attacks and provide more red orbs, the game's experience system, based on that score. The game does offer the option to purchase experience but after completing the 8-hour campaign we earned enough orbs to purchase most of the options available to the player. The option is upsetting as you're constantly reminded about the ability to purchase orbs if you don't have enough.

The experience system is similar to past games, using purchasing red orbs for new skills and items but also locating hidden blue and purple orbs to boost vitality and your devil trigger meter. Secret missions are also littered throughout the environment that provides added challenge and extra orbs for completing them. While players will have to wait a bit longer to access the game's true challenge mode, Blood Palace, the secret missions are difficult enough the gamers will need to dedicate time if they wish to complete them.

The levels are separated into chapters, each beginning and ending with a cutscene. Players go from A to B while fighting enemies within contained environments and occasionally opening locked paths by collecting key items. The environments do have distinct styles but some of them eventually bleed together, such as the broken remains the city. But they always look amazing.

Speaking of looks, Devil May Cry 5 looks and sounds extraordinary. The series is known for having incredible music and Devil May Cry 5 has a collection of musical scores that will have you pumped up for each fight. Graphically the game is absolutely stunning and this is especially seen during the game's intense cutscenes that still feature eye-candy action. It was hard to find a single-flaw within the visuals and sound design. The only issue we encountered was a few usually long loading times, but these were rare.

Devil May Cry 5 builds on all the same foundations that made this series a hit. The narrative finally provides long term fans information on hot topics while the overall gameplay still gives that satisfying rush of action. Bringing everything together is the incredible technical accomplishments such as incredibly choreographed cutscenes, fantastic voice-acting, and a soundtrack that gamers will likely download and listen on loop. Capcom has been on a roll this year with not only Resident Evil 2 2019 as a Game of the Year contender but now Devil May Cry V.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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