What is… Devil May Cry 5
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| Picture taken from Wallpaper Abyss shared by a user named Deridder45 |
Introduction
Devil
May Cry 5 is an action hack and slash game developed by Capcom, released on
March earlier this year on the PS4 Xbox One and the PC. The game now runs on
Capcom's RE engine, the engine that makes Resident Evil 7 comes to life and
makes about a more realistic graphic images for players to indulge their eyes
on. It is the direct sequel of Devil May Cry 4 which was released way back in
2008 and it continues the story of the legendary demon hunters Dante and Nero
on their way to defeat the newly arising demon king, Urizen.
When I was a kid, the first Devil May Cry that I played was the third installment, Devil May Cry 3 on the PS2. I thought it was a horror game and was a bit scared to play it, don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of horror games and films now I was only a kid back then so I was a bit scared. I played the game and was really crazy about it. I thought about how cool Dante keeps his sarcastic attitude while fighting. It was when I beat the game and realized that there were plenty of skins to be unlocked by replaying the game in different difficulties. This is an interesting feature that Devil May Cry always has, the difference in difficulty will give you different unlockable.
When Devil May Cry 5 was revealed on the 2018 E3, I was
joyfully shocked. Not as excited as I was with Monster Hunter World, but it
sure was good to know that they were continuing the series after 11 years since
its original story. I got the game from Steam as a pre-order and I got the
bonus pre-order content, it was an alternate costume for both Dante and Nero,
and for other in-game characters. For those of you who are not familiar with
the series, DMC is one of the best hack and slash games you can ever play. I
will discuss the combat aspect of the game which I think is the most important
key that makes the game an amazing series.
Gameplay
First things first, the combat, Devil May Cry is always all
about the face past action packed combat. The playstyle of the combat depends
on which character the player chooses to play as. There are three playable
characters, those are Dante, Nero, and V. V is a newly introduced character who
has this unknown background and mysterious trait. Let's start with Dante, as of
the previous DMC game (including the reboot DmC 2013), Dante has always been
the main character / one of the main characters of the series. Dante's combat
system relies on the 4 fighting style he possesses, the trickster, swordmaster,
gunslinger, and royal guard. This fighting styles were first introduced in DMC
3, it allows player to learn how to control Dante's fighting style flexibly.
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| Dante |
Let me start by
explaining the trickster style first, Trickster allows Dante to execute evasive
maneuver. The fundamental move Trickster allows Dante to do is the dash move.
It allows players to evade incoming enemy attack just in the nick of time and
with a nimble finger to trigger it impeccably.
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| Dante performing Trickster style |
Next, Swordmaster, the name says
it all, Swordmaster is an offensive fighting style that allows player to use a
more variety of moveset for each melee weapon Dante has. For example, when
using Trickster style, Dante's sword Rebellion, can only execute basic combo
that the sword inhibits. However by switching to Swordmaster, Dante is granted
a new offensive move for Rebellion to produce.
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| Dante finishing off enemy with Dance Macabre from Swordmaster style |
Thirdly, Gunslinger, well it
takes no genius to tell what the fighting style is all about. Guns guns guns.
Dante's fighting style is always modernized, that is with his inclusion of guns
in a sword fight which his brother Vergil despises. But I digress,
Gunslinger, like Swordmaster, opens up new abilities for each firearm Dante
has. For example, Dante's classic automatic handguns Ebony and Ivory could
perform more than just a basic shoot and kill action, now you can shoot and
kill with style.
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| Dante firing a double Kalina-Ann with Gunslinger style |
Lastly, Royal Guard, everybody gangsta
until that one kid who can nail every timing on this expert level fighting
style. Royal Guard is all about defending yourself and counter-attacking the
enemy. It is the hardest style to pull off as it requires perfect timing to
deliver a deadly counter attack. Royal Guard has a gauge that can be built up
by storing damage as you block when being attacked. Maxing out this gauge will
deliver a one-hit-kill to all subordinate enemies. While it won't kill bosses
right away it still packs a hell lot of punch. The Royal Guard needs a lot of
practice and not recommended for casual DMC player. Even I rarely use this
style, but man, the satisfaction when you see that boss' health bar reduced by
a quarter just by a single counterattack blow.
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| Royal Guard focuses on counter attacking enemy |
Combine all the four style seamlessly
during combat and you'll be able to see how various it is to fight as
Dante.
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| Nero |
Moving on, we are going to talk about Nero.
Nero's playstyle is less technical than Dante but that doesn't make him less
unique than the former. Nero only has one sword, the infamous Red Queen, a
sword that you can throttle, yes throttle, like motorbike throttle. However
Nero’s distinct playstyle is on his arm, his right arm to be precise. Nero is
now equipped with a cyborg like arm called the Devil Breaker, which he utilizes
as a weapon. There are several types of Devil Breaker available in the game and
I am not going to spoil all of them for you guys, just to give you more hype
when you finally have the game. The Devil Breaker is the replacement of the
Devil Bringer (Nero’s demon arm which was part of the unique power in Devil May
Cry 4) after it has been cut off and stolen by a mysterious figure at the start
of the game. Having no demon arm, Nero is now supplied with a customized cyborg
arm designed by his new friend, Nico. This arm is called the Devil Breaker. It
can break, so I guess that’s why it is named that way.
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| Nero equipped with Overture |
Now what does a Devil Breaker do? First
things first, all Devil Breaker can do a grappling move, a Nero’s classic and
most fundamental move when using Devil Breaker (previously Bringer), where he
can grab an enemy from a distance to reposition the combat. Nextly, each Devil
Breaker has its own unique attack. We will take Overture for example, Overture
is the first Devil Breaker given to Nero at the start of the game. This Devil
Breaker emits burst of lightning when pressing the button once. It deals plenty
of damage when combined with Nero’s sword combo. Holding down the button will
then create Overture as a time bomb planted on the enemy, leading the arm to be
broken. This is one way of breaking the Devil Breaker, another way is when you
are hit by an enemy while using Devil Breaker, this will immediately breaks
your arm. The Devil Breaker equipped is limited, but the arms are scattered
across the road as you walk from one area to another.
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| Nero fighting lesser demons with Overture's electrical discharge as the finishing blow |
Apart from the Red Queen and the Devil
Breaker, Nero is equipped with one big revolver called the Blue Rose. This big
guy doesn’t really pack a punch until you invest your red orb, the game’s money
to upgrade characters’ arsenal, on it and upgrade it to the max, then you can
notice the damage this gun can do. So for Nero, he has simpler combat mechanic
as players are not required to switch fighting styles like Dante, instead
players utilize the Red Queen, the Devil Breaker, and the Blue
Rose.
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| V |
And the last playable character than
we are going to take a lot at is V. This new character has a very different
playstyle compared to both Dante and Nero. V uses his familiars Shadow,
black jaguar demon, and Griffon, a talkative birdlike demon to attack
enemies, the player only needs to maneuver V’s position to avoid enemies’ attack
while Shadow and Griffon will attack enemies that are locked onto. Shadow
fights in melee range while Griffon acts as the ranged fighter. Both familiars
however can’t finish off the enemy, they will only go as far as rendering
enemies weak enough for V to deliver the final blow. V is by far the simplest
character to be played but as equally unique as the other two. You simply have
to mash your button to spam attack, or make a rhythmic smashing to pull off
combos. I like V, he’s cool and really fun to play.
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| V fighting along with Shadow and Griffon while performing finishing move. |
Moving on, let’s take a look on Devil May
Cry’s most notable feature, the Devil Trigger. What is Devil May Cry without
turning yourself into a powerful devil form. Devil Trigger is available for
both Dante and V in the game. Unfortunately for Nero, his arm has been cut off
rendering him unable to turn into devil anymore, however, he’s got a trick up
his sleeve as you progress further in the game. Anyways, Devil Trigger acts as
combat game changer, it grants more power, regeneration, extra moveset,
and the ability of better crowd control. Both Dante and V have their own unique
Devil Trigger, activating Dante’s devil mode will turn him into a red devil and
makes him significantly more powerful and adds regeneration to his health. V,
on the other hand, will summon a third, more powerful large golemn-like
familiar called, Nightmare. Nightmare will then assist V in battle, giving him
an amazing crowd control.
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| Dante's devil transformation |
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| V summoning Nightmare |
Now I know most of the aspects that I discuss for the game are all about the combat gameplay. But that’s what makes Devil May Cry one hell of a hack and slash game. Devil May Cry has always been focused on the single-player experience, and so does DMC 5, though the game seems to have multiplayer feature in it, it doesn’t work as co-op or PVP, we are simply paired with random players on certain levels and at the end of the level we are given the choice to rate those players we encounter randomly, if rated “Stylish” the person will receive a gold orb, and so will us if other people rate us “Stylish”.
Conclusion
To summarize the game, it is an amazing game for long time fans who have been dying to play another sequel of the original series. For newcomers, fret not, you will catch up with the lore easily as the game provides a quick and concise summary of the previous four games. Gameplay wise the game is an excellent choice for gamers who love fast paced action game, combined with the rock to metal genre soundtrack the game has, it will surely pump up your adrenaline when playing. So what are you waiting for, get ready to uncover the truth of Nero’s bloodline while fighting demons on the way like a real badass!
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