Monday, April 15, 2019

Devil May Cry 5 Impressions

When I picked up a new graphics card earlier this year, I was pretty excited to find that it came with vouchers for two free games from Capcom: Devil May Cry 5 and Resident Evil 2. While my experience with both of these series is pretty limited, it's hard not to be psyched to get two games from major series on launch day for free. I ended up setting aside Resident Evil 2 to play together with my wife (she loves horror games), and dove right into the fifth entry in Capcom's hack and slash franchise.

Some impressions after spending a few hours with the game:
  • Even though Devil May Cry 5 is my first time ever playing a game in the series, I was able to drop right into the story thanks to a helpful YouTube recap video. The game also features its own story-so-far video, but I found the YouTube video to be much easier to follow.
  • There's a reason why this game came with my graphics card; it looks fantastic and runs very smoothly with all the settings maxed out. Having both Resident Evil 2 and DMC 5, it's very clear that they run on the same engine.
  • Being a game primarily about dispatching enemies in the flashiest manner possible, it's important to be able to chain together moves smoothly. I was pleased to find that despite being a newcomer to the genre, that not only could I pull this off,  but that executing sword and gun combo attacks just felt good. That being said, I doubt I'll ever be savvy enough to make use of the whole arsenal of moves or get high scores.
  • While I was already familiar with the DMC series main characters Dante and Nero, this game introduces a fun new character, Nico. She injects some humor into situations filled with otherwise grim/dark anti-heroes like our series leads. Being another scantily clad female mechanic with a  southern accent, I can't help but compare Nico to Cindy from Final Fantasy 15 though.
  • I like that, even though DMC is a linear level-based game, there's a benefit to exploring the levels in the form of gems that unlock character upgrades. The level designs feature some light platforming as well. These features help break up the succession of kill rooms that character action games and brawlers typically have; even the best combat systems can get monotonous if a game is entirely dependent on them.
  • As a newbie to the series, I'm playing on the Human difficulty (i.e. the easier of the two difficulty choices). So far, I haven't come close to dying in the three missions I've played. Thus, I might try stepping it up. Unfortunately, changing the difficulty would mean having to restart from level 1 since the game only lets you decrease difficulty mid-campaign, not increase.
  • With all the sprawling RPGs and open-world adventure games I tend to play, it's just nice to play a straight-forward linear game for a change.
  • Unlike other character action games that I've tried and bounced off of before (like God of War or Bayonetta), DMC5 has a tone that appeals to me; it's got just the right balance of serious/edgy and ridiculous. 
  • The game's main theme song and battle music, "Devil Trigger", is a really catchy tune!
From what I've played so far, Devil May Cry 5 has been a really pleasant surprise. I've never gotten into character action games before, but this one seems to have gotten its hooks into me.I'm really looking forward to digging further into it and trying out the new playable character, V the summoner!