When the DMC reboot was announced, two things went through my mind. 1- Reboot!? But DMC4 had so many loose ends and was such a great game! 2- Why the heck does Dante look like a scuffed up criminal?

I gotta own up here, I was waiting for this game to release and flop so I would tell everyone, ‘I told you so!’. But here I am, humbled and I stand corrected as this game is by no means a flop.

Story

The biggest shocker to me, was that I actually liked the story behind this game. The game shifts from loosely taking from the original series, into creating new and original ideas, such as the segregation of the human and demon world via Limbo. In this world, the humans have been subliminally and indirectly controlled by a demon named Mundus, granting him limitless power over the world. Humans are not depicted as evil nor good, just ignorant as to the world they live in. They also play a role in this game that shows there weakness as opposed to previous games, making demons all the more formidable and fearsome.

This is actually the first DMC with a Dante that actually significantly changed throughout the game, making him a much more believable but less sassy version of the original. This could be a hit or miss depending if you like realistic story progression vs an entertaining character. What’s realistic isn’t always fun for everyone, and vice versa, Dante’s new character really comes down to personal opinion. And my opinion of him is that I actually like him, so long as he continues to be cheeky with his opponents.

Now that I gave my two cents on the new Dante, lets get back to the rest of the story. Although the DMC reboot and the DMC series are set in alternate universes, this game will provide you with a great deal of insight as to the origins of Dante and his relationship with his brother, Vergil. The game takes up the crudeness a few notches above my comfort level with quite a freaky and disgusting sex scene. It felt like one of those times where someone goes a bit too far to prove a point. Alright DMC…you win…we will rate you ‘Mature’ so you can look more appealing to certain audiences…

To wrap up on the story segment of the review, I say to every doubter out there, give it a shot and you just might like it. DMC best relates to the first Devil May Cry in it’s serious and ‘oh what’s gona happen next’ factors, as opposed to DMC3’s awesome but way, way, way, way over the top scenes.

Gameplay

DMC mostly takes fighting elements from the original series, and more specifically DMC4. If you took Nero and Dante from DMC4 and mixed them in a blender (assuming that was possible to start with..), you would end up with this alternative universe Dante. He takes from Nero’s Devil Bringer, while retaining some of Dante’s memorable moves and arsenal of weapons. That’s great news to me, because I loved Nero’s Devil Bringer ability as a means to link up more hits and chain up a combo.

As for the combo rating system it takes an extremely merciful approach towards the player, merely downgrading your rating when getting attacked and not penalizing your spammy combos. It’s as painful as watching a drunk guy trying to count your squats for you. Albeit, this doesn’t really affect gameplay and can be easily corrected with a software update, so no biggy here. But what does affects gameplay and desperately needs a patch sent out to us all, is the auto-lock on mechanic. It’s a constant and invisible force that screws your combos and strategies.

One aspect that has been introduced into the game is the world shifting mechanic which introduces a whole new definition to the phrase, ‘the world is against me’ (now quit your yapping emos!). Limbo is pure and simple, the stuff of nightmares, transforming a journey’s step into a hundred. While dauntingly frustrating to Dante, you will feel some sort determination with every attempt to stop you from reaching your goal, like a cat chasing a fluffy toy at the end of a tredmill.

You will spend quite some gameplay time hovering and latching to ledges while traversing the levels, thankfully this doesn’t feel forced nor tedious to do. Although if there ever is a DMC sequel, it would benefit from trying to make the traversing of the universe less scripted, Assassins Creed style.

The enemies felt more balanced than other DMCs to me, you still have the base ragdol enemy waiting to be SSSed along with a few more challenging enemies but you now have a few opponents that force you to change up your tactics to defeat. Bosses were a head scratcher for me, some bosses were surprisingly boring but the majority of which were freaky, exciting and inspiring in there nature.

The overall difficulty of the game has been taken down a few notches, making it an easy game at best when playing on Nephilim mode. Fear not, I’m here to report that the ‘Son of Sparda’ mode is actually normal mode in terms of DMC difficulty, so just replay the game to get the most out of it!

Differences from the original series aside, DMC will prove quite a playground for you combo seekers out there.

Graphics

Firstly, keep in mind that I played the PC versions of DMC and will continue to refer to those games from here on.

Here is another portion of the game where I am tormented in assessing when I compare it to DMC4. Model to model, texture to texture, I can safely say DMC4 is the better looking game, no buts.

but…erm…but when you keep in mind the aspect of the whole world shifting around you as you go, I’d say DMC is quite a graphical achievement, one that should inspire other developers to know not the limits of game development.

The game also tagged along quite a show when it came to character cutscene animations, it felt much like a movie than a bunch of loosely strung animations on a 3D model. This along with the great voice acting (later discussed), gave the game a convincing story telling tool that was effectively utilized throughout the game. Although minor chugs between camera angles and scenes disturbed this otherwise pleasant experience, patch needed, pretty please. My final quarry with the animations is that they fall short to the DMC legacy when it comes to fight scenes.

But to make things better overall, all the levels kept shifting as you moved on from a traditional DMC setting to an abstract and disturbed world, hidden from the eyes of humans. Bosses drew you into there own worlds, displaying some amazing works of almost random but consistently entertaining settings.

Sound

Dubstep, electro and heavy metal? That’s the same playlist in heaven’s waiting lobby!

The Devil May Cry series has always had a kickass soundtrack, but DMC just took it a few levels higher with it’s rocking notes and ground shaking beats. If your into these genres of music, you will start Google-ing all these awesome artists. Otherwise it may not be your cup of tea, but it’s definitely Dante’s and it’s something limbo would spew out from it’s core. The music truly matched the scenes set before you, and in one instance it even subtly infused into the level itself, beating with every beat of music.

Voice acting was convincing and well done, in the ending scenes it kept pulling me more and more into the story. Weapons retain the familiar sounds we have associated with the series, while enemies bring forth a few new unholy grunts and mutters.

Conclusion

DMC gives a breath of life into an epic series. One that many of us didn’t ask for(WHERE IS MY DMC5!), but should all respect and appreciate. I’m quite torn between the choice of continuing on with the old series, or seeing how DMC goes on to progress. This can only mean one thing, DMC is a worthy reboot to the series.

‘it’s the reboot fans deserve, but not the one they need right now’  *cough* Batman *cough*…

Story: 7/10

Graphics: 8/10

Gameplay: 8/10

Sound: 9/10

Total: 8/10 (Great)

Please refer to our Score Guide

Who should get this?

• DMC fans that doubt this iteration of the series
• Hack and slash lovers
• Anyone that never got to play the original DMC series