Devil May Cry 5 is back and with style

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After 11 years of absence, Devil May Cry returns with a game that will undoubtedly please their fans and attract new supporters

The announcement of Devil May Cry 5 took many by surprise during the E3 of 2018, especially after 2013's restart of the saga with which the fans were not very happy. However, with the announcement of a videogame that would continue with the original history and that would be in charge of the original developer team, the expectations of the players were raised and began the expectative for its launch date, which was on March 8, 2019. After its long absence, how was Devil May Cry's return?

Leer en español: Devil May Cry 5 está de vuelta y con estilo

The story

The story begins with the demon hunters, Nero and Dante, confronting a powerful demon inside a hellish tree that is destroying a city and using the blood of the inhabitants as a fertilizer. However, this demon is too powerful for them so they must withdraw and strengthen to stop it and thus prevent the tree from consuming the entire world and turning the Earth into hell.

The way in which Devil May Cry 5's story is presented is through a non-linear narrative, as there are constant jumps in time to show us some important events and some revelations that happened while the character we used was busy.

The plot is full of twists and unexpected situations, as well as some winks and mentions of previous deliveries. While it is not necessary to have played the previous games to enjoy this, I recommend that you do so as you can have more information that will help you understand the story in its entirety.

For those unfamiliar with the story of Devil May Cry, the game features a video on the main menu that broadly tells the events that happened in the previous four versions to help players not feel so disoriented.

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Accumulating style points

The gameplay of Devil May Cry is that of a Hack'n'Slash, that is, you will have to face hordes of enemies to be able to advance. The particularity added by Devil May Cry is the style indicator that increases according to your performance in combat: if you combine several attacks and techniques while avoiding attacks from enemies, you will have a perfect style and you will get rewards.

For the first time in the saga, the game has three playable characters. You will use each one of them, since the game has specific missions for each character and there will be occasions in which you will be able to choose which of them you want to play with.

The first character that you are allowed to play with is Nero, who uses a sword, a powerful revolver and different types of bionic arms to fight. The bionic arms are the main feature of Nero's combat: some can be fired at the enemy and they will do constant damage, others will allow you to move more smoothly to avoid enemy attacks and others can create small areas where enemies will move on slow camera.

The second character is V, a strange young man who can summon three demons to fight for him. Unlike Nero, V is too weak, so he will depend on his three demons to be able to attack the enemies: Griffon throws small balls of energy to attack from a distance, Shadow uses his powerful claws for melee attacks and Nightmare is an enormous beast that can cause great damage to enemies, which you can only invoke by using a special meter. However, none of them can kill enemies, they can only stun them so you will have to approach them and give them the final blow with V.

Finally we have Dante, the main character of the series. His combat style is similar to that of Nero but Dante has a greater number of weapons, each with its own combos, which you can easily exchange during your fights, so that you  do not your enemies time to breathe. In addition, Dante has four different styles that you can use according to your needs: Royal Guard allows you to block enemy attacks, Trickster allows you to move easily, Gunslinger allows you to use your pistols with more power and Swordmaster helps you make longer combos and connect attacks of your melee weapons.

Even if the story is not to your liking, I doubt you get bored thanks to its gameplay, because the fact that you are constantly changing between these characters does not let it become monotonous. New enemies are constantly being introduced so you will have to be alert and devise new techniques and strategies to eliminate them.

Photorealistic hunting

The graphics engine of Devil May Cry 5 is the RE Engine, the same that Capcom used for Resident Evil 7 and the remake of Resident Evil 2. This graphics engine makes the environments look more realistic so this is one of the Devil May Cry in which they look better. In addition, the characters seem real humans, something new for the saga because previously they had a visual aspect more similar to that of an anime. Being a game of frenetic action, I think the graphics are very good and makes the combos visually surprising, especially in the battles against bosses.

It seems that Capcom did not let these 11 years pass in vain and used everything at their disposal to give fans a worthy continuation of the saga they love so much. If this is the direction they will follow, I can not help but wait for Devil May Cry 6. Even if you are not a fan of the saga, I highly recommend this game, one of the best hack'n'slash of the last decade.

LatinAmerican Post | Alan Rosas González

Translated from "Devil May Cry 5 está de vuelta y con estilo"