Devil May Cry had a long rest these last few years. Capcom gave the Devil May Cry reins to Ninja Theory for a brief respite, but they took those reins back giving fans what they truly wanted, a new main Devil May Cry title. Devil May Cry 5 offers just that to fans—and possibly newcomers—but did Capcom evolve with this newest title or did they make a weaker game in comparison to DMC? We here at Honey’s Anime have our answer, but for you to know, you’ll have to scroll on down to read our full Devil May Cry 5 review. This is one review you won’t want to miss folks as we had plenty to say in Capcom’s latest outing for the Devil May Cry series!

Devil May Cry 5 is a third person action/adventure game where players take the role of Nero, Dante and new comer V. Players will need to face off against an army of demons as they try to stop a powerful being from being revived. Take control of each hero and use their incredible arsenal of weapons and skills to defeat the demons and save the world…even if that isn’t Dante and Nero’s main intention. Devil May Cry 5 brings the series back to its route by removing a lot of the elements from the spin off title—DMC—and focusing on delivering a similar game to that of Devil May Cry 4. With several heroes to control and numerous abilities to obtain as well as difficulties to overcome, Devil May Cry 5 might be gearing up to be the biggest of the series hands down!

When Dante and his team are finding themselves broke and in dire need of funds, they receive word that they have been hired to defeat a new demon coming back to power. What should have been an easy buck turns into a nightmare as Dante and his crew find this demon more powerful than expected. Even with Nero and a mysterious new ally named V in their arsenal, the team suffers a defeat that makes them pay a heavy price. Nero and V survive the outing and now aim to save Dante and his allies with their upgraded abilities. However, can they face off against this new threat? Find out in Devil May Cry 5!

Way back on the PS2, Capcom released Devil May Cry to the world and it was met with a lot of love and admiration. Players assumed the role of a white-haired demon hunter—who also was part demon himself—named Dante who rocked twin guns and a large sword named Rebellion. Devil May Cry would find a fandom and several sequels would release, including a more recent spin off by the development team known as Ninja Theory. DMC—the spin off—was disliked for its reimaging of Dante and his world but was praised as one of the slickest of the series totting amazing gameplay mechanics that were just a pleasure to enjoy. Now in 2019, Devil May Cry 5 brings Dante, Nero and their compatriots back to the series roots but is that a good thing after the greatness that was DMC? We are about to find that out as we review Devil May Cry 5 for the Xbox One!

Devil May Cry 5 is a third person action/adventure title where players control Nero—the primary hero from Devil May Cry 4—as they enter a new mission to save humanity from a very powerful demon. Similar to Devil May Cry 4, Devil May Cry 5 has players going from not just one hero but several with the introduction of a new warrior named V. While combat has returned to the series origins with a heavier focus on nailing combos just at the right time—DMC did this with an emphasis on chaining combos—the gameplay has certainly been enhanced in comparison to 4. This is ultimately a good thing for Devil May Cry 5, but it’s also where we noticed some issues here and there. As always though, our review will focus on the good first and then talk about the bad.

Working in favor of Devil May Cry 5, gameplay is overall a lot more refined than 4. Nero—for reasons we won’t spoil—has lost his demon arm infused with Yamato, Vergil’s sword, and now must rely on a mechanical one made by new female to the scene, Nico. This mechanical arm gives Nero new abilities as each arm you gain as the story progresses gives different skills to Nero’s arsenal. You still have Nero’s trusty sword that revs up giving it enhanced power but with the new mechanical arms, players can unload new skills onto enemies like homing rocket arms or even electrical punches. This gives Nero a wider range of motion in comparison to Devil May Cry 4 where he was focused on bringing enemies to him for combat purposes.

As we mentioned earlier, Devil May Cry 5 also stars a new fighter in the form of V. V isn’t like most Devil May Cry warriors though; he doesn’t have a giant sword or weapon and he doesn’t fight himself. V actually summons demons—three to be exact—to aid him in fighting enemies and he must stand back to only be used as a killing blow on enemies depleted of their health bars. V is akin to a mage in Devil May Cry 5 where players need to unleash his two servants—a crow with ranged moves and a panther that can attack with close range moves—to deal out damage. V’s summons have a weakness though as they can get hurt and need V to be either near them or using his magical tome to regenerate their powers and replenish his devil trigger. Unlike Nero who lacks a devil mode, V has one and can summon a third beast—a golem-like entity—for more punishing damage and moves. V is a great addition to Devil May Cry 5 and plays quite well once you learn his distance play style.

Rounding off the cast we have the main anti-hero himself, Dante. Now If you’re a fan of Dante’s play style of switching between four style modes then we have good news and bad news. The good news is that Dante in Devil May Cry 5 is once more just as awesome as he once was returning with new weapons and abilities while retaining his signature Gunslinger/Royal Guard/Trickster/Swordmaster forms, but you won’t get to see our red-jacket wearing hero until later in Devil May Cry 5. When you do finally get to play as Dante, he returns to a playstyle akin to Devil May Cry 3—our favorite Devil May Cry title—which means fast combos and special moves. Dante is still the best warrior of the series, but sadly, he’s like a sweet treat. You’ll have to wait till dinner is mostly over before getting that treat you want.

If we were to wrap up everything we said so far, it would be this; Devil May Cry 5 plays quite well. Controls are responsive with a feeling akin to Devil May Cry 4 and Devil May Cry 3. While Ninja Theory’s DMC had a solid gameplay system that we will miss, Devil May Cry 5 learned from its past flaws and truly made a stellar action system that removes a lot of the outdated elements from the main series. Even items—which were a boon in most Devil May Cry titles—have been changed in Devil May Cry 5. You now can purchase Gold Orbs to revive a fallen character with full points or can use Red Orbs—the series currency—to revive with various percentages based on how many Red Orbs you wish to use. Red Orbs still act as a means of buying new skills and items from the store—Nico’s van is hilarious by the way and you’ll understand once you call upon her—but you can also use real money to nab Red Orbs a bit faster. Don’t worry haters of microtransactions, in Devil May Cry 5 you don’t need to spend a single dollar to upgrade Nero and his pals to full level. It just helps speed the process up if you don’t have time to grind out Red Orbs.

Lastly, another amazing element to Devil May Cry 5 are—hands down—the visuals. Devil May Cry 5 uses the RE Engine—the Resident Evil engine—for its graphics and you can tell in almost every faucet of the game. Nero, V, Dante, Nico and the other cast all look a lot more realistic with facial animations that change depending on their actions or movements. The world setting also looks more genuine with distorted takes on subway systems and small city streets. The RE engine was a great choice to enhance Devil May Cry 5 to its fullest but we did notice that the realism came at a bit of a price. During some cutscenes, we experienced framerate drops and strange lag. It never affected actual gameplay—thankfully—but when Nero was fighting a massive boss for a cutscene we were shocked when he began to slow down as the game struggled to keep its beauty in check.

Now, as much as we loved Devil May Cry 5, we also have some minor issues. Initially, we had a lot of issues with Devil May Cry 5 due to our readjusting to the series older style, but we began to welcome the change as we played through the lengthy story. The problem though with Devil May Cry 5 comes in the form of gameplay with its three playable heroes. Nero—as the main man in Devil May Cry 5—gets a considerable amount of game time and even with his new abilities we can’t help but wish Dante was back in the seat as the main character. We love Nero and his voice actor—shout out to Johnny Yong Bosch—but his style still feels more akin to a playing as heavy warrior in a video game. Nero has quick moves and boasts a considerable amount of skills but he plays heavier than Dante and with less style then V.

In regards to gameplay, Devil May Cry 5 also feels a lot heavier in comparison to DMC. While DMC had Dante move like an elegant ninja with super combo chains and moves, Devil May Cry 5 is slow and more like an elegant knight in full armor. Dodging feels rough—with an exception to V—and attacks have a bit too much weight to them. V and Dante feel lighter due to their play styles but due to Nero being the prominent hero, you’ll have to learn how to time dodges and moves quickly or even the best combos will get you killed as your health depletes from too many blows. Does it ruin Devil May Cry 5, heck no, but it makes Devil May Cry 5 feel like the 4th title and many didn’t like 4 in comparison to 3 or DMC.

Devil May Cry 5 has some issues here and there, but if you look at it against 4, you’ll see that Devil May Cry 5 is several steps in the right direction. With three heroes to play as Devil May Cry 5 never feels repetitive despite some of the concepts repeating—go here kill this and then do that again—which is always good for any action/adventure title. Visually, Devil May Cry 5 looks incredible and stands as the best looking of the series—and its spin off—hands down. Devil May Cry 5 still has a ton to do as well with various difficulty modes, secret missions to find/conquer and an update that will include the bloody palace—the survival mode staple from the series—post release. Devil May Cry 5 was a blast to play and we can’t stop playing it even now as we type. We want to conquer everything and upgrade our heroes fully before putting Devil May Cry 5 to rest. If you’re a fan of Devil May Cry proper and/or love action titles, you owe it to yourself to pick up Devil May Cry 5 when it releases this March 8th. Devil May Cry 5 is a great game that is almost perfect even if it doesn’t feel that way initially.

Devil May Cry 5 might be less like the impressive DMC spin off, but that doesn’t mean this title lacks grace. Devil May Cry 5 plays incredibly well and while it misses some notes here and there, it’s still an incredible title. We are excited to see what Capcom can produce in Devil May Cry 6 as we think they know what to do to make the next title the perfect action/adventure game of the series. Are you excited to join Nero, V and Dante in their latest outing? Comment below to let us hear from you! Be sure to keep stuck to our hive for even more gaming related articles and reviews courteous of us here at Honey’s Anime!