The Armed Overture for Devil May Cry 5

Capcom revealed Devil May Cry 5 at E3 2018 a little over two months ago, an announcement that wasn’t too big of a surprise. Rumors about the game’s existence swirled prior to the official acknowledgement, and even though several details were wrong, they were right about this being the game director Hideaki Itsuno hinted at on his Twitter account for over a year. The first trailer was careful not to show too much, but it highlighted how the game will incorporate elements from Devil May Cry 4, while including some features to lure in those who enjoyed Ninja Theory reboot DmC: Devil May Cry more than that title.

The existence of this game unsurprisingly hasn’t stopped arguments between whether the old DMC titles or the DmC reboot is the better interpretation, despite the former series receiving the continuation. It would have been tough for Capcom to continue DmC with its original developer now, since they were recently purchased by Microsoft.

DMC5 will have three playable characters, though the amount of game time won’t be evenly distributed between them. Nero will be the focus, like in DMC4, but they couldn’t have continued the series without Dante. Hopefully he won’t be mostly relegated to venturing back through the same levels as Nero like in the last game. The third character remains a mystery, though he (or she, but it looks like a male character from the main promo artwork) should be revealed at an upcoming event, perhaps either PAX West next weekend or Tokyo Game Show next month.

Capcom is showing off the first playable demo at Gamescom, and the press has provided several direct feed videos of it, while Capcom themselves provided a shorter one with better gameplay. The playthroughs were only between 10-15 minutes long, enough to showcase some similarities and differences this game will have compared to its predecessor. As hinted through the first trailer, Nero retains many of the same attack combinations from DMC4 with his sword, The Red Queen. He also retains his Blue Rose revolver, which can fire normal bullets and charged attacks. The differences in his move set, from what we’ve seen thus far, come with how he’ll use his arm.

The aforementioned trailer showed a mysterious figure ripping Nero’s demonic Devil Bringer arm off off; so he’s forced to use a mechanical arm constructed by his new partner, Nico, known as the “Devil Breaker.” The demo shows the different types of arms he can equip, which expectedly have varying functions depending on the control input used.

For instance, one arm can deflect enemy projectiles, while another can knock several of them away. To no surprise, one can be used to pull enemies in, similar to one of the Devil Bringer’s key maneuvers and a move from DmC. Several arms can be found within combat arenas, and while Nero can hold up to four at a time, another arm can only be used unless one is broken. It sounds like it would be more useful to have the option to switch between them, but hopefully this feature won’t be annoying.

Speaking of battles: The arenas are similar to what they were in previous games, despite several players complaining about how they were done in DMC4. Nero and the other playable characters will encounter enemies in certain sections of each stage, and the character will be locked into them until the enemies are defeated, with a red wall impeding any progress. That these sections were retained shows how they’ve prioritized the series’ most dedicated fans over the audience that thought those were out of date, though it’s possible this wasn’t that big an issue among those who played DMC4.

Like previous DMC games, DMC5 will have some nice small touches. For example, the “Devil Trigger” theme plays in the demo’s battles, and its tempo changes depending on how high the player’s “Stylish” combo rating. Other tracks should provide the same effect.

It’s also possible for Nico to call Nero, or vice versa, on payphones (!?) that just happen to be stationed around certain stages. Here, players can purchase items or upgrades with Red Orbs, though this function wasn’t included in the demo. This is a nice alternative to bringing the statues back for a fifth time.

The new trailer for Gamescom provides further glimpses at Nero’s combat potential, but also shows a bit of Dante in action. He’s still armed with his Rebellion sword and the Ebony & Ivory twin pistols, as he’ll always be, but his motorcycle also transforms into two chainsaw-like weapons. Nero will be the focus for the game, but Dante will still get some good stuff.

Capcom put their internal RE Engine to use again for DMC5’s graphics and performance, which previously powered Resident Evil 7. The results look unsurprisingly great, but it marks a slight art style change for the DMC franchise. Previous titles relied on a blend between realistic and anime styles, but this game hews toward the former, since its character models are based off scanned-in human faces. It could take some adjustment for anyone used to the old graphical styles, but it looks great in motion.

The newest trailer also revealed that DMC5 will release on March 9th for PS4, XB1, and PC. The next big showing will occur at PAX West, where Capcom will provide a lengthy gameplay showcase. While Dante footage will have to wait until TGS, they should show off a new area with Nero. Because, well, they wouldn’t simply replay the same demo, right? Let’s hope not.