I personally think 3 is peak, and I’m probably not alone in that.

It seems like it aligns the most with what the ‘core’ idea of Devil May Cry should be. There aren’t really gimmicks. There isn’t bad design. It’s simple, but done well.

The rest of the games in the series? They all leave a lot to be desired.

I’d say the first one comes the closest to reaching DMC3’s heights.

Devil May Cry 2 is well, you know.

4 starts off phenomenally, but then it turns out to only be half a game. I will never forgive them for that backtracking bullshit. It should always be a stain on everyone’s criticism of the game.

I’ve only played a little bit of 5, but I wasn’t too impressed. It’s certainly not bad, but I don’t think it comes close to reaching the level of DMC3. Switching characters honestly isn’t that great, because odds are I will prefer to play as a certain character which makes playing as others a chore.

So… what’s left? Looking at it in retrospect under a critical lens makes me think that most games in the series just aren’t that great. They’re certainly not bad, but not something I can replay expecting them to be consistent with the best in the series.

Compared to something like God of War, where some may argue all of the games are spectacular, Devil May Cry falls woefully short.

  • mohab@piefed.socialEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    OK, so I’m gonna say this about action games: if you approach them like you do every other game—one playthrough and you move on—most are gonna disappoint you. DMC5 in particular is possibly the worst culprit; however, if you’re willing to commit to exploring their depth and play on the highest difficulties, holy shit some of the best gaming you’ll ever experience.

    This is why I cannot take casual reviews of action games seriously because any action game fan knows the first playthrough is the tutorial, while for most people it’s the whole game.

    I can’t really fault people for wanting to move on after one playthrough, but when they say stuff like “I played DMC… and it’s not that good” I just wanna say: yeah, no shit, because you didn’t stick around to explore why everyone else is praising it—you played the tutorial and moved on.

    We could argue whether this is bad game design, but the truth is not only does it work, I don’t believe there’s any way for a game like DMC or Bayonetta to feed all of its combat depth to players in one playthrough. Hell, it’s not enough for the muscle memory to kick in to get even close to mastering everything, so I cannot really blame devs that much.