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A nit-picker’s guide to Devil May Cry 5 – Reader’s Feature


Devil May Cry 5 – nothing’s perfect (pic: Capcom)

A reader celebrates his enjoyment of Devil May Cry 5 by complaining about minor faults, including V’s sandals and the sound of the swords.

So, Devil May Cry 5. Good game. Great, even. I beat it not long ago, on the normal difficulty, so I feel qualified in saying as much. But I have my problems with it. One of which you’ll find to be a very unusual complaint that I don’t think anybody else has noticed.

First, my pettiest gripe: V’s sandals. Eww. Put some proper shoes on, man! Feet are gross. Though this is a particular pet hate of mine, I always hate it when I see it. Catra from She-Ra, Solas from Dragon Age: Inquisition – you’re not one nature! Your bare feet are disgusting! Go pull on a decent pair of boots – have you not seen Die Hard?!

Speaking of V, I found him rather over-hyped. His novelty wore off. Quickly. I found it much less immersive as you are now controlling an avatar who controls other avatars to fight on your behalf. And that panther is not as obedient as I would like. I felt more detached from the action as the game went on.

That said, neither V or Nero are bad characters. But they are clearly still second fiddle to Dante. He has the most weapons to get and the most skills to learn. He is the main draw, he is the star. Why then do I have to wait until halfway through the game to play as him?! For the second time in a row! That was bad enough in Devil May Cry 4, even less forgivable now! What the hell?! You could call this Sonic Adventure 2 disease, where you’re forced to not play as the star for long sections of the game. Less would have been more, I feel.

The character models are stunning, the scenery much less so. Not all the time, like when it becomes derivative of the planes of Oblivion in… Oblivion. And some parts of the ruined city of London. But for the vast majority of the time, the game is so washed out and grey. And the bloody tree! Makes me nostalgic for the blandness of the tower in Devil May Cry 3!

There’s also a whiff of Transformers: Devastation to the level design. In that it is barely interesting in any way. Very little to explore and it’s so boring when you do that, you’re discouraged from doing so. The quality of the ‘adventure’ is very weak. Corridor, corridor, big open space where you fight things. I felt myself getting irked by the predictability of it all in the very first chapter. Bayonetta was much more varied than this (and still not nearly enough for my liking) and it at no point presents a serious challenge for the Queen’s crown.

Now the weird thing. The weight of the weapons – how they feel to swing, how they impact against the enemies, how the enemies react to them – it all feels wrong. Not unsatisfying. Just wrong. For most of the weapons in the game are bladed weapons and they never actually feel like they are. Nor does it ever feel like you’re cutting into demon hide. It actually feels more like a club bashing a punching bag.

Monster Hunter: World felt this way to me too, at least in its early days – maybe it has since improved. And as such, the combat has this numbness to it. Not enough to ruin it, but it is there. Well, I notice it. I don’t get the slicey-dicey, choppy-choppy feel that a sword should have. The sound effects aren’t right for swords, I never feel like I’m cutting into the demons. Am I making sense? I told you it was weird. I’m very odd. But again, I felt Bayonetta – whose bread and butter were her fists, feet, and guns and not swords – got blades right.

The replay value is questionable. Now that I’ve beat it, I have no desire to return to it. I don’t want to find the secret missions; I don’t want to unlock all the skills or improve my score. Because that all seems a boring grind to me. Why is it that Trish and Lady still aren’t playable in a New Game+ or something? It’s such a no-brainer. Harder difficulties are for mad masochists. Where are the new costumes, characters, and weapons? Secret bosses? Of course, Devil May Cry has never been generous in this area but it’s well past time that it started!

That said, the game is very funny when it wants to be, the twist was quite clever (even if it indulged in corny soap opera towards the end) and Nico is a treasure. I didn’t really expect to play as he, what was she going to do? Stub out endless cigarettes on the bosses and run around with her diminished lung capacity? Probably not. Strange that there is DLC costumes for the ladies as you only ever see them in cut scenes and Nico’s alternative makes her white. Which is creepy, Capcom! Creepy! Did you learn nothing from Resident Evil 5? Huh, both the official fifth instalments… weird.

But yeah. My friend can have it now. Perhaps she’ll appreciate it more.

By reader DMR

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk and follow us on Twitter.

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