DmC: Devil May Cry Definitive Edition Review – Demon Killing at Its Finest (PS4)

DmC: Devil May Cry was first released about two years ago, giving the Devil May Cry series the reboot that brought it back into popular gaming. After gaining fairly high review scores, Capcom and Ninja Theory apparently decided that the reboot should get a remaster, prompting DmC: Devil May Cry Definitive Edition, which will be out later today on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. While no one really needed the remaster, it’s surprisingly good, and adds a number of new features and updated visuals to the last-gen title.

The Basics of DmC

Essentially, the story from the last-gen version of DmC remains entirely the same in the Definitive Edition. Players must play as Dante, a self-absorbed and cocky Nephilim, which is a being that is half demon, half angel, as he tries to take down an evil demon lord that threatens the entire Earth. The game is full of sexual innuendos, bad jokes, and terrible puns, all of which are sure to make the player cringe at least once. However, the story luckily does not really take center stage in DmC — instead, the gameplay itself does.

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The gameplay in DmC is pretty straightforward: try to kill numerous enemies as quickly as possible while using as many diverse attacks as you can. Doing this properly and getting huge combos will earn players a letter score after each battle, which get tallied up at the end of the level to give an overall area score. D is the worst score, while SSS is the best. The scores aren’t required to unlock new things or get to new areas, but they can be used as bragging rights with friends. These core, combo-driven ideas power the entire game, with different weapons, gameplay modes and enemies thrown in to make the gameplay feel fresh and exciting.

In the DmC, Dante has four main weapons — his sword, a gun, a quick, low-damaging dealing weapons, and a slow, heavy-hitting weapon. Each of these, barring the swords, have variants that can be unlocked over the course of the game. For example, Dante gets an axe as a heavy-hitting weapon near the beginning, but later can switch the axe out for flaming fists. Being able to switch between each weapon is essential to getting great combos and letter scores, and certain enemies may be weak against certain weapon types. Enemies with shields, for instance, can be damaged more by using the heavy-hitting weapons, while the witch, which is able to perform numerous long-ranged attacks, can be hurt more with the quick weapon. New enemies are introduced every level or so, so it becomes important for players to memorize which weapons should be used on which enemies if the enemies are to be defeated quickly and efficiently.

What’s New?

While the large amounts of weapons and enemies keep DmC feeling fresh, the various gameplay modes that players can choose from give the game a great deal of replay value. The Definitive Edition gives players a variety of modes that were not available in the original game, including a Hardcore Mode, which rebalances certain enemies and skills, and a Turbo Mode, which makes the game 20 percent faster. These can be applied before each level, allowing players to instantly revisit a level and get a slightly different experience. A few modes are also available after the game is cleared, including the all new Gods Must Die Difficulty Mode, which makes enemies incredibly powerful and doesn’t allow players to heal.

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The Definitive Edition adds a few other new things to the game, like a couple of new skins for Dante and Vergil and a new Bloody Palace area for Vergil. The skins, although one of which allows Dante to look like he did in the original Devil May Cry game (which is awesome), don’t show up in about half of the cut-scenes. While this wasn’t a big deal, it did get pretty annoying seeing Dante looking one way and then suddenly looking completely different. On the other hand, Vergil’s Bloody Palace works just fine, and allows players to fight off waves of enemies as Dante’s Nephilim brother Vergil who can be used in the DLC Vergil’s Downfall. 

That DLC can still be played in the Definitive Edition, as the game comes with all of the DLC from the last-gen version of DmC. It probably should be played, too, as it looks incredible on the PlayStation 4. Actually, the entire game looks amazing running with its 60fps and 1080p resolution. I never noticed any of stutters or frame-rate drops that I occasionally experienced when I played DmC on the PS3, and everything ran smoothly. While it doesn’t quite look like a native PS4 title, it looks pretty darn close to one. And, considering its $40 price tag, that is definitely okay with me.

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Clearly, Capcom and Ninja Theory put their time into creating DmC: Devil May Cry Definitive Edition. Between the upgraded visuals and new features and modes, the Definitive Edition is worth buying for fans of the series or complete newcomers. There is enough new material here to allow players who have already completed the original game to go back and enjoy the Definitive Edition, and, besides the few cutscene errors and the poor writing, it is a must-buy title.

  • Great visuals.
  • New content is fun and enjoyable.
  • The $40 price tag is spot on.
  • Various game modes allow for great replay value.
  • Some cutscenes don't display Dante's costumes correctly.
  • The writing and the dialogue is goofy, and not in a good way.

8

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