Devil May Cry is a weird franchise, one that seems to ebb and flow in terms of releases. It’s been a fair few years since a DMC game was released, with nothing announced on the horizon for new installments, and the only activity for the franchise at all coming from a very divisive animated series on Netflix. Out of nowhere, Capcom decided Nintendo Switch 2 owners needed to play catch-up, and so they announced Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition at the latest Nintendo Direct. Will this game expose some Demons for the console, or have Capcom once again managed to pull the trigger on port excellence?
Devil Hunters, Assemble
Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition follows the long-standing series star Dante, Nero of Devil May Cry 4 fame, and newcomer V as they team up. Why, you might ask? To try and take down Urizen, a new Demon King who’s spawned a giant tree in the middle of Red Grave City called the Qliphoth that feeds off human blood and empowers its regal gardener. Told over the space of a month, the story jumps back and forth to show you events that led up to the main story as and when appropriate. Stuff like why Nero only has one arm may seem like a burning question from the first chapter, but you’ve gotta put the time in to find out why, how, and what regarding what happens in the grander scheme.
The main characters are brilliantly written. Dante is older but definitely not wiser, ready to crack jokes, and if he were any more laid-back, he would be on the floor. Nero has become much more confident after the events of the last game; he still has more of an air of humanity, often thinking about his love Kyrie, and the events that brought him to Urizen’s arena. Then there is V, a dramatic edgelord with a flair for dramatics in the form of his poetry book, which he reads from even in battle. He’s more of a mysterious and stoic character who nicely ties up our trio of protagonists.
The supporting cast are fantastic as well. You also have Lady and Trish from previous Devil May Cry games, but it’s the newcomers that really steal the show. The loud and straight to the point Nico Goldstein who is part gunsmith and part arm-creator never fails to raise a smirk on my face, equalled only by V’s “pet” Griffon who spends their time jumping between concern for V and antagonizing everything and everyone around them. For me, Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition has the strongest supporting cast of the franchise, with the grizzled veterans taking more of a back seat.
The story is great, if perhaps criminally predictable. If you have played through the previous games, you’ll already predict where the story is going long before the payoff, which comes in roughly just after halfway. It’s a very “popcorn action movie”; not very deep, but damn entertaining and does a great job at putting a neat little bow around Devil May Cry 1, 3, and 4. (We are still ignoring the ignominious 2, so don’t expect answers as to why Dante had a personality transplant in that mess)
Smokin’ Sexy Style
Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition is a third-person character-action game. This should be unsurprising since Devil May Cry, as a series, was one of, if not the main, pioneers of the genre. It seems Capcom decided that sticking to the classics is best and pulled out all the stops to make sure everyone remembers that Dante is king.
Each of the playable characters has a completely different way of approaching combat, which is good because that’s what you’ll spend a lot of your time doing.
Dante is what you’ve come to expect from the series. He has access to a lot of his classic weapons from previous games and even a Michael Jackson style hat which forces him to throw out dance moves while dishing out damage. He now has 2 Devil Trigger forms, the first of which powers his attacks up, and the second unlocks much more devastating moves to greet the demon horde with.
Nero plays similarly to how he played in Devil May Cry 4, only with the caveat that his “Devil Bringer” arm isn’t attached to his body now. This instead allows him to swap between many different arms, dramatically altering how the combat flow with Nero goes. Some arms are more defence based, others are more offense based. And because this version of the game has all the DLC previously released, you also have one based on Bananas and the Mega Buster from Capcom’s favourite Blue Bomber.
Compared to the others especially, V is a far cry from what you would expect from the genre. He is dangerously human and feeble, meaning when it comes to throwing hands with demons, he’s pretty useless. Fortunately he is really good at dark magic and can summon a bird called Griffon, a Jaguar called Shadow, and his ultimate summon, a behemoth called Nightmare, all of which will be familiar to fans of the series. V uses these familiars as attacks and takes a much more hands-off approach to combat, with a large focus on meter management on the familiar’s health bars and making sure you have enough magic to power up their attacks or summon Nightmare in for a real slapping down.
The difference between these three characters means that you’ll naturally gravitate to how one plays over another. While Dante and Nero are similar, I found myself really enjoying my time as V, even with (or perhaps because) how out of the box for the genre he is. The game is chapter-based, so you’ll be bounced between each character, giving you enough time to pick a favorite. Though I will point out that it does take quite some time for Dante to make a playable appearance, almost mimicking the previous title feeling like a Nero-focused affair.
Wadda Ya Buyin’
As you’re slaying devils and exploring some brilliantly designed stages, you’ll pick up various Orbs. Red Orbs are your currency and allow you to unlock more abilities and moves for your weapons and general movement. There are Blue Orbs which give you more health when you collect 4 parts of them, similarly with Purple Orbs which increase your “Magic” meter. The latter two kinds are mostly found either hidden away or in the game’s multiple “Secret Missions”, which offer challenges such as “stay in the air for 15 seconds” that test your knowledge and skill set.
You have several different difficulties in Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition. I particularly love how everything you have collected in the previous difficulties transfers upwards, so you can build up to the ultimate challenge of “Dante Must Die” mode which is the final skill check of the game alongside the “Bloody Palace” mode which sees you pick one of the playable characters and try to survive 101 floors of enemy hordes. Pair all of this with the 12-or-so-hour campaign, and you get plenty of bang for your buck.
Jackpot!
Considering that this is Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition, you may be wondering what this expanded version adds. If you’re coming from the “Special Edition” from PlayStation 5, outside of the fact that you can play it handheld, it doesn’t add anything; in fact, it removes Turbo Mode and Legendary Dark Knight mode, presumably due to console restrictions. If, on the other hand, you have only played the PS4/Xbox One version, or are a newcomer to the game, you get the inclusion of Dante’s twin brother and series antagonist Virgil as a fully playable character.
You can play as Virgil in the Bloody Palace mode and through the entire campaign in all difficulties. There isn’t a new story for him, and he is clearly more designed for someone who’s already played through the game before and wants a new spin on things. He has a completely unique skill set from the other three, and recycled levels and bosses aside, does generally feel like a fresh way to experience the game. I really enjoyed going back through the events as Virgil, partly to see what he had to offer, and it helps that everything I collected as him transfers (and vice versa), so the Orb grind is a much more enjoyable experience.
Handles Like A Demon
Coming into Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition as someone who just wanted an excuse to replay the game, I’m impressed with the content on offer here. It’s disappointing it doesn’t have all the features from all versions, nor does it have anything new like the Switch port of Devil May Cry 3, but it offers more than the original version of the game making it a substantial upgrade from that. Hell, playing this game handheld is more than impressive for me, especially with the performance.
Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition is a smooth 60 frames-per-second at all times, docked and handheld. The game looks slightly better when docked, as is to be expected, but throughout my whole playtime, I didn’t see a single frame dropped. And for me, this was the biggest win. I came in expecting it to be around 40fps like the original release, so I was beyond happy when it played at what feels like a consistent 60fps, something that is essential when it comes to this style of game.
Looks Like An Angel
Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition looks better than the original PlayStation 4/Xbox One versions but is slightly behind the PlayStation 5 version. Sometimes the textures get a little muddied, and reflections aren’t quite as strong as on the more powerful console, but it is still a very, very impressive-looking title on the Nintendo Switch 2. This is likely in part due to the RE Engine that it runs, one which seems like it is capable of magic when looking at more recently released titles like Pragmata.
The music in this game is an absolute jam. The title track Devil Trigger lives within my head near constantly, and the fact that when you build your combo meter up the game slowly adds more aspects of the song until you’re playing with the full thing blaring while introducing your boot to all the demons is absolute perfection, on par with if not above what I feel was the standard for the genre with the soundtracks for the Bayonetta games.
The voice actors do an amazing job of bringing the characters to life. I have to give a special mention to Griffon as he has some of the best lines throughout the game and sells them so well. There isn’t a ton of dialogue here but when it hits, it does a fantastic job showing that Capcom are willing to put effort into all of their titles when it comes to voice work, regardless of the genre.
Verdict
If you don’t have access to the Special Edition of Devil May Cry 5, or just want another banger of a port for the Nintendo Switch 2, Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition is another miracle port that makes you realize that Nintendo’s second hybrid has quite a lot of horsepower under the hood. Either that or the RE Engine really is capable of reaching for the moon and creating wonders. Either way, Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition is in my opinion a must play for fans of action games and owners of the Nintendo Switch 2.
DEVIL MAY CRY 5: DEVIL HUNTER EDITION IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
If you like action games, you might also want to check out our review of Dynasty Warriors: Origins.
Many thanks go to Capcom for a Nintendo Switch 2 review code for Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition.
Pride of utopia & greatest thing ever, I found the One Piece, Collected the Dragon Balls & won the Mortal Kombat Tournament in one night, it was quiet for me that night! Follow me on Twitter @powahdunk
