This edition of Critical Reception examines online reaction to the Ninja Theory-developed franchise reboot DmC: Devil May Cry, which reviewers describe as "a hectic, beautiful ballet of improvised brutality." DmC currently earns a score of 86 out of 100 at Metacritic.com.
Josh Harmon at Electronic Gaming Monthly scores DmC at 9.5 out of 10. "Ninja Theory has expertly deconstructed the franchise’s formula, tweaked and trimmed the component parts, and rebuilt them into a experience that improves on its predecessors in nearly every aspect," he praises. "The end result is a stylish, polished, and absurdly entertaining title that’s easily one of the best action games of the last decade."
"The only aspect of DmC that’s a truly drastic departure from the norm is the visual style, which replaces the gothic architecture of the previous games with a gritty contemporary backdrop and a hefty dose of surrealism," Harmon notes. "But looks will only take you so far, and the real meat of DmC is the stellar hack-and-slash combat.
"As in previous games, Dante has access to both melee weapons and firearms, and there’s an onscreen Style Meter that judges your performance based on how well you’re mixing up your attacks -- though it’s admittedly a bit easier to nab a high rating here."
Harmon finds that one specific addition changes the combat system for the better. "The biggest change is a new system that allows you to access your three currently equipped melee weapons on the fly," he explains. "Hold down the left trigger, and [Dante's sword will] transform into an Angelic weapon with its own set of combos and abilities. Hold down the right trigger, and it’ll become a Demonic one. It takes a bit of time to wrap your brain around, but once you’ve mastered it, the combat possibilities it opens up are absolutely staggering."
"Above all else, the game does a phenomenal job of pacing itself, constantly introducing new weapons, skills, and enemy types to keep you on your toes," Harmon writes. "For the first few levels, you’ll hack away at enemies without much finesse, but by the time the credits roll, you’ll be stringing together combos between all of your weapons, parrying and dodging like a madman, and chaining between dozens of foes without ever touching the ground. It’s a hectic, beautiful ballet of improvised brutality. It’s art."
IGN's Ryan Clements rates DmC at 8.9 out of 10. "While the relationship between [Dante and Vergil] hit a high in Devil May Cry 3, it takes a different form in DmC: Devil May Cry," he notes. "This troubled brotherhood -- and the divine battle waging around it -- finds more realistic footing in DmC and gets a seething booster shot of style and substance. The result is a smooth, shocking, and supremely intelligent entry in this legendary line of demonic death dealing."
"In order to progress through each mission Dante fights in 'human' form by default, wielding Rebellion and a selection of firearms in high style," Clements explains. "Even if human mode was the only one available to players, Dante still has an ample supply of techniques at his disposal to dispatch opponents. Flurries of sword strokes and gunshots make every combo an exercise in extravagance, satisfying to execute but also easy to understand.
"But Dante also has a demon form and angel form, both of which grant him instant access to a weapon other than Rebellion. While his demon weapons offer slow, powerful attacks, his angelic weapons provide fast, effective crowd control for larger groups of enemies. There's no limit to switching between these forms, and players need only hold a trigger to maintain them. This means that a single combo can not only incorporate every weapon in Dante's arsenal but also continue on endlessly, assuming he doesn't run out of demons to fight!"
The formula isn't without flaws, however. "Without a dedicated lock-on button, dealing with large groups -- especially fliers -- and grappling specific enemies can be troublesome," Clements recalls. "And while the camera bravely attempts to keep pace with the action, it will fall behind or swing around to a poor angle on occasion. [...] More concerning is the length of the story itself, which -- on the first run -- only takes 10 hours or less."
"Long-time Devil May Cry fans unsure of Ninja Theory's treatment can abandon their fears," Clements assures. "DmC hurls Dante into a newer, better world, complete with a glorious combat system and enough style to make old Dante proud."
Philip Kollar at Polygon gives DmC a score of 8 out of 10. "DmC: Devil May Cry is a case study in why many fans are wary of reboots," he begins. "It takes a series known for being light-hearted and goofy — even in its most serious moments — and attempts to infuse it with a darker, grittier tone and something resembling social commentary."
The resulting game excels in unexpected ways. "Ninja Theory has demonstrated a talent for story and writing in the past but has struggled to execute on gameplay," Kollar writes. "Despite the studio's history, the slow, cynical story is DmC's weakest part. More surprisingly, the fast-paced, bombastic action surrounding the story is strong, sometimes even brilliant."
"When it's not desperate to be counter-culture, DmC's story settles for being crass," Kollar warns. "The game attempts a small character arc, but it feels forced; the Dante at the end of the game isn't all that different from the Dante at the beginning. It's easy to get drawn into his struggle against demonic forces. It's a lot harder to actually like him."
Kollar is particularly impressed with the depth of DmC's combat. "It's difficult to fall back on mashing the same combo over and over in DmC," he says. "The game eventually introduces enemies who can only be harmed by angel or demon weapons specifically, but they're used sparingly, often mixed In with larger groups. These encounters force you to refine your tactics and try new things."
"The game's tone falls apart as it fluctuates between deadpan and dopey, but the action never falters," Kollar concludes. "Fights are fast, intense and fun, and they're aided by a world where nothing is what it seems and nothing stays the same for long. I just wish Ninja Theory had matched the mesmerizing level design with a character who I actually want to spend time around."
It's incredible how positive these reviews are for a game that is inferior to it's prequels in almost every way. The combat engine is just not as good, it doesn't have the same depth, and the idea to make enemies weak to only certain weapons really constrains the player's creativity, which is the antithesis to what DMC games are all about.
I guess because it comes from an American studio, everyone had low expectations? And since it exceeds those low expectations reviewers have decided to praise it? I can only think that must be the reason, because otherwise these reviews make no sense.
Eh, DmC has two really good games, one subpar one, and one so-so one. The series was in serious need of a refresh, and this seems to have taken a good first step (looks absolutely incredible too-DMC 4 was lacking in any sense of design).
Explain how this game is "a refresh." In what way exactly does it improve upon the gameplay of DMC 3, or even 4? DMC 3 is widely considered one of the best action games ever made (perhaps 2nd only to Bayonetta.) This game only takes backwards steps, it's not even as good as DMC4.
I don't know about "looking incredible" either, the visual design is hit and miss.
They murdered Dante as a character for me. They turned a charismatic, joking, prankster warrior into a angry emo douche. LAME. Sorry, no sale. Give me the HD DMC PS3 collection. I miss the old Dante who was funny and kicked ass at the same time. The new one is just an ass.
"It's difficult to fall back on mashing the same combo over and over in DMC," he says. "The game eventually introduces enemies who can only be harmed by angel or demon weapons specifically, but they're used sparingly, often mixed In with larger groups. These encounters force you to refine your tactics and try new things."
Gee whiz, that sounds like the first DMC.... :-/
""Despite the studio's history, the slow, cynical story is DmC's weakest part"
Slow? Cynical? That is NOT DMC. That is some other crap. >:( Grrrrr, you suck Capcom!
I remember when this game was first shown as a trailer people lost their minds on the color of Dante's hair and wrote it off immediately. But eventually we find the white hair does come into play while in demon form and as a joke using a wig(something I read earlier about).
To the point, as I recall Dante was very douche-like in DMC 3, almost frat boy nature. DMC 2 was the odd step brother of DMC 1. In DMC 2 they regulated your gun shots at a fixed rate so you could no longer shoot at a fast rate, which kind of cramped my style. Although thought the story was strangely interesting, demonic building boss, intertwining story lines with a different character.
I'm not one to disagree, Dante's attitude is less then desirable and I do miss his stoic bad assery, but in terms of character design it seemed they used DMC3 as a jumping off point in this re-telling. I think the Juvenile attitude and his devil may care style is part of who he is and a product of his environment.
Go replay the franchise-I just finished the original again, Dante was a douchebag from day one. He's just gone from cocky to actually trying to layer it a bit.
Play DMC3 again. t's just pure, over the top action. The game was never aiming to be anything more than that. DMC3's Dante was goofy, he cracked jokes, he made fun of himself, and that's what made him entertaining and fun to watch. There was no "Coke's just a way for the man to keep us down" bullshit. DmC is like trying to turn Demolition Man into social commentary. All that's going to accomplish is show how bad the plot really is and piss off people who just wanted to watch an action movie. The new Dante is just sloppy, the way his voice actor is delivering the lines is cringe inducing. DmC looks great, the morphing environments are a good concept, the combat is average, this game could've been fine, but all of this is ruined by the writing.
Gotta agree, the writing is pretty awful. To be fair, writing has never been one of this series' strong suits, but at least the earlier games had a bit of charm. I think that's mainly due to the earlier games not taking themselves very seriously, and had just enough camp value to keep everything light and breezy. This game, on the other hand, is full of cynicism.
It's a subtle difference, but it's why the previous Dante's were likable and this one comes across as a douche-bag.
@Dean Boytor - I liked DMC4 even though Dante was not the main character. He is playable but Nero is an acceptable main character. He is more subdued than Dante but is not a huge downer like the new Dante is.
@Kellam Templeton-Smith - Maciej Bacal put it better than I did in saying that "Dante was goofy, he cracked jokes, he made fun of himself". That is why he was such a fun character. I liked that he was cocky. It was fun. The original DMC games never got too serious. Deadpool is another character that runs in the same style of being a mad prankster. Deadpool and Dante would be a great mashup.
I will add a bit to it too. Basically almost all arenas are just squares or circles, where in the old ones arenas were different shapes with different elevations.
I don't get why everyone is freaking out like the franchise is some sort of sacred cow-the second one is garbage, and the fourth is nearly adequate.
When Kamiya proved that he could make a better DMC game than Capcom (Bayonetta's combat system trumps -every- other game of its type, and still has boundless creative energy and fun), it seemed silly of them not to try to refresh the franchise.
The combat in this looks a bit more shallow, but it's aesthetically incredible.
So the gameplay is worse, but it's prettier. Great, sounds like they're moving it in the right direction. This could be as big a success as Resident Evil 6!
Well said, I think you hit the nail on the head. Its not that the series is garbage, its tripped over itself a few times before. The series has such a potential to be very great and I think fans get very frustrated when it doesn't meet that expectation. Although this can be applied to a thousand games over.
I don't know, I think people are just over thinking something they haven't played for themselves. The marketing has been pretty bad since it's just been provoking the people that didn't like the idea of the revamp in the first place. I'm gonna give it a go, even if the demo showed a bit easy, and the "no lock on" drives me completely crazy (I'm a hardcore, Dante Must Die DMC player after all...). But the combos felt good, and the enemies, albeit not as original as the first game on the series, seem enjoyable. I really hope enough people give Ninja Theory a chance, I haven't loved their fighting engine before but this one seems to fare better, and I'm certainly in favor of innovating and trying new things.
That being said, I also hope for some "gaiden" DMCs where you can play as the old Dante (I'm also a japanese anime lover, after all), without said game replacing these new tries of refreshing the brand.
Gotta love IGN praising this game storyline when they could barely make a sentence over Anarchy Reigns one to the point they give you the impression to be about chasing a criminal.
mechanically it's mostly good and one of the better DMC games. the writing really is bad however, and yes it's embarrassing to play around other people. that's a first for me.
Can you evaluate more on your experience with this game?
I guess because it comes from an American studio, everyone had low expectations? And since it exceeds those low expectations reviewers have decided to praise it? I can only think that must be the reason, because otherwise these reviews make no sense.
DmC is the George Bush of games.
edit: Damn! Somara you beat me with just a minute :P
I don't know about "looking incredible" either, the visual design is hit and miss.
"It's difficult to fall back on mashing the same combo over and over in DMC," he says. "The game eventually introduces enemies who can only be harmed by angel or demon weapons specifically, but they're used sparingly, often mixed In with larger groups. These encounters force you to refine your tactics and try new things."
Gee whiz, that sounds like the first DMC.... :-/
""Despite the studio's history, the slow, cynical story is DmC's weakest part"
Slow? Cynical? That is NOT DMC. That is some other crap. >:( Grrrrr, you suck Capcom!
To the point, as I recall Dante was very douche-like in DMC 3, almost frat boy nature. DMC 2 was the odd step brother of DMC 1. In DMC 2 they regulated your gun shots at a fixed rate so you could no longer shoot at a fast rate, which kind of cramped my style. Although thought the story was strangely interesting, demonic building boss, intertwining story lines with a different character.
I'm not one to disagree, Dante's attitude is less then desirable and I do miss his stoic bad assery, but in terms of character design it seemed they used DMC3 as a jumping off point in this re-telling. I think the Juvenile attitude and his devil may care style is part of who he is and a product of his environment.
Or at least that's my opinion.
What was your opinion on DMC4?
It's a subtle difference, but it's why the previous Dante's were likable and this one comes across as a douche-bag.
@Kellam Templeton-Smith - Maciej Bacal put it better than I did in saying that "Dante was goofy, he cracked jokes, he made fun of himself". That is why he was such a fun character. I liked that he was cocky. It was fun. The original DMC games never got too serious. Deadpool is another character that runs in the same style of being a mad prankster. Deadpool and Dante would be a great mashup.
When Kamiya proved that he could make a better DMC game than Capcom (Bayonetta's combat system trumps -every- other game of its type, and still has boundless creative energy and fun), it seemed silly of them not to try to refresh the franchise.
The combat in this looks a bit more shallow, but it's aesthetically incredible.
That being said, I also hope for some "gaiden" DMCs where you can play as the old Dante (I'm also a japanese anime lover, after all), without said game replacing these new tries of refreshing the brand.