Devil May Cry 5: 8 Insanely Promising New Features
Devil May Cry and multiplayer: A match made in heaven.
Dante's back, and this time it's the real deal.
After witnessing the schism it caused among fans in 2013, Capcom have decided against outsourcing its beloved IP to another studio, but it's for the good of all involved that they did so. Ninja Theory's genuinely terrific one-time-only reboot not only brought a much-needed fresh perspective to the series following Devil May Cry 4's solid but samey runtime but gave Capcom the break it needed to brew new ideas for the franchise's potential future.
As it turns out, Capcom's creative timeout ended up lasting for more than half a decade, but the result, it seems, is nothing short of spectacular. The old guard, Dante, Trish and Lady, now brought to life via 3D scanning and mo-cap tech, join a redesigned Nero clearly inspired by the aesthetic of Ninja Theory's spin-off to front a modern yet familiar-looking return to the series' roots, but it's not just the eye-popping coat of paint that leaves Devil May Cry 5 feeling fresher than a spring breeze.
Mechanically, Dante's long-awaited return represents the biggest shake-up to the series' core gameplay since its inception. Packed with more playable characters than ever before, vastly expanded boss encounters and - the doozy - multiplayer, not even shoehorned in microtransactions can dampen the excitement accompanying the triumphant return next year, of a gaming icon.
8. Three's Company
Contrary to popular opinion prior to Capcom's latest trailer drop for Devil May Cry 5, Dante's dear brother Vergil isn't the long-awaited sequel's mystery third playable character. In fact, it's somebody you've likely never heard of.
Revealed at the tail-end of gameplay footage debuted at the Tokyo Game Show, V - a nickname or moniker, who knows, but that's what Capcom's calling him, for now - Capcom describes the enigma as a demon hunter with mysterious motives and a love for quoting scripture. Sadly, no gameplay accompanies the reveal, but given the stark differences in combat style already seen between Dante and Nero, expect the katana-wielding newcomer to dish out his own unique form of justice.
Its been a hot minute since Capcom's introduced a new character into its iconic franchise, not least one that's playable, but given V's weapon of choice, the comparisons between himself and Vergil are inevitable.
It might not be Yamato he's wielding, but don't be surprised if V turns out to share some similarities with the (other) Son of Sparda.