10 Best Directed Video Game Cutscenes Ever
How about we get a video game category at the Oscars?
When it comes to video games, the mainstream media never focuses on the narrative complexity and directorial prowess that games have been exhibiting for years.
Instead, games are still lumped in as violent murder simulators that are only now starting to shed that skin.
The past few decades have been a verifiable renaissance for games of all types. Long gone are the days where technical limitations meant directors had to make do with the low poly models that probably still haunt their nightmares. Nowadays, directing a video game is a work of pure art and dedication, on par with - and sometimes surpassing - most Hollywood productions.
Whether they be artistic and meaningful, or simply so head-over-heels crazy that they couldn't possibly be done in mainstream film, video games have etched out their own niche in the world of narrative storytelling.
Now, without a doubt, these games stand as the absolute peak of what it means to craft a hands-off cutscene.
10. That Incredible Credits Sequence - Devil May Cry 5
Perhaps one of the greatest comeback titles in the past decade of video games, Devil May Cry 5 sits the player down, tells them to shut up, and proceeds to blast them with hours upon hours of heavy metal, flashy moves, and Smoking Sexy Style combat.
Made for both returning fans and new players alike DMC5 opens with credits that make even John Wick feel like an amateur at gunplay. The protagonist Nero flips from the passenger seat of a van and proceeds to style on as many demons as he can.
Blasting them away in a slow motion extravaganza that all takes place across a couple of uninterrupted shots. As if that wasn't enough the entire scene is backed up by the wonderful, heart pumping beat of one of the games main battle themes Devil Trigger.
What makes this scene so perfect isn't in how it's executed, but rather in how it gears the player up for exactly what to expect from this game. It's fast, it's campy, and it isn't afraid to let you know it's here to have a good time.
Then when the game hands control over to the player and says 'Okay, it's your turn' there's only one thing to do.
In the words of Nico herself, get ready to "kick demon ass."