Devil May Cry 5 Review: 5 Ups & 3 Downs

Downs...

3. The Story Is A Complete Mess

Put simply: DMC 5's story is nonsense. It’s enjoyable nonsense, sure, but writer Bingo Morihashi has put together something so determined to surprise you in the moment, that it falls apart when you take just a step back or think in any wider sense.

Spread across a needlessly convoluted “two weeks later”, “two months before”, “earlier that day”, “later that week” timeline, characters enter the story with a level of knowledge that once you know the full picture, makes a lot of their early-game dialogue completely nonsensical. Even on my first time through, I noticed one character knowing something that only a couple of others were discussing privately.

I can sweep all this under the rug, but it’s a shame Capcom didn’t spend more time going back over and tightening everything up. It means you HAVE to take DMC 5’s merits from the combat – which I will and you should too – but considering just how much time, money and effort went into facial animations and exemplary cinematography for cutscenes, it feels like a misstep to not bring everything together more cohesively.

Because make no mistake: This is the most cutscene-heavy DMC has ever been. The first few missions feel like you’re playing Stitch The Cutscene Together: The Game, and it’s only in the second half where those shackles are more notably taken off.