DmC: Definitive Edition Review | This Is How It’s Done — The Game Fanatics

Writing about DmC: Devil may Cry has always been a hate-hate proposition for James. No matter how many valid, insightful points that are brought up to illustrate that it was a poor entry into the DMC franchise, the only response would be “You just hate the new Dante!” That has changed with the release of DmC: Definitive Edition though.

DmC: Definitive Edition fixes almost every major complaint to be had with the original release. The game is finally on the same level as DMC4 as far as combat goes. While the story is still a weak point, the gameplay itself is top tier.

[Game0N]

will pick this up

[LOGICWINS]

U won't regret it. Tons of content and replay value. The only "issue" is that if you come back to the game after a week or so, ull forget all the button combinations. The training mode doesnt make this a huge problem though.

[WizzroSupreme]

DmC is definitely better at 60 fps, that I know.

[Transporter47]

Wait a minute. Did I just read the game is finally on the same level as DMC4 as far as combat goes because that is actually ludicrous. The combat level of this game is so simple it hurts. I played on the hardest difficulty and found the game extremely easy and able to get SSS all the freaking time.

A video for reference on how a combo system is in DMC4. I hate people who never actually played the previous DMC games and say the new one is better.
Nero
https://www.youtube.com/wat...
Dante
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[Clogmaster]

What a stupid joke of a comment to make that it is on par with DMC4 now. TrueStyle and DmC can't be further apart.

It's not even an opinion, it's a fact that DMC4 has better combat.

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

What weapon on DMC can rival the Devil Bringer, Lucifer (my favourite) or even Gilgamesh? Seriously though, when I read any article that begins on "hating the new Dante" I should expect this....

[LOGICWINS]

I played both DMC 1 and DMC 3 on the PS2. I enjoyed them both, but I like the new DMC better than both. DMC3 in particular was frustratingly hard to the point where I was afraid to try S rank type combos for fear of dying.

I'll admit that beating bosses felt more rewarding in DMC1 than the new DMC due to the ACTUAL challenge, but the better story, writing, and platforming makes up for this IMO.

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

Nothing's wrong with having DMC as your favourite and it would be awful if anyone tries to burn anyone at the stake for it but to say it's better than Devil May Cry 3 or 4 is a bit much especially when the have removed so much in combat options.

Silent Hill 4 is my favourite in the series but I will not argue with facts and claim that it's the better game especially when in comparison to monster design, combat and content.

[Baka-akaB]

I disagree with that statement too . Ok they definitively improved DmC , and made it harder with lots of possibility , but at the core its still a simplified gameplay with its own codes , a color coded weapon system even .

It doesnt rival at all the fighting from DMC 3 , DMC4 . And certainly not the sense of accomplishment , and rewarding feeling from DMC1

@LOGICWINS

I see your point of view , but this is where i usually disagree . See the subpar fighting i expected from NT , no surprise there , even if they actually did their best .

But i was actually semi hoping that the storytelling writting , and plotting they've shown in other games would be there , especially Heavenly Sword . They couldnt even get epic bosses right

I never got the sense that DmC is better at storytelling , i was just an obviously more recent and modern game . It doesnt even get to the level of rivals like Lord of Shadows 1 in that department

And the platforming was quite awful . So no , i dont think it was a fair trade to have an inferior gameplay , for the kind of story and art we had instead

[PlebeGamer]

Are you comparing the DMC4 to DmC: Devil May Cry or DmC: Definitive Edition? Because it sounds like you haven't played DmC: Definitive Edition and seen all the changes they pretty much ripped straight from DMC4.

Playing DmC: Definitive Edition in the Hardcore settings makes the game more in line with traditional DMC games in terms of difficulty and style system.

They made over 20 pages of changes to the original release. The Demon Evade > Trinity Smash instant SSS ranking was nerfed, unceasing gunfire won't allow you to maintain any rank, ranks will degrade completely, ranks take significantly more points to attain, no more auto parry on prop shredder, etc. There even removed the knockback from using the wrong weapon on color coded enemies, the absolute worst feature in the history of the genre. The changes all around are amazing, and on Nephilim Hardcore you can't cheese your way to SSS mission rankings.

As far as combat goes, the new changes put DmC: Definitive Edition up to roughly the same speed and complexity by altering how you're scored and enemies react.

There's also the fact that the Angel Lift and Demon Pull ripped off the Devil Bringer and actually do it better overall. Yes the Devil Bringer had awesome context sensitive actions like ramming the lance through a bianco angelo, but being able to decide if you go to an enemy or it comes to you trumps that by a country mile.

I never said DmC: Definitive Edition is better than DMC4, because it's not, but they're at least playing on the same field now, until DMC4: Special Edition releases.

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

The problem is these are elements that were expected in the original DMC release so yes it feels like an upgrade for the title but other than the Angel Lift/Demon Pull mechanics it doesn't really raise the bar for the series on the whole combat wise. Plus Nero is only one part of the spectrum, Dante's Style system adds a whole new avenue of battle (which wasn't DLC I might add) and like I mentioned before, the weapons selection is far cry from the Nevan, Lucifer or Spiral.

[Transporter47]

I'm sorry but all the videos I have seen of the Definite Edition have easily attained SSS ranking. Yes they added a turbo setting for it because the orginal DmC was so slow, yet it still slower than DMC4 maybe closer the speed still a tad behind to notice the difference. You know what I want? DMC4 Special Edition. Now that will satisfy my needs of a true DMC game. 4 playable characters. True DMC formula + it doesn't make guns useless unlike this edition.

[Gohadouken]

Personally , i'm not disputing that the game had agreat list of changes . I just dont feel it closing the gap enough for it to be DMC4 level , when it comes to the battles .

I also agree with the sentiment that it's stuff that should already had been there all along or elements that should have been annihilated from inception . You said it yourself the color code system was the worst kind of feature for that kind of games and yet here it was , and still is with just the knockback and any negative removed from using the wrong weapons . And still with bonuses for the right weapons , even if doing less damages than in the original game . Why is the color system even still there ?

Angel Evade was tweaked to be more similar to Nero's , but it still aint as smooth and tight to control than his Table Hopper .. And Table Hopper are situational evasion while Angel Evade can still be executed anytime .

Anyway wait , it's better to stop there instead of going over every changes

I just dont think .. or rather dont see , after actually trying it , that flawed design choices are entirely erased or fixed by that rebalance and overhaul .

i'll only agree that it feels indeed pretty good and decent . But it still should have been at least that way from the start , and it's not even enough , for me , to stomach the rest of the game and purchase it .

Truth be told most people can't even play Son of Sparda mode in either the reboot or the main games ... so it's a list of change mostly for the benefits of people like us from the old era and games with a bone to pick with DmC . Especially a big 60 fps one .

But it also means that ultimately it boils down to weither you're turned off or not by the new universe ...
And the unlikelihood of being completely pleased by the Definitive Edition despite the tremendous changes , if you had a beef with its gameplay .
For some it will be enough , for some it's too late and not enough yet .

And how could we care further ? We already know the better "fighter" is coming with more changes and rebalances on top of 3 additional fan favorite playable characters . "The time has come and so have I" . But by all mean enjoy the version at hand

[PlebeGamer]

@Kyosuke_Sanada We're on the same page. I disliked the original release, and think it was one of the worst in the genre due to its general mediocrity. Definitive Edition is a different beast altogether though. It provides the Vergil DLC in box, all skins, and probably the coolest mode ever in the DMC franchise in Must Style Mode. Read the review.

@Transporter47 DmC: Definitive Edition comes with two versions of the game essentially. Normal DmC and then DmC: Hardcore, which pretty much has the DMC4 style system in place. It's way harder to SSS rank missions in hardcore than regular modes. Things like damage values and balance issues for angel and demon weapons and style points for guns have all been overhauled into the type of style system you expect from the series.

[Baka-akaB]

@PlebeGamer
I kinda get your gist , but yeah it's "too little too late for me" .
I aint thrilled by the game getting accolades for integrating mechanics , content and ideas that should have been there all along . Not two years later , and not with the massive noise the whole year at least before release , with NT stating there was nothing to be worried about . That's just crazy for me

And i cant be thrilled about a game getting arguably "close" to a 2008 release and still painfully trying to chase it with a do-over two years later , when it was supposed and expected to evolve the franchise , as any sequel should . It was supposed to better the gameplay or at least the storytelling much more (and it didnt in neither parts) .

And i'm less and less thrilled and invested , when DMC4 is getting the same kind of upgrades , if not more , a few month later . i've tried the DE a bit , probably superficially , with some friends annoyingly insisting on it , but i still dont feel it's the game we deserved and wanted . I still aint feeling it despite tremendous improvements , for various reasons , and those expressed above .

[PlebeGamer]

@Baka-akaB

I can understand why you feel it's too little too late in a sense. I'm the type of person who doesn't think we should praise a crackhead for getting clean because you're supposed to have your shit together from the get go.

That said, if that crackhead went on to start a company that made him a millionaire, I would say he did a good job as a person, not as a former crackhead.

That's how I feel about DmC: Devil may Cry and DmC: Definitive Edition. I don't praise it because it's finally doing what it should. I acknowledge that it's doing what it should and actually enjoyed some of the things its done. It is not the same game.

Color coded enemies were and still are stupid because they defeat the whole purpose of the genre, which is composing outlandish freestyle curbstomp symphonies. It doesn't deserve praise for fixing what it screwed up. However, DmC: Definitive Edition still has the Angel Lift and Demon pull, which were amazing additions to the formula, and comes with Must Style Mode. There are other unique features, but those stick out the most.

DmC: Definitive Edition and DMC4 are like te Jaguars and the Patriots. They're both on the professional level of football, but one's better than the other.

[jeremyj2913]

You. Have. Taste! Those are my 2 favorite DMC4 combo videos. I also love The Elysium and Elohim for DMC3.

[Ikki_Phoenix]

"the story is still a weak point, the gameplay itself is top tier"

hmmm no...compared to the classics dmc games which all are epic except dmc 2 the stories are pure crap like watching a Bmovie with horrible voice acting

this dmc story wise only is way better than the classics
it has a more realistic feel