What a frustrating situation.
I want to talk about Devil May Cry V so much. So much. But the game’s not out yet, and won’t be for (as of writing) a few days. What else is there to write about? I’m not doing anything on Anthem because I’m keen to push that “game” off into the farthest corner I can reach. Already did Tetris 99 and Dark Souls Remastered, with the latter triggering a despondent rage quit. Itching to do one on JoJo and Part 5, but I’m waiting until I can see how [REDACTED] works in full -- and if [REDACTED] survives. And then there’s Kingdom Hearts III; tackling that is going to be an endeavor, but I’ll suffer for what passes for art around here.
I want to play DMCV, and like other major releases I’m hyped for, I’m in a state of bitter, incensed malaise until the title actually drops. It’s enough to make me want to give cryogenic freezing a try…but since that’s probably not the best for my health, I’ll have to wait.
So in the meantime? Let me rant about DMC -- V and in general -- to pass the time.
To be clear, I’ve already tried the PS4 demo. Guess what? Loved it. I won’t pretend like I’m some kind of combo virtuoso, but I’ve played enough of these games (and enough times) to be able to handle myself and understand the nuances. While there’s a pragmatic part of me that prioritizes success over style/ranks, I’ve got a few moves. Even from a standpoint on the horizon, DMCV seems primed to offer me the action I need -- the desire that’s been engraved upon my soul from the first moment I pulled out Nevan.
I’m a Dante boy by trade; been that way since the beginning, though I do appreciate Nero (and I’m itching to take V for a spin because it basically means I’ll turn Devil Survivor into a character action game). With that said, Nero seems primed to take center stage in the game’s narrative, and I’m okay with that. His tool kit has always struck a chord with me, because the Snatch mechanic is a simple, practical way to manage enemy positioning -- and the Buster attacks turn him into the franchise’s dedicated grappler. DMCV looks keen to steer into the skid, given that the Red Queen warrior has direct access to a power bomb. Also, I LOVE the Red Queen in general. Always had a soft spot for melee weapons with mechanical bits in them.
I know there’s going to be a decisive learning curve. If not for that demo, it would’ve been about four years since the last time I touched anything DMC-related. It kind of showed at the outset, and doubly so because, again, I’m not a Nero boy. But the longer I played, the more I felt myself get back into the groove. Get the feel. Get the blood pumping. I’m wary of saying this because I don’t know how much the stats and difficulty were adjusted for the demo, but it didn’t take long for me to get all the way up to SS rank in a fight.
What I’m going to have to learn (besides jump cancels, enemy stepping, the Exceed timing, and, you know, everything else) is how to properly minimize damage -- especially in the air. Going from KHIII to the demo just proved how stark a difference there is in combat; whereas in the former you have easy air mobility and dodges right off the bat -- you can tag an air dash after your finisher to reposition -- the latter puts you in positions where getting too swing-happy will get you smacked in the face.
Dante in Trickster style inherently has ways out of trouble, and I’m sure V has…something up his sleeves (or lack thereof). With Nero? This is going to be where the Devil Breaker system comes into play, which just goes to show how valuable it is offensively and defensively. Escaping damage with Break Age is as crucial as it is cool -- but on a deeper level, having a plan of attack and defense for each arm might be critical. Going up against Goliath was MUCH easier thanks to Gerbera, precisely because of the air dash/dodge ability it gives Nero for free. Makes me wonder what other arms are out there in the virtual wild. Still, given my experience? Gerbera’s leading the pack, IMHO.
I’m going to reserve ALL story judgments for later, because I’ve done my best to Royal Guard myself from nearly all of the trailers (though thanks to this post, YouTube is probably going to fight its hardest to spoil everything with titles and thumbnails). Still, it’s a given that the combat’s going to be amazing. The value is there in spades. Yet all things considered, there’s one point of interest that sticks out to me.
I got the same feeling while playing KHIII, and it’s actually something I appreciate about both that and (inevitably) this game: it’s relatively linear. Hearkening back to the days of old -- the PS2 and, to a lesser extent, the PS3 eras -- my assumption is that DMCV is going to eschew the sprawling, empty, open-world or massively-scaled titles that fill the AAA/modern-day gaming space. Certainly, there’s going to be something lost in terms of the sheer breadth of the environment. In exchange? We’ve got a better shot at getting a structured, focused experience -- one with proper pacing and better-defined storytelling beats without losing momentum from…well, let’s just call them diversions and leave it at that.
(We’ll get to that one someday, fam.)
I’m fine with a linear game, and I don’t know why I wouldn’t be. The replay value from this game isn’t going to come from doing bland, copy-past side missions on an overlarge map, or scampering to the top of the next tower on my commute. Gaining skill and mastery of the combat system is the clincher here, along with the expression of that mastery. Even if it’ll be a bit before I can touch DMCV’s version of the Bloody Palace, I’ll be coming back for more in levels I’ve long since cleared. Why? Because it’s fun, I want to kick demon ass, and…well, as a wise man once said, I need more power.
Even if I still had my copy of DmC, there wouldn’t be a reason for me to ever touch it again -- even if there was no chance of DMCV happening. The story is its own maelstrom of sins, that much is a given. But while the gameplay is certainly the strongest part of it, the sheer number of flaws and baffling design decisions crippled it. The same goes for the difficulty level; about halfway through the game, even before I had all of the weapons, I felt like I had full command of the systems. I’d peaked. Nowhere else for me to go. Nothing else to learn. Any more effort would be wasted on a product that really, truly didn’t deserve it.
There’s a part of me that says we should just forget DmC ever happened -- and that it’s not worth remembering. But in hindsight, it’s the one game that is worth remembering -- so that something like it can never, ever happen again.
In contrast? If it turns out that DMCV is just a beefed-up version of 4 that manages to iron out it’s problems, that would be absolutely fine with me. If that was all it took for reviewers to dish out those TENOUTTATENS, that would be A-OK. Know why? Because 4, despite its foibles and reputation, is still a good-ass game that wasn’t nearly bad enough to get rebooted into oblivion. I mean yeah, it’s not like quality was the problem in Capcom’s eyes and they were hungry for Call of Duty numbers by any means necessary, but whatever. It’s in the past, and now we’re back on the right timeline even if we had to take a decade-long detour.
I played the special edition of 4 earlier this week, and guess what? I had a blast. Literally, in fact; I’d never tried Lady out and decided to remedy that, only to learn firsthand that her damage output is beyond ridiculous. But more than that, I wanted to “warm up” and try to do what I’d never done before in that game: make genuine progress in the Bloody Palace with my boy Dante. It, uh, didn’t pan out.
I mean, I still did pretty well for myself given how long it had been since the last time I’d even booted up the game. If I played for longer, then I bet I would have remembered/acquired enough skill to make it past Belial. Style-switching mid-combo; weapon-switching mid-combo; dodging and attacking up close and afar with perfect precision, all while remaining untouchable; I could see the road map toward the plateau I wanted to reach. But my hand started hurting, and I had other games to finish before diving too deep.
I pray I’m physically ready for DMCV. Because if not…time to cry forever.
Granted, that was probably my fault. For whatever reason, my dumb ass decided to switch the weapon and gun select buttons to opposite sides, so that getting what I needed resorted in the wrong input and frantic scrambling to get to the right equipment. I’d wager that, once DMCV is out in the wild, I can circumvent any discomfort by putting my switchers on L1 and L2, lock-on on R1, and then DT on R2. My left hand will be rearing to go. And stay that way, hopefully.
I can’t wait to see how it goes. Seriously, I’m tired of waiting -- and I’m thankful that the time has (almost) come. I mean, I’ll be real here: playing through 4’s special edition the first time around made me realize how much this franchise means to me. And believe it or not, DmC did the same back then -- for entirely different, accidental reasons, but the point still stands. After the crushing disappointment that was KHIII, I’m ready to believe in games again. I kind of need this.
Really, we all kind of need this. The AAA space is content with mucking up everything with toxic excesses and borderline-illegal monetization practices -- desperate attempts to survive while also win the proverbial lottery. Anthem is making headlines for all the wrong reasons, just like Fallout 76 did before it; I bet pretty soon Ubisoft will step up to the plate, with Activision not far behind. If any game is going to serve as a palate cleanser -- as a reminder of the artistry and majesty a game can provide -- then we would be blessed to have DMCV be a reminder of the medium’s potential. And frankly, I can’t wait for that golden future.
…
…
…Something, something, something, pull my devil trigger.
See you guys soon.
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