DmC Definitive Edition REVIEW
Written By Tyler Pederson
DmC Devil May Cry was the first review I ever wrote, and it shows. I’m not a wildly talented individual but I am far more confident in my own ability now versus when I began a career in writing. It’s not the worst written thing in the world, but it’s mostly vapid nonsense trying to sound deep. I now avoid that sort of thing best I can and try to talk about games the way that I would, well, talk about games. While the reviews quality isn’t up to my standards, the game most certainly was, and still is. Capcom may have a bad habit of regurgitating the same game again and again asking you to buy it over, but with 2 years between the initial and “Definitive” edition, the duty of proving it’s worth falls to the game, not the publisher. Thankfully, Ninja Theory showed the same love for this port that it’s fans have poured onto it since it’s release, delivering an edition truly worth of the moniker “Definitive”
The plot remains unaltered, with the minor exception of one cut line of dialogue, and one additional cutscene. The added scene adds a bit of context, but isn’t a sudden revelation of any sort. The cut line is going to get more attention than it’s worth discussing, but the bottom line is it was a trashy, unnecessary bit that the game is only better for having removed. The line DmC walks between being a tongue in cheek look at the genre and actually becoming the joke it’s making is as fine as ever, but I still find it’s eventual ends can be used to justify it’s means. The whole story is about 8 hours if you’re familiar with the action style of DmC, but newcomers will easily squeeze more out of it without much trouble.
In addition to the full campaign, all DLC offerings got the same graphical and gameplay tweaks to bring them up to par. All skins and extra content has been included and it all runs at a smooth 60FPS and 1080p. It shines through brilliantly, because with a game like DmC, the extra frames of animation are literally a game changer. It’s something you need to feel to understand, but the game truly moves differently. This goes especially for the Turbo mode, which cranks the speed of the game up by 20%, ensuring the flashy combat is even more blindingly beautiful. The Bloody Palace mode is still locked until you finish the campaign, which only strikes me as puzzling rather than frustrating due to the re-release nature of the title.
Most every bit of the game is the same but tweaked to perfection. I hate to keep saying it’s something you need to play to truly understand, but that’s simply the case here. The minor alterations to enemy attacks, tells, and movement can seriously mess with the timing you think you have nailed so well, and even more so the modified style system can take combos you thought reliable to earn you that much loved SSS style ranking, and force you to up your game to achieve the same rating. The adjustment is a fair one, not a blatant move to make everything more of a damage sponge as is too often the case in modified difficulties between iterations.
I still find the combat of DmC to be one of the most gratifying experiences in the action genre as a whole. Some games have their own twists that make it different, but it’s hard to argue that makes them any better. With the intense combo system coupled with an arsenal of an eventual 9 weapons, Dante can pull of some of the most intricate juggling feats this side of a fighting game, and every one looks absurdly cool with each extra move fit in before it resets. For those looking to truly up the challenge, there are even more insane modifiers active in it’s exponentially harder difficulty levels, and many can be combined to create near impossible odds. It’s also worth noting that the game adds a manual lock-on option, though I’ve yet to nail the timing to make it as useful as it can be.
It’s almost breathtaking to see the difference a generational leap can make with the very same world, simply realized more true to it’s vision. The vibrant contrasts of Limbo and surprisingly stylistic take on the real world both pop more than ever, and I can’t say any level design has topped this beauty since it was last released in 2013. It speaks volumes to the level of heart put in to see such a disgusting world realized so beautifully. So often the tone of dark, dreary worlds are portrayed by a muted, dull color palate. Ninja Theory have always had a knack for visual charm, but DmC has outdone itself this time around.
I look at DmC Definitive Edition as a very good example of how to do re-release right. Not only is it priced $20 less at launch compared to it’s first iteration, but the term “Definitive” has never been more rightfully placed. Anyone who was outright against giving it a chance for their needlessly personal dislike of the protagonist isn’t going to have their childish demands met here, but anyone who can enjoy a masterfully crafted character action game with a serious level of depth to it’s mechanics and pool of available content would do no better for themselves than to pick up DmC for PS4 or Xbox One.
DmC Devil May Cry Definitive Edition gets a 9.5/10