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Devil May Cry Game Review

Devil May Cry is a 2001 action-adventure hack and slash video game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation 2. It’s a stylish and fun, but staggeringly difficult game.

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“I should have been the one to fill your dark soul with light!“

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When this game was first released, it was a big hit and it received excellent reviews. It continues to be well-regarded, though it’s not often counted among the greatest entries in the series. As for me personally, while I definitely enjoyed playing it and I found it to be a competent game, its difficulty curve prevented me from loving it.

This is a linear game consisting of levels called missions. There are around twenty missions, most being not that long, but they become lengthy due to that staggering difficulty, but more on that later. The level design is often quite strong and interesting here, though the platforming and puzzle elements clearly took the backseat to all of the hack and slash and fighting.

I liked the puzzles that are there as finding the keys and special items to unlock the necessary rooms was fun. The platforming, especially climbing and jumping on high platforms was also entertaining. But again, those were too fleeting and they really should have included more of them. There are side quests that I didn’t do as those are fully optional. You can also collect power-ups scattered throughout each level and those can be quite well hidden.

Let’s talk about the combat, which is often praised as the best aspect of this game. I have to say that I mostly agree. While the game’s difficulty is problematic, the combat worked for the most part. It was quite advanced for the time and very complex in its mechanics. The camera system is often judged for focusing too much on locking on enemies. And yes, at times it can be frustrating when the camera wouldn’t listen to you. But for the most part the camera behaved well for me and I did not have many issues with it.

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There is performance evaluation here that is all about an unbroken series of attacks being performed constantly. I did not personally do this as I was trying to just stay alive at all times, but it was a nice addition for hardcore gamers. This is a hack and slash game mostly consisting of sword fighting. The RPG elements are extensive here when it comes to weaponry – you get different swords and some enemies can only be killed with the most powerful sword. I found the sword very well utilized and it was so much fun slashing enemies. It was by far my favorite element of the combat.

You also have guns on your disposal and I used them much more scarcely. What is most interesting in this game is how you can only fire guns while being in the air. So, you can either jump constantly and shoot at the enemy or engage in a close-combat fight with a sword. Mixing the two play styles would be optimal.

You can transform Dante into a demon creature with this Devil Trigger ability that can only be used when your gauge is fully filled, but you can replenish them with a special item, which was a nice mechanic. This ability was crucial in beating the hardest bosses as it can destroy half of their health bar with ease. I also loved the Untouchable item that makes you indestructible. That one was of the utmost importance to me in the final boss fight. Devil Star replenishes your Devil Trigger, Vital Star replenishes your health, and Holy Water takes away the bulk of a boss’s health. All of these were highly valuable to me and the game utilized them so well.

Devil May Cry is immensely difficult, too much at times. It’s pretty much a proto-Soulslike game and we all know how insanely frustrating this genre is. Even the regular enemies in this installment can be quite bothersome, especially those Scissors and Shadow. I disliked the choice to repeat all of these enemies throughout, which negatively impacted the game’s variety and innovation. The same goes for the bosses, which are pretty much repeated twice after being beaten the first time.

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Phantom is this initially very annoying spider that has a couple of horrendous attacks, but once you get his pattern, you can beat him somewhat easily. Nelo Angelo was the weakest of the five bosses to me personally as this knight has limiting movements and it’ very easy to evade most of his attacks. I hated Griffon as I often have struggles fighting flying enemies, especially bosses. It’s unfair having to fight them from the ground while they have the advantage to attack from the air. Thankfully, the underwater levels were at least not as frustrating this time around. This freaking bird I did manage to kill eventually, but after struggling quite a bit.

Nightmare is this blob-like creature that sends you to this nightmare world when it catches you, which is annoying in and of itself, but its attack moves are quite complicated and they take away the bulk of your health in an instant. But the hardest boss of course is the final one. Mundus is a cool villain and I loved his voice and his over-the-top speeches, but there was no need to have three different stages of this fight. The shooter one was too odd and different compared to the rest of the game. It didn’t quite work. The final stage is easier and more like a fun conclusion than a regular fight. But the second stage is way too difficult, though obviously well designed. I managed to finish this section only with the extensive usage of power-ups.

Devil May Cry controls well and is mostly intuitive. As for the plot, it’s perfectly serviceable within the context of an action-oriented game. I loved the villain, the Gothic vibes and the very eerie atmosphere throughout. But the issue here is that the game never quite got its own identity. It was clearly a Resident Evil game before it became its own thing, which led to a horror atmosphere used in the first half, but the second half abandoned that and included more the conventions of the action genre. The tone is all over the place here.

But I still found the atmosphere strikingly creepy. The voice acting for the US localization was horrendous with only Mundus faring well. The others were all sounding amateurish throughout. The game is very linear for better and for worse. There is not a lot to do besides the main campaign, but at least getting lost is not an issue in this one. The graphics are pretty good and this installment mostly aged well. The designs on the enemies were uniquely Japanese and menacing while the castle looked pleasingly eerie, dark and brooding.

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The sound is excellent and quite evocative, but the score was a mixed bag for me. I liked the more classical touches, but the heavy metal themes did not appeal to me and those made battling even more intense, but not in a good way. I also appreciated the unique camera system that changes perspectives constantly, but at times it could get bothersome to handle.