As somebody who grew up exclusively with Nintendo consoles, I didn’t play a whole lot of violent action games. My time was generally spent jumping around colourful worlds and collecting shiny stars, as opposed to driving swords through flesh. Then one fateful Christmas my brother and I got a PlayStation 2, and a door was opened to all sorts of new worlds. I’d played plenty of PS2 games before at the houses of friends and family, but now the Sony portal had opened, the genie was out of the bottle, and I needed more video games. With money gathered from snowman adorned cards I asked for a lift to GameStation (RIP) and looked for some bargains. For only twenty pounds I was able to purchase Final Fantasy X, Ratchet and Clank, Onimusha, and most importantly for this review Devil May Cry.
I was blown away by this new genre, full of both character and indeed action. The Devil May Cry series beckpot!came a firm favourite for me, and I played through every game as soon as I feasibly could. That was until the fifth entry anyway, when life decided to get in the way. I’ve been hoping to rectify this for a long time, and as it so often does the Switch 2 provides. Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition brings the greatest character action game to the handheld screen, and it is exquisite.
If like muggins here you haven’t played Devil May Cry 5 before, you’re in for a real treat. The main campaign follows three characters, Dante, Nero and V, all of who are trying to stop the demon king Urizen. A big tree has emerged in Red Grave city, and there are demons destroying all the similar looking buildings. With loads of returning characters and more than enough completely batshit scenes, it’s everything I could’ve ever wanted from a new entry in this beloved series.
What really makes Devil May Cry 5 special though is the combat, which is probably the best this genre has ever seen. Each of the three playable characters function completely differently, providing a fun change of pace. You’ll start by playing as Nero, who has recently lost an arm. To compensate for this he has loads of different mechanical appendages he can put on and use in combat, with some seriously wild abilities. The first of these you try summons a massive blue fist to punch enemies, but before you know it you’ll be soaring through the sky to smash monsters with bananas and firing Mega Man’s buster cannon like it’s 1987.
Dante will feel more familiar to returning fans, with different styles and weapons he can switch between. There are a ludicrous number of combos you can unleash on the fly with Dante, and if you want to master him it’ll take some serious dedication. He’s as badass as ever slashing and stabbing his way through hell’s favourite demons, and controlling him doing it always feels amazing.
The final character is also the most divisive, V. When V isn’t busy quoting poetry and generally being a big ole goth, he summons pets to deal with enemies. Being physically weak, you have to try and stay at a distance from foes until they’re ready for a final hit. It’s a totally different way of playing that certainly provides some variety, but he’s still probably the weakest of the three characters really.
This was how you played through Devil May Cry 5 when it originally released back in 2019, but later on extra mode was added. In the Devil Hunter Edition you can also play as Dante’s brother Vergil, complete with lightning katana and a new concentration gauge which rewards you with calm play as opposed to frantic flailing. It’s a great extra chunk of content where you feel like an overpowered god, that if you missed the first time around is worth jumping back on for.
There’s so much I could talk about that Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition does right. The ranking system is just so intoxicating, and watching that D turn into an S because of a sick combo always made me smile. There are so many reasons to replay this wonderful game over and over again too, with loads of difficulty options and plenty of unlockable attacks to purchase and master.
If you’ve played this spectacular character action game before, you already know all this though. You don’t need an idiot with a bushy beard telling you that a seven year old is good, you need to hear about the Switch 2 port. Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition is absolute perfection from a technical standpoint. It looks gorgeous, it runs at a completely stable 60fps, and it’s probably one of the easiest Switch 2 ports you could recommend for someone tempted to double dip.
The only thing that upset me about Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition was that it made me realise I should’ve played this sensational game sooner. Clearly the best in class, Dante and company simply bring the action unlike anyone else. If you’re looking for an intense and delightfully camp experience to play on the go then look no further, just don’t expect to want to play anything else you’ve got downloaded once you take the plunge.
