Devil May Cry HD Collection (Xbox One & PS4) – Review

Name: Devil May Cry HD Collection
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Released: 13.03.2018
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Reviewed on: Xbox One
Acquired: A copy of this game was provided from publisher for review purpose

Our favorite demon slayer has returned once more on next-gen consoles, to give us a chance to play through the three original Devil May Cry games from the PS2 era. The same trilogy was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012, but now playing in 1080p and 60fps.

Story

In the DMC Trilogy you will be playing as Dante in different points of his life, with the original Devil May Cry and it’s sequel DMC 2 and the prequel Devil May Cry 3. Dante is a half-demon being son of the legendary demon Sparda which was first-lieutenant to the “Demon King” Mundus. Dante is a pizza loving cocky demon slayer for hire, where he takes on missions to help people from paranormal activity. And often ends up in situations where he have to save the world, to make sure demons don’t take over. Devil May Cry isn’t great because of it’s story, but rather how funny and ridiculous it sometimes get. Riding a missile around, firing bullets into pool balls to accelerate them, and getting stabbed through the chest with an electric sword, all of this makes the experience special. The Devil May Cry series presents its own universe of weirdness and it’s exciting for all involved.
6/10

Graphics

Devil May Cry has gotten a overhaul since it’s release on the PS2, and all three games has been given the same treatment. But with them being released some years apart it also shows in this collection, it’s a bit inconsistency in the overall between the games. The two first games is showing their age much more than Devil May Cry 3, and textures that maybe didn’t look as good 17 years ago still looks weird. Characters looks pretty good in all three of them, but overall it all looks a bit outdated. When I heard about this collection was being released, I thought they would do like Bluepoint did with Shadow of the Colossus. Completely remake the game to today’s standards, but except for it now being upscaled to 1080p not much has changed since the HD Collection released in 2012. And one thing that really shows its age is the menus and cutscenes, since nothing has been changed about them. Pause menus most notably in one and two scrap the widescreen re-release in favor of their original 4:3 ratio. The pre-rendered cutscenes retain their dated look, bringing all the pixelation of the original cut along with them. These stark transitions consistently remind the player how much these games have aged.
6/10

Gameplay

This is where Devil May Cry really shines, and shows us why many “Hack and Slash” games is being compared to this series. It’s fast and beautiful, with a sword and two pistols “Ebony and Ivory” Dante is punishing his enemies with his attacks. In all games you will attain new weapons and skills to use in combat. The more varied you attack the better combo-score you get, which compels you to use variation in your attacks. There is also some puzzles you have to complete to progress, where you have to find artifacts or keys to unlock doors. You usually gets small hint about what or where to find these things. Boss battles is also a big staple of this series, with bosses you have to learn their attack pattern to find holes in their defence to attack. These battles can be Infuriating and difficult if you just attack blindly, but sometimes really easy if you find the perfect way to attack them. This collection shows why DMC was the king in this type of game.
9/10

Controls

This is where both the love and hate of this series comes, because the number one enemy of this series is the camera. You will often feel it’s a battle against the camera, since you can’t control it. Whether it’s jarring shifts that throw off the controls, or simply not seeing the path through a level, the angles are maddening.When walking in corridors or in rooms the view will often change, which changes the direction you control your character. Walls and objects will also sometimes obstruct the view, and enemies will attack you from blind spots. This is a problems that was present in the original games, Devil May Cry 3 tried to fix this with a camera you could control to a small extent, but not enough to fix the problem.

With this being said combat feels tight and precise, and it’s easy to perform your attacks. You can lock-on to enemies and easily toggle between them or just attack blindly on them all. You don’t have to push many buttons to perform certain attacks, you rather change direction while pressing the attack button. Combining that with your pistols, will make you feel like a badass, when performing  a S-Rank combo. If you are struggling to perform attacks it gives you a chance to select easy-auto mode where you just have to push attack and it will automatically choose the best attack to use at enemies.
6/10

Replay Value

With being a package of three games it contains hours of gameplay and story to unveil. After completing you can play through again with harder difficulty to really challenge yourself, or just play through certain missions to get a better end score. There is also bonus stages scattered through the game for you to complete. Devil May Cry 3 also contains some other modes you can play through when finished with the main game. It’s the special edition that is in this package so many bonus features is present. You also get a chance to play through the story as Vergil, Dante’s twin brother with some tweaks in the gameplay. He plays through the same levels as Dante but without the voiced cutscenes and behaves like him during scripted scenes. He also still fights a “Vergil” boss three times, however, this boss has a red coat to differentiate it from player Vergil. Players have nicknamed the character “Vante” to resolve confusion.
So DMC 3 gives you the most to do after you have completed the game.
8/10

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