Devil May Cry is one of Capcom’s biggest franchises, and it was influential in helping craft the “character action” genre that includes games like Ninja Gaiden and Bayonetta. Fans love Dante, the badass demon-killing hero of the series, and Devil May Cry is about as stylish as you can get. Why then has it been so long since we’ve seen a new entry in the series?
The last entry in the Devil May Cry series came with the 2013 reboot developed by Ninja Theory, DmC: Devil May Cry. The game was divisive with fans, mostly due to its new characters’ designs and story. Gameplay-wise DmC featured some of the tightest combat the series had seen, with fluid combos and lots of different options. What people didn’t take as well, however, was the new, more punk version Dante.
Dante has always been a rude and obnoxious character and his antics can be absurdly over the top, like surfing on a missile in Devil May Cry 3. The rebooted DmC’s version of Dante has his moments, and the game does try and suggest there’s something deeper to his character, but undercutted most of his character development by trying too hard to make him appear edgy and convince players that he was “hard.”
The last game before DmC was Devil May Cry 4, which released in 2008. The best thing for the series would be to pick back up from 4, and return to the original characters and setting. This is especially true considering fan outcry to DmC and the fact that it is among worst-selling games in the series.
Factor that all in, and that it has been five years since a new game, and ten years since Devil May Cry 4, a proper Devil May Cry 5 should already be here. Rumors have been rumbling around for a while now about Devil May Cry 5, and that it is returning to the events of DMC 4. At the moment though, everything is unsubstantiated, and sadly there’s no confirmation of a Devil May Cry 5 being in development. On top of that, there was a DMC related announcement last December…. for a new mobile game in China. Great, DMC is getting a new game, but it’s a bit disappointing to see this region-exclusive (as of now) title announced while we’ve yet to hear anything from the series in a while.
If anything, the success of the Bayonetta series shows that there’s still a demand for character-driven action games. And, considering Bayonetta was created by DMC’s creator, Hideki Kamiya, the two series share a lot in common. The excitement was palpable around the announcement of Bayonetta 3, a game that’s only coming out on the Switch. The time is now to strike while the iron is hot, and announce Devil May Cry 5.
In 2015 Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition released on PS4 and Xbox One, on top of that the Devil May Cry HD Collection finally made its way to modern consoles as well on March 13, 2018. Knowing that a new game is on the way would likely boost the sales of the HD Collection, letting interested new players pick it up and experience the series.
Capcom is going through a huge resurgence right now, with the monumental success of both Resident Evil VII and Monster Hunter: World. While Capcom has this momentum under them, Devil May Cry 5 could be yet another game that revitalizes and reinvigorates its series, like Resident Evil VII and Monster Hunter: World did.
At least announcing its existence would go a long way toward giving fans confidence that Capcom still cares about one of their hallmark IPs. Truth be told, Devil May Cry 5 should be out already. It does take time, however, especially if a new game is taking a hard look at where the series should go. We all miss the cheekiness of Dante, and its high time he returns to the gaming scene.
