Why do people like DMC 5?

In short, Devil May Cry 5 is beloved by fans and critics alike for its incredibly responsive combat, challenging and rewarding gameplay, slick style, fun characters and insane amounts of replay value. Read on for a deep dive into why DMC 5 is considered one of the best action games of the decade.

Released in 2019, DMC 5 is the latest mainline installment in Capcom‘s acclaimed stylish action franchise. As both a long-time fan and critic, DMC 5 stands out as a masterclass in the genre – building on two decades of Devil May Cry DNA to offer a confident, cutting-edge combat experience.

In this post, we‘ll analyze the key elements that make DMC 5 so satisfying:

• The gold standard of responsive, super-deep combat systems
• Brilliantly designed enemies and bosses
• Non-stop, high octane action
• Slick style and presentation that oozes cool
• Fun characters and just enough story
• Surprising amount of gameplay variety
• Accessible for new fans yet limitless skill ceiling
• Massive value with tons of replayability

Let‘s dive deep into each of these aspects that make DMC 5 a hallmark action game.

DMC Combat is the Gold Standard for Action Games

At its very core, DMC 5 stands out for featuring arguably the greatest hand-to-hand melee combat system in any action game. The controls are ultra responsive, allowing you to seamlessly chain together combos with perfect timing. Animations are fast and fluid, complemented by gorgeous visual effects like sparks and trails on each strike.

Every one of Nero‘s sword slashes, Dante‘s acrobatic gun-fu moves and V‘s summoned minion attacks just feels so darn good to pull off. The feedback loop of executing these stylish moves is unparalleled – seeing larger combos steadily increase your style rank is extremely gratifying.

This excellent feeling base combat is supplemented by bonkers combat depth across the trio of playable characters:

• Nero wields his fusion sword Red Queen for heavy slashes and charged flaming attacks, the Blue Rose double barrel pistol for ranged shots, and various prosthetic Devil Breaker arms that enable grapples, projectiles and more.

• Dante is a combat master with access to 4 melee weapons, 4 guns and multiple fighting styles to adapt to any situation. Fans will love seeing Dante wielding signature weapons like the Rebellion sword, Coyote-A shotgun and Balrog gauntlets/greaves.

• Mysterious new character V fights completely uniquely by summoning demon minions to attack enemies from afar while dodging attacks. Landing hits builds his super move meter.

The variety of options here is just ridiculous – between juggle combos, launchers, slams, projectiles, parries, dodges and canceling out of moves, there are essentially endless combinations to master. Games like God of War 2018 and Astral Chain have great combat, but neither match this level of freedom and fluidity DMC 5 nails.

Now let‘s look at some hard numbers on weapons and moves:

Character	Weapons	Firearms	Styles/Abilities
Nero	5	2	8 Breaker Arms
Dante	4	4	6 Styles
V	3 Minions	N/A	3 Abilities

Each weapon has between 10 to 20+ moves to unlock, many with branching advance combos. There are so many options that Capcom included an in-game movelist menu with frame data – it really highlights the depth here!

In terms of pure mechanical combat depth, very few games can compete with DMC5‘s plethora of options. This adds massive replay value trying to master everything across higher difficulties.

Enemies and Bosses that Complement the Combat

Of course, incredibly responsive controls and movesets are only part of the equation. The enemies and bosses are designed to fully take advantage of DMC 5‘s combat capabilities:

Enemies exhibit clear attack patterns but stay very aggressive, constantly pressuring you. Managing crowds of demons tests your situational awareness and mastery of launchers, crowd control moves and using the environment.

One of my favorites is the jumping Blood golem that shields itself – exploiting openings between its blocks requires proper timing. Enemies like the floating Nobody demons will push your aerial combos to the limits too.

Bosses are the real highlight though, serving up epic multi-phase battles. Highlights include:

• Gilgamesh, a chained up giant that delivers devastating punches
• Flying insect king Artemis who tests your projectile reflects
• Malphas, whose wing attacks cover the arena in slicing feathers
• Giant demon tree Urizen firing lasers from floating crystals
• Final boss Vergil with his lightning fast teleports and sword combos

These fights are all exceptionally well-designed to push your combat skills to their upper limit. Unleashing your full arsenal of moves feels incredibly rewarding against these challenging foes.

Make no mistake, DMC 5 can be tough as nails. But it always feels fair, with clear attack tells and patterns to learn. This excellent balance makes victory extremely satisfying.

Non-Stop, High Octane Action

DMC 5 delivers some of the most intense action gameplay you‘ll experience. The game moves at a breakneck pace, throwing tons of enemies at you without a moment‘s rest. You‘ll constantly be on your toes, reacting and countering enemy attacks while unleashing your own devastating combos.

Unlike slower paced games like Dark Souls, here the combat is all offense, all the time. This high-tempo action is stellar thanks to DMC 5‘s fluid animations and canceling system – you‘re always in control.

DMC 5‘s ranking system perfectly complements this frenetic action. You‘re graded not just on dealing damage, but keeping your style meter high by mixing up attacks and avoiding damage. It incentivizes you to never stop your aggression, which leads to incredible-looking combos as you juggle foes across the arena in creative ways.

Slick Presentation That Oozes Cool

DMC 5 just oozes effortless coolness through its visual presentation:

• The modernized gothic fantasy art direction is phenomenal. Redgrave City is particularly striking as a mix of medieval castles and modern towers fused together.

• Animations are intricately detailed – Dante‘s chest puffing up while charging his pistols or Nero‘s robotic arms shifting as he grabs enemies give them real weight.

• Attacks explode with stylish flair, including screen-shaking cinematic zooms on finishing blows. Few games rival DMC 5‘s visual feedback.

• Cutscenes have a gritty comic book style thanks to shading and borders. It‘s a nice stylistic shift from the game‘s clean in-engine look.

Then you have the metal-inspired soundtrack thundering away, setting the perfect mood for demon hunting badassery. DMC 5 absolutely nails the swaggering, rebellious spirit of the franchise through presentation alone.

Just Enough Story and Great Characters

DMC isn‘t known for its narrative depth, but DMC 5 hits the sweet spot of providing just enough plot to give context for its over-the-top action:

• Long-time protagonist Dante gets plenty of funny, cocky dialogue befitting his veteran demon hunter status.

• Nero‘s role is expanded as he searches for meaning in his demonic powers. Their contrasting personalities play off each other well.

• Mysterious newcomer V acts as a foil to their brute strength with his intelligence-focused fighting.

• The story drip-feeds you about the origins of Nero‘s powers and his link to Dante‘s past. Franchise fans will love the connections.

Of course cheesy humor and plenty of twists are part of DMC‘s charm. You‘re not playing for an Oscar-worthy narrative, but rather an entertaining backdrop for maximalist action.

On that front, DMC 5‘s story ticks all the right boxes – establishing high stakes, providing motivation and giving characters a chance to shine without getting in the way of the gameplay.

Surprising Gameplay Variety

For a pure action game, DMC 5 boasts impressive variety in activities that prevent combat from ever growing stale:

• The environments feature a nice mix of open arenas for combat and indoor platforming segments to break things up.

• Traversal moves like Nero‘s grappling hook, air hike and Dante‘s aerial rave let you zip around environments with flair.

• Some levels throw in fun changes of pace like riding on top of a winged demon through debris fields.

• Puzzles may involve manipulating time or finding hidden animal heads to progress.

• Boss fights often have interactive environments to utilize, such as explosions that stun enemies for openings.

By incorporating diverse obstacles, puzzles and stage features into its levels, DMC 5 keeps you engaged outside of combat. It‘s impressive how each mission manages to feel unique despite re-using environments and enemies. The pacing between action-packed fights and downtime exploration is spot on.

Accessible Yet Limitless Skill Ceiling

A tricky balancing act for any action game is catering to both casual and hardcore fans, but DMC 5 pulls this off excellently:

For beginners, an automatic mode performs combos and stylish moves for you by holding a single button. This allows anyone to enjoy DMC 5‘s slick combat.

As you improve, switching to manual mode allows greater control over execution and unlocking higher style ranks and scores.

Veterans can focus on completely mastering each weapon, perfecting frame-perfect dodges, maxing out style meters and burning through hardest difficulties. Unlockable modes like Heaven or Hell (die in one hit) or Hell and Hell (enemies have one hit) provide fun new challenges.

With the difficulty select, easy automatic option and immense skill ceiling, DMC5 manages to be equally enjoyable for casual demon slayers and truly hardcore devil hunters.

Massive Replay Value

Any great action game needs to incentivize replay, and DMC5 offers an incredible amount of content for the price:

• With 3 playable characters, you‘ll want to run through the 20 hour campaign multiple times to master each one‘s unique combat style.

• Higher difficulty modes remix enemy waves and bossess for a fresh experience. Son of Sparda and Dante Must Die difficulties in particular force you to use every technique.

• S-ranking levels to achieve high scores takes practice – and you‘ll want to beat your friends‘ scores.

• There are tons of collectibles and some hidden boss fights. Getting 100% completion will take 50-60 hours.

• The Bloody Palace horde mode provides another way to test your combat prowess across 100 floors of enemies.

Between the deep combat, ranked scoring, multiple difficulties and bonus modes, you can spend hundreds of hours perfecting your skills in DMC5.

Final Verdict: DMC 5 Sets a New Bar for Action Games

Very few games manage to deliver an action experience as refined and mechanically deep as DMC 5. It‘s a masterclass in responsive controls, enemy design and combat depth that‘s also bursting with style.

While it sticks close to the DMC formula, Capcom added enough new flourishes and layers of polish to bring the franchise truly into the modern era. DMC 5 is approachable yet limitlessly deep, offering endless fun for all gamers.

In my opinion, DMC 5 stands toe-to-toe with the best the action genre has to offer:

Game	Combat Depth	Enemy Design	Replayability	Overall Score
DMC5	10/10	9/10	10/10	9.5/10
Bayonetta 2	9/10	8/10	8/10	8.5/10
God of War	8/10	10/10	7/10	8.5/10
Ninja Gaiden	9/10	7/10	6/10	7.5/10

From pure combat feel to level design to long-term playability, DMC 5 checks every box. Whether you enjoy the series or are new to stylish demon-slaying action, DMC 5 is easy to recommend as one of the finest examples of the genre. Give it a shot and you‘ll quickly see why so many fans and critics alike have fallen in love with DMC 5.