DmC: Devil May Cry created such friction with the community that mentioning its very name erupts into a civil war among gamers. So one has to wonder what is Capcom thinking by re-releasing one of the most polarizing games on Next-Gen consoles.
If Capcom was planning to reclaim some lost revenue or hoping that gamers had forgotten about how one of their most iconic games was bastardized, then re-realsing DmC: Devil May Cry has to be their worst idea since Resident Evil 6.
It has almost been two years since the game was originally released and the only demographic that will easily forget a grave injustice like that are midterm and undecided voters.
This reboot takes players to a world were humanity is secretly ruled by demons who keep the population dumb with mindless entertainment and enslaved through debt. Dante is an outcast who is guided by Virgil in unlocking his origins and mastering his powers. After learing the truth, he joins the rebellion to free humanity from the gripe of Mundus tyranny.
The only redeeming aspect of the game is the story which tries its best to be deep and insightful. Combining the elements of both The Matrix and V for Vendetta, this modern retelling of The Inferno has Dante battle his ways through the Nine circles of modern society.
Yet the story is not enough to make-up for everything that is wrong with this remake.
Like most icons that were redesigned for the Seventh Generation era, Ninja Theory dumbed down the core gameplay in attempt to appeal to casual gamers. The gameplay elements that made Devil May Cry an icon back in the day were lost and in its place is a generic hack & slash setup that offered nothing unique. There is nothing in the gameplay that makes it standout from other hack & slash titles except for the a title that tricks the audience into thinking they are about to play a legitimate Devil May Cry game.
Next is the fact that one of gaming’s iconic characters has now become one of the most unbearable brats. Despite what a few casual gamers in the media like to think, it has nothing to do with Dante’s hair.
The original Dante was the type of demon hunter that gamers could connect with or admire. He was a character that gamers could both connect with and respect. He could easily be described as what Han Solo would be like if he were a demon hunter. With this character came a unique sense of humor that brought a sense of light to this dark hero.
This rendition of Dante has lost all the characteristics that gamers loved about the original while being the concept of what a 13 year-old would define as “badass”. To make matters worst is that there is nothing about this Dante that is likable as he is just an obnoxious brat. In the end, this rendition of Dante is not only a great insult to the original character but an injustice to the legacy of Dante Alighieri.
DmC: Devil May Cry could have been a good hack & slash if it didn’t pretend to be a Devil May Cry game with an unlikable hero. In the end Capcom should just go back to drawing board and try again rather than forcing this new rendition of an icon on a dissatisfied audience.
