Devil May Cry 5 had its best sales year ever in the last year, following deep discounts and the release of the Netflix series.

Despite a seven-year silence, Capcom says it wants to build Devil May Cry into a "core IP" like Resident Evil and Monster Hunter, and over the last year, it's certainly looked like one, with the latest game in the series passing the 10 million sales mark. With a Nintendo Switch 2 version on the way later this month, that popularity is set to continue for the latest game in the series, despite no news of a sequel on the horizon and several key members of the team leaving Capcom since its release.

Interestingly, the last fiscal year (April 25 to March 26) was actually the best for Devil May Cry 5 in terms of pure sales figures ever. The game sold 2.1 million copies in its first fiscal year (which, granted, was about three weeks, as it was an early March release), with its second-best year coming in March 2023 with another 2.1 million. However, in this past year, Devil May Cry 5 sold 2.7 million copies, making it the top figure the game has seen.

Of course, Devil May Cry 5 is a game that consistently goes on a deep discount, with it reaching a new low of $7.49 | £5.99 on Steam (via SteamDB) at the start of April last year (with last month giving it an even deeper discount at $4.49 | £3.74), so the amount of money Capcom made would've likely been significantly less, but it shows the fanbase is still going strong at least.

And begrudgingly, I'd be remiss not to acknowledge the Netflix series, which also dropped at the start of the last fiscal year and undoubtedly affected how many people bought the game. Let's just hope Capcom doesn't take any cues from the writing of that for Devil May Cry 6. Otherwise, DmC: Devil May Cry will be threatened as the most 2000's edgelord game in the series.

Devil May Cry and Bayonetta creator says he'd rather have a game cancelled than release "something subpar"

Nier creator Yoko Taro and Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya say a lot of developers in the Korea are ahead of Japan when it comes to technology.

Speaking at G-CON 2025 in Busan, Kamiya and Yoko were asked to share a message for developers in Korea. The Nier creator admitted, "To be completely honest, I actually feel like a lot of Korean developers are ahead of Japan when it comes to technology, so I don’t think we have much to teach you when it comes to that."

Kamiya adds, "Korea is extremely technologically advanced. Japan has historically led the way when it comes to video games, but these days there are games of unbelievable quality emerging from Europe, North America, Korea, China, and so many other places." But while the likes of Crimson Desert are proving to be massively impressive, Kamiya isn't feeling intimidated either.

"That only makes me want to lock in more fully and ensure that we’re not being left behind with the games that we create" Kamiya explains, "The more creators we see coming out of Korea who are making one-of-a-kind games that provide unique types of fun, the more it’ll raise the bar for the entire video game scene worldwide. I look forward to seeing more kindred spirits like that emerging from Korea in the years to come."

Korea has become a major player in the AAA game space over the past few years, with the likes of Lies of P, Stellar Blade, and The First Berserker: Khazan being massive hits and some of the most popular games of their given years. And of course, another Korean title Crimson Desert has been possibly the biggest game release of 2026 so far. Not only is Crimson Desert a looker, but considering there's an absolutely massive amount of game in there as well that popularity will probably only grow as the year goes on (although that top spot will likely be reserved for GTA 6 for most).

Nier: Automata director says anniversary tease just means Square Enix wants to “milk” the game more

Devil May Cry and Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya has said he'd rather a game get cancelled than to be released in a subpar state.

In a panel with Nier creator Yoko Taro, the duo were asked about their approach to game development and balancing creativity with a schedule, although for Kamiya, he says "the truth is that I have no idea when it comes to the schedule. I’ve always been surrounded by incredibly talented people who handle that side of things." He adds, "I never take my foot off the gas pedal. I just prioritize making what I really want to create." Kamiyta adds that "if I took the schedule into account from the beginning, then I couldn’t go full-throttle right out of the gate, and then I wouldn’t be able to make the type of games that offer at least one truly unique thing."

Kamiya is working on Okami at the moment, but Yoko Taro admits "most of" the projects he's been on "from the last three years ended up being cancelled," but assures "I've been keeping busy." This prompted the host to ask about cancelled games and the frustration attached to it, but Kamiya says it's not as big of a deal as you may think at times. "I actually prefer it when a project gets cancelled rather than releasing something subpar" Kamiya says, adding "I never have many negative feelings about projects being cancelled partway through."

Famously, Kamiya last role as director was heading up Scalebound at Platinum Games which ended up being cancelled by publisher Microsoft, and given he left the company in 2023 without a word of Project G.G. since it was first announced in 2020, many have assumed that it is potentially cancelled too. In fact, his first director role was on Resident Evil 2, which famously was cancelled and overhauled mid-development. And given that Kamiya's directorial titles have consisted of nothing but absolute bangers, I'd say he's probably got the right attitude there.

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Capcom has said that porting older games to Nintendo Switch 2 is part of its multiplatform strategy, signaling that more could be on the way.

In its latest financial report (spotted by Genki_JPN), Capcom provided an update on its sales figures, noting that Resident Evil Requiem's release led to increased sales of earlier games in the series, and Devil May Cry's Netflix adaptation drove a surge in game purchases. The report also notes, "Moreover, the Company accelerated expansion of its user base by actively pursuing its multiplatform strategy, which included porting its catalog titles to the Nintendo Switch 2."

Capcom has already been one of the biggest supporters of Switch 2, with Street Fighter 6 and Kunitsu-Gami Path of the Goddess launching the system, ports of Resident Evil 7 and Village, and launch day releases for its big releases like Resident Evil Requiem, Monster Hunter Stories 3, and Pragmata, but from the sounds of things that relationship is going to continue going forward considering Capcom reported another record year.

As for what those could be, we already have had a new version of Devil May Cry 5 rated for Switch 2, and files found in Monster Hunter Wilds that mention the Switch 2, so those are probably pretty likely. I'd also bet we see native ports of Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4's remakes arrive on the Switch 2 before too long, replacing the cloud versions already available – which is something well-known Resident Evil leaker DuskGolem has spoken about before.

Although ideally it'll go even further back than that, and Capcom will bring over some of its Nintendo classics like Viewtiful Joe, Zack and Wiki, and Killer 7.

Pragmata hits 2 million sales in 16 days, and after Capcom teased its potential future as a franchise, I'm even more hopeful for a sequel

Capcom has reiterated its plan to expand on some of its dormant franchises like Devil May Cry, adding a few more names to the list to boot.

Last year, Capcom explained that it aims to revitalize some of its dormant IP, with COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto specifically name-dropping Mega Man, Devil May Cry, and Ace Attorney as some series it aims to bring back and make them as core to the company as Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and Monster Hunter are.

Soon after he said this, the first Mega Man game in a long time was announced, with Mega Man Dual Override being confirmed at The Game Awards days later, while Devil May Cry had a new version of DMC5 rated for Switch 2.

In its latest financial reports, Capcom added a few more names to the list of IP it plans to "nurture" with "sequels, remakes, ports, etc" with Mega Man, Devil May Cry, and Ace Attorney joined by four more titles. Onimusha and Okami are in there – but given that there are already new sequels coming out for those, that's not really a surprise.

What's really interesting is the inclusion of Dragon's Dogma and Dead Rising, neither of which have any official plans. However, fans thought they saw a teaser for DLC for Dragon's Dogma 2 in some recent artwork, while Dead Rising had a rumor emerge last year about Frank West hanging about a zombie-infested Hollywood.

Devil May Cry in particular feels like a given. Devil May Cry 5 brought the series back after a 10-year hiatus (or six, given the edgy reboot), and it received critical acclaim and became one of the best-selling Capcom games ever, only for the series to go right back into hibernation aside from an animated series on Netflix. Hopefully we won't need to wait much longer for it to emerge.

Also, shout out to my poor brethren in the Dino Crisis, Breath of Fire, and Darkstalkers camps. Maybe one day.

Pragmata hits 2 million sales in 16 days, and after Capcom teased its potential future as a franchise, I'm even more hopeful for a sequel

Turns out we did have a Nintendo Direct this week, except it was in the form of the ESRB and the Taiwan ratings board publishing a bunch of listings for Switch 2 games – seemingly including a new version of Capcom's Devil May Cry 5.

Ratings board leaks are nothing new – in the last 12 months alone we've had the likes of Life is Strange Reunion, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero on the Nintendo Switch 2, and Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition all come to fruition after ratings leaked early. Earlier this week, the Korean ratings board seemingly leaked Sonic Frontiers Definitive Edition, but today the floodgates have opened for Switch 2 as prominent leaker Nate The Hate shared claims about a bunch of planned Nintendo releases, amid other ratings board shenanigans. So basically, we probably know all of the next Nintendo Direct by now.

Taiwan's ratings board (via Nintendo Everything) posted a rating for an upcoming Switch 2 release from Capcom, that being "Devil May Cry 5 Devil Hunter Edition." Now, not only is this game not already on Switch 2, but Devil Hunter Edition would be a brand new version of the game. Granted, this could be as simple as a renaming of the existing Special Edition release, but some new content coming to the game – such as the highly requested Lady and Trish DLC – would go down a treat.

Although it would mean that Capcom is skipping over Devil May Cry 4 after the original three released on the original Switch. Nate The Hate also corroborated that he had heard of a Devil May Cry 5 Switch 2 Edition, giving some extra credit to this leak.

The Taiwan ratings board also released a rating for the currently-PC-exclusive horror title UN:Me. Meanwhile, the ESRB – not to be outdone – posted ratings for Switch 2 releases of Blood West, Hell is Us, and Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival. We'll just have to watch this space to see if they get officially announced.

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Devil May Cry actor Brian Hanford has reacted to the rumors of Devil May Cry 6 being announced at State of Play this week, but insists he knows nothing.

Earlier this week, the GamingLeaksAndRumours Subreddit posted a rumour about Devil May Cry 6 possibly appearing in a State of Play since confirmed. And since Sony announced there will be a showcase later this week, naturally, some have run with it. Given it's only been two years since Dragon's Dogma 2 released, a number of names you'd associate with DMC have left Capcom as of late, and Nero's voice actor Johnny Young Bosch was publicly calling for a sixth entry last year, I can't say I buy it.

But Hanford – who plays V in Devil May Cry 5 – responded to the rumour with a simple "Ummmmmmmmmm" with the shifty eyes emoji for good measure. And after fans picked up on it, he responded to Genki_JPN on Twitter, saying "Trust me, if I knew anything, I’d say has. Just out here getting excited about rumors and tweets."

And given that V's role in the wider story of Devil May Cry should theoretically be done since he was the human half of Vergil the whole time, I'm inclined to believe him. It wouldn't be the first time Hanford has gotten fans excited about something that doesn't exist either, as back in 2020 he Tweeted that he was "absolutely pumped" about a new Capcom VS game that never materialized.

Although, this would not be the first time that a Devil May Cry voice actor has spilled the beans. Vergil actor Dan Southworth said "now they're going to bring us back" in a Devil May Cry actor panel back in 2015, casually revealing that Devil May Cry 5 was on the way. And granted, Southworth talked about being asked to do a "younger Vergil" voice for a video game in a panel back in 2024, but I'm still not getting my hopes up.

Capcom wants to build Devil May Cry into a "core IP" like Resident Evil and Monster Hunter

Capcom has announced plans to grow some of its franchises, namely Devil May Cry, Ace Attorney, and Mega Man.

Outside of Nintendo, it's hard to argue that any company in gaming history has a roster of characters and series as iconic as Capcom does. And while it has branched out with the returns of Onimusha and Okami recently, unless you are Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, or Street Fighter, it feels like nothing is guaranteed if you're looking for new games; Devil May Cry 5 sold 10 million copies after the series laid dormant for 11 years, and yet Capcom hasn't done anything with it since. However, that could be due to change soon.

During Capcom's 2025 Integrated Report (as spotted by Rockman Corner), COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto mentions, "Our efforts are focused on core IP such as the Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, and Street Fighter franchises," and while, "We consistently release two to three major new titles each year," the company recognizes "the need to grow our pipeline going forward."

"Capcom owns a wealth of globally popular brands," Tsujimoto explains, specifically mentioning "Mega Man, Devil May Cry, and Ace Attorney." He adds that Capcom aims "to expand our user base and improve our performance through new releases, remakes, and ports of titles in these series to new hardware. By enhancing brand power and cultivating loyal fan bases, we will grow these into core IPs."

Devil May Cry's absence can mostly be attributed to the team and series producer Hideaki Itsuno creating Dragon's Dogma 2 and subsequently leaving Capcom in 2024, with other key series staffers like combat designer Ryota Suzuki leaving Capcom too. But that isn't exactly bad news for the series, as Street Fighter 6 had a new face at the helm and is probably one of the best fighting games ever made. Plus, Devil May Cry 5 left off in a place where you could go a few different directions with it.

Given the popularity of the animated series and the spike in sales for the series that followed afterwards, I can't see Devil May Cry lying dormant for too much longer, but it's reassuring to hear Capcom has plans to grow it. And hey, maybe Mega Man fans will be happy for once, too, if his Funko Fusion cameo didn't sustain them enough…

Please act surprised: Resident Evil Requiem stars Leon Kennedy, and I can't imagine Capcom is too pleased about PlayStation leaking that fact.

Former Devil May Cry series director Hideaki Itsuno has said Devil May Cry 5's pacing was all down to potato chips.

Devil May Cry is a series that is most associated with its action. Not only did it pioneer 3D action games, but it also built upon itself to create what is arguably the best combat system in any game, with Devil May Cry 3 and 5 being among the best action games. But it also packs a silly, melodramatic, yet somehow investing story into a saga of five titles, and yet it never feels like cutscenes overpower the experience.

Speaking at the Archipel Caravan event (via Genki_JPN) during a session on action in games alongside Team Ninja president Fumihiko Yasuda (who worked on Devil May Cry's Xbox counterpart when it comes to hardcore action – Ninja Gaiden), Itsuno spoke about the development of Devil May Cry 5.

When talking about the pacing of Devil May Cry 5, Itsuno claims he based the scenario design around potato chips, or more directly, on letting players know when it was time to take a break and eat some potato chips. This would be done by making it clear when cutscenes were incoming to give you a small break from the minute-to-minute action found in Devil May Cry 5.

Itsuno also mentioned that the pacing of the missions was also based on the idea that some players would only have around one hour a day free to play video games, and aimed to make every single one-hour segment something entertaining. Devil May Cry 5 was split up into 20 missions across the entire game – some far longer than others – which not only makes it a good game for those with less time, but in tandem makes it easy to play multiple runs of like I did at launch.

Ghost of Yotei earns praise from legendary developers behind Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry, with Team Ninja's Fumihko Yasuda saying he's always wanted to make a game based in Hokkaido.

Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya has spoken about working with different publishers and the difference between Japanese and Western publishers.

Kamiya spoke to VGC in an in-depth interview about his new studio, Clovers, and was asked what his reaction was to all of the layoff and cancellation stories coming out of Western publishers at the moment. It was noted that these stories rarely come out of Japanese publishers. Kamiya noted his resume of working with a ton of publishers across the world, and said, "What it feels like when working with Japanese publishers is that the development culture feels closer to mind, and they tend to be more understanding toward creators."

Kamiya elaborated, saying he views game development as "a kind of invention," citing mechanics like Bayonetta's Witch Time and The Wonderful 101 (my beloved) with Unite Morphs. "On the Japanese side, my impression is that they see you’re trying to make a new invention. They understand the struggle of trying to give birth to something new, and they watch over the process with patience."

Kamiya adds that "For foreign companies, if you’re trying to invent something new, because the shape of it isn’t clear yet, there tends to be pressure." He cited the overabundance of FPS games overtaking the market, saying that "I get the impression that they feel a sense of safety following an established format."

Kamiya was then asked if he thinks his cancelled collaboration with Microsoft, Scalebound, would have gone differently under a Japanese publisher. Kamiya responded, "I do think it would’ve been different. I don’t mean that if it had been a Japanese publisher, the game would necessarily have been completed and released, but I imagine the process itself would have played out differently." He says Japanese publishers are "more open to new challenges" but that "For me personally, overseas publishers seem to have a much stronger desire to see a finished product as quickly as possible. If it had been a Japanese publisher, I feel they might have given us more leeway."

RPG veteran behind Devil May Cry and Dragon's Dogma wants his next game to combine "the best of everything he’s worked on," but does not want it to be a Soulslike.

Devil May Cry 5 director Hideaki Itsuno's new studio is developing a game that aims to bring together everything he has created so far, but don't expect to see any Soulslike elements.

Character action game sickos of the world will know that the last few years have been particularly rough. Promising-looking projects like Stellar Blade or Black Myth: Wukong look incredibly stylish, only for the combat to be more on the soulslike side of things, with nary an air juggle in sight. In fact, other than Platinum Games' Bayonetta 3 (which was a bit of a letdown), the last big boost action games got was Devil May Cry 5 in 2019.

After releasing one of my favorite 2025 games, Dragon's Dogma 2, director Hideaki Itsuno - who also worked on Devil May Cry 2 - 5 - left Capcom to form his own studio. But from the sounds of things, the debut title from Lightspeed Studio could deliver us from soulslike purgatory. He also announced that Devil May Cry writer Bingo Morihashi, art designer Daigo Ikeno, and legendary Capcom artist Bengus have joined the studio alongside him.

Speaking to VGC, Itsuno was asked about the oversaturation of soulslikes in the action game genre. He said, "I didn’t create a company to make a high-end version of existing games," adding, "I came to Lightspeed Studio to create an action game with a different value, gameplay than the existing ones. I appreciate their contribution, but I’m not going to create the same thing."

Itsuno was also asked if it's going to be strange to potentially compete with a potential Devil May Cry game if Capcom decides to move the series on. He said, "I’m extremely proud of Devil May Cry 5, and I don’t think I can improve on it, so competing with a new IP is going to be hard."

However, he notes that after Devil May Cry 4 and the original Dragon's Dogma, he "thought it was going to be impossible to create something better," so he's not too frightened at the prospect.

Itsuno also spoke to Famitsu (translated via Automaton), where he explained that the goal with his new IP at Lightspeed Studios is to "create a game that brings together the best of everything I’ve made so far." Citing the influence of Rival Schools with fighting game elements, the endless skill ceiling of Devil May Cry, and the AI of Dragon's Dogma 2.

And while it may be hard to create a character that's as iconic as Dante, Itsuno says, "Characters have always been a crucial part of my work, so I plan to invest a lot of effort into character creation."

27-year Capcom veteran who worked on everything from Resident Evil to Devil May Cry is finally revealing his studio's new action RPG this year, but warns it's unlike anything they've made before.

Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya has talked about Hideaki Itsuno taking over directing duties for the series, saying that without his DMC3 and 4, "there would have been no Bayonetta."

While Hideki Kamiya created the Devil May Cry series, it's safe to say that a ton of people associate the series with Dragon's Dogma creator Hideaki Itsuno, who joined the series during Devil May Cry 2 and directed each of the games from there (barring the edgelord reboot). While DMC2 was a total mess, Itsuno was brought on as director to try and salvage what was there (to which Kamiya says "I don’t think that’s what he really wanted to be doing, to be honest"), but then bounced back with arguably the best action game ever made with Devil May Cry 3.

Kamiya was asked about his thoughts on Itsuno's work for his YouTube Q&A series. Kamiya admits he hasn't actually spent much time with him at Capcom, or in general, until a recent drinking session. But he recounts Itsuno consulting Kamiya about his vision ahead of starting work on DMC3, "he brought me in and told me about the vision he had."

Kamiya recalls, "Since I wasn't the director, I could say whatever I wanted without any real responsibility" when suggesting ideas to Itsuno. But in the midst of these ideas, Kamiya says, "There's something he said that really stuck with me." He adds: "Itsuno said to me, 'only Kamiya can get away with stuff like that. If we do the same, fans would get mad." This made Kamiya realize "Itsuno was feeling super cautious" after the DMC2 debacle, and "he had to be incredibly careful."

As we know now, Devil May Cry 3 turned out to be incredible, which Kamiya says really inspired him. He recalls Shinji Mikami seeing the game and telling him "Kamiya, you gotta go see it. That was wild!" and that "when I saw it, I thought, 'damn, this is awesome.' It really fired me up." Kamiya would soon leave for Platinum Games after completing Okami, he said, when the team started working on Bayonetta, "I was like, 'there's no way I'm losing to that…' It really lit that competitive fire in me."

Kamiya then speaks about playing a demo of DMC4 that was taking place across from the Platinum offices. "A bunch of us went and tried it out – 'Ooh, not bad!' but adds "While we were playing it, we were like, 'no way we're losing to this'" which led to the Bayonetta team "getting super motivated." Kamiya adds "If Itsuno hadn't created DMC3 and DMC4, there would have been no Bayonetta," saying the mindset of "I can't lose to this" and "I'm going to top this" is "what drove Bayonetta forward" and that he's "genuinely super thankful to Itsuno for that." As he should be, because Bayonetta also turned out to be one of the best action games ever made, alongside DMC3.

Despite the 8-year hiatus, Capcom has called Mega Man "one of our most important IPs."

After Capcom confirmed that Devil May Cry 5 hit a milestone of 10 million copies sold since its release in 2019, Johnny Yong Bosch – who played Nero in the game and Dante in the recent Devil May Cry anime – is joining the call for a sequel to one of the best action games ever made.

Devil May Cry 5 revived the series after an 11-year gap (in which every Assassin's Creed game after the original and before Valhalla released, to put those years into perspective). Only the pretty good, but terribly written reboot, DmC: Devil May Cry, could keep us warm in the meantime.

So Devil May Cry 5 was a huge success – both critically and commercially, and Capcom's explained that the game sold 10 million copies following a surge in sales after the anime series came to Netflix. This places Devil May Cry 5 just below the top 10 best selling Capcom titles of all time – which Capcom hasn't updated with new figures, but the company has confirmed over 10 million sold for Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak and the Resident Evil 3 and 4 remakes separately.

Reacting to the news on Twitter, Johnny Yong Bosch said, "Is that enough to get DMC6 going? Just asking for a friend."

Normally a game that does that well, like the aforementioned Resident Evil and Monster Hunter series, becomes high priority for Capcom, considering how often those series get new releases. But there hasn't been a peep from Devil May Cry on the games front since Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition launched with the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

However, series producer Hideaki Itsuno went on to direct the equally excellent Dragon's Dogma 2... and then left Capcom after 30 years with the company.

Presumably, the team is free to work on a new Devil May Cry now that Dragon's Dogma 2 is out and possibly not getting DLC, since we haven't yet heard a peep about it. But if not, Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya says he'd be up for making a remake of the first game.

Devil May Cry and Dragon's Dogma director Hideaki Itsuno says he's working on a new AAA action game that'll make you say "'I've never seen that in a game before.'"

Hideki Kamiya has publicly requested that Capcom allow him to handle a potential Devil May Cry remake and the future of the Viewtiful Joe series.

Despite being notorious for blocking people on Twitter for even the slightest annoyance, Hideki Kamiya hosts his own YouTube show dedicated to answering comments by fans of his work. While he is once again collaborating with Capcom, with his new studio Clovers creating a sequel to Okami, naturally, many want to know if he'll return to another one of the series he created under Capcom.

In the new episode of Kamiya's series, a fan asks if he could work on a remake of Devil May Cry, and if he has any ideas in mind for how it could be improved. To which Kamiya responds, "As for a Devil May Cry remake – of course I'd love to do that." He says that he doesn't replay his own games after release, but that he sometimes watches gameplay clips of the original Devil May Cry and thinks, "yeah, this really does feel like 24-year-old game design." And while he would like to "remake it from the ground up" with "today's technology and game design approach".

However, he doesn't have any specific ideas on how a Devil May Cry remake could improve on the original, saying, "I don't think seriously unless it's really happening, so right now, I don't have anything." But he does say, "if the time comes, I'll come up with something. That's what I do," before pleading, "Capcom – please leave it to me" adding, "also, let me handle Viewtiful Joe too."

Outside of a terrible mobile game and the new anime series, Devil May Cry hasn't had as much as a peep since Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition released back in 2020. Series producer Hideaki Itsuno went on to work on Dragon's Dogma 2 and has since left Capcom. So a Kamiya-led Devil May Cry remake could be precisely what the series needs to get back into action.

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After directing multiple Devil May Cries and both Dragon's Dogmas, famed director Hideaki Itsuno has already begun working on a "new project" at his shiny new studio.

Last summer, Hideaki Itsuno announced that he was leaving publisher Capcom after three whole decades and multiple genre-defining hits under his belt to make a "new game in a new environment." A few months later, the pioneering developer then confirmed he was opening two new Japan-based development offices with Tencent's LightSpeed Studios label - both "dedicated to crafting original AAA action game titles."

But Itsuno has now ushered in the new year with a teasery message to fans of his work and a call to arms for prospective developers. "A new project has already started," he tweeted on New Years Eve, alongside a picture of him smiling at the studio. "We will do our best to announce it to everyone as soon as possible. We are also looking for people to join us in developing the game!"

"Joining LightSpeed Studios is an exciting new chapter for me," Itsuno said at the time of the studio's announcement. "With LightSpeed's strong development capability and global network, I look forward to creating original AAA action game titles together with the amazing team and building aesthetic and innovative experiences for the global player community. We welcome all talented and passionate game creators from the world over to join our vision."

The open job roles on LightSpeed Studios Japan's websitedon't shed any more light on whatever the upcoming game might look like. Hell, the team's game might not even be anything more tangible than bullet points on a whiteboard for all we know. But unless the team's working on a licensed series, we can safely bet Itsuno is cooking up another all-new idea for his first non-Capcom game in 30 years.

Reminisce with the 25 best action games to play right now.

Hideaki Itsuno has been pumping out beloved games at publisher Capcom for over three decades, from multiple Devil May Cries to both Dragon's Dogmas, but he's now leaving the company to make new games in a "new environment."

The long-time DMC director revealed his departure in a tweet from earlier today. "At the end of August 2024, I will be leaving Capcom after 30 years and 5 months," Itsuno writes. "Thank you for your long-term support of the games and characters I have been responsible for. I hope you will continue to support Capcom's games and characters."

"From September, I will start developing a new game in a new environment," he continues. "I hope to create fun, beautiful games that are as memorable as, or even more memorable than, the ones I have created so far." There's currently no word on what type of game Itsuno is working on next, what this "new environment" could be, or why he's leaving Capcom, but whatever the famed director makes next deserves to be paid attention.

After working on some oft-forgotten fighting games in the late 1990s - who remembers Power Stone? - Itsuno took over the directing reigns of the most contentious game in the stylish slasher series, Devil May Cry 2, which was struggling with a turbulent development cycle at the time. 

From there, Itsuno directed every single entry in the influential series, minus the Ninja Theory-led reboot, all the way up until 2019's acclaimed Devil May Cry 5. He was also in the director's chair for RPG Dragon's Dogma, which became a cult classic for its hilarious physics and knack for letting players scale big monsters before hacking at their eyeballs. His last game at the company was this year's Dragon's Dogma 2.

Why not reminisce with the 25 best action games to play right now?

Capcom is releasing a new 43-inch "half-scale" statue of Devil May Cry 5's Dante for $4,299.

Boasting both his Ebony & Ivory pistol set as well as sword Rebellion, the Black Label statue – an upgrade on the prior, slightly less expensive one given it features an alternate head so you can either use the Polystone or Silicone one, depending upon your fancy – also includes a leather replica of his iconic coat.

Accepting pre-orders now, the new statue – which is being made by Prime 1 as part of Capcom's celebration of Devil May Cry's 20th anniversary – is expected to ship sometime between November 2022 and February 2023, and while you don't need to pay the full $4,299 price just yet, you'll need to put down 10 per cent now and pay off the rest at the time of shipping.

Sadly, no, shipping and import tax are not factored into the base price and at 30kg, it's likely to cost a lot more. Here, take a look: 

"Prime 1 Studio's tailors have been able to painstakingly recreate Dante's long coat in exacting detail due to this statue's immense scale. Inspect each and every stitch, and you won't be disappointed," the creator says on the official website (thanks, Siliconera). "Marvel at the threadbare qualities of his Henley shirt, created to call back to his signature look from the game. We've employed real, metal hardware in his clothes: from the rivets on his shoulders to the zippers on his sleeves. Even his finely-tailored pants have a belt with a gleaming buckle and functional riveting.

"Not to be outdone by the fine craftsmanship of the clothing, Dante's paints have taken advantage of his grand scale as well. We've been able to tone his skin to a lifelike degree like never before, rendering his face and arms as realistically as we could to match the realism of his clothes. And by painting his weapons with a realistic quality, we've made sure to bring out the visual weight of not only Rebellion, but also of Ebony and Ivory."

Not played Devil May Cry 5 just yet? Well, there's never been a better time. The iconic action game recently had a makeover for PS5 and Xbox Series X that not only boasts gorgeous new graphics in 4K resolution with Direct X Ray Tracing and better audio, but we can also get up to 120fps, a brand-new turbo mode, a Legendary Dark Knight difficulty setting, and last but definitely not least, a new playable Vergil mode.

Here are our tips on how to bag the best Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition price.

There are plenty of big titles on our upcoming PS5 games and upcoming Xbox Series X games lists that you can get stuck into.

It would appear the PS5 is outperforming the Xbox Series X across a number of third-party games, early tests have shown.

Below, you can see a full comparison video from Digital Foundry, taking a look at games like Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition on both the PS5 and Xbox Series X. In the video, Digital Foundry finds that Devil May Cry 5's high frame rate mode runs noticeably better on the PS5 than on the Xbox Series X, and Dirt 5 has improved image quality and resolution on Sony's next-gen console.

"The [framerate] dips look really strange to me, and it kind of suggests to me some kind of API limitation on the Xbox side where the GPU is being held back by something," Digital Foundry's Rich Leadbetter says in the video above, discussing Devil May Cry 5's performance on both consoles. "I don’t really have any technical explanation for it, except the sense you’re getting here is that PlayStation 5 spec wise is punching above its weight, and something is up with Xbox — which on paper at least should be significantly ahead."

As Leadbetter alludes to, the performance gap between the PS5 and Xbox Series X is surprising because the latter console is more powerful on paper. While the PS5 has a grand total of 10.28 teraflops in GPU performance, the Xbox Series X is capable of 12 teraflops, so you'd expect Microsoft's next-gen console to be at least on par with Sony's console with third-party games like Devil May Cry 5 and Dirt 5.

But a report from The Verge claims that this could be down to development kits of the Xbox Series X. According to the publication's development sources, dev kits for Microsoft's more powerful next-gen console arrived later than that of the PS5, so developers had less time to adapt to and plan around the Xbox Series X.

"We are aware of performance issues in a handful of optimized titles on Xbox Series X|S and are actively working with our partners to identify and resolve the issues to ensure an optimal experience," a Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge. "As we begin a new console generation, our partners are just now scratching the surface of what next-gen consoles can do and minor bug fixes are expected as they learn how to take full advantage of our new platform."

There's good news on the horizon at least, as Microsoft commits to working with development partners to address the issues raised in the Digital Foundry video. Microsoft rounded out by saying "we are eager to continue working with developers to further explore the capability of Xbox Series X|S in the future."

If you're still on the hunt for Microsoft's more powerful next-gen console, head over to our Xbox Series X deals guide for an up-to-date list of retailers with expected stock.

Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition will not support ray tracing on the Xbox Series S, Capcom confirms. 

The upcoming release of the next-gen upgraded version of Devil May Cry 5 will include a downloadable ray tracing update for the Xbox Series X, but it won't be supported on the Xbox Series S. Capcom's development team posted the ray tracing update on Twitter to give some more clarification about the Special Edition release. 

"Fans playing Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition on Xbox Series X will also experience the game in 4K resolution with Direct X Ray Tracing. Both consoles deliver amazing next-generation speed and performance, and while we are just now scratching the surface of what they can do our teams are eager to continue exploring the full capabilities of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in the future. 

While ray tracing will be available as a downloadable title update on Xbox Series X, Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition will not support ray tracing on Xbox Series S." 

Capcom also posted an update on its official website, detailing information and dates for the Special Edition. The upcoming Virgil DLC will be coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC a few weeks after the launch of the next-gen consoles on December 15, with a price tag of $4.99 / £3.99. Virgil will be a fully playable character on Story Missions, the Bloody Palace, and The Void. 

First announced during the PS5 showcase, Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition is set to bring Dante and Nero to the next-generation with enhanced 3D audio, faster loading times, up to 120fps, a new Turbo mode, and an additional Legendary Dark Knight difficulty setting. As part of both the upcoming PS5 launch games and Xbox Series X launch games, the Special Edition will be arriving next month. 

Here's our round-up of all of the upcoming PS5 games and upcoming Xbox Series X games on the horizon. 

The Nintendo Switch release of Devil May Cry 3 will modernize the 15-year-old game by adding in the style changing featured in later games in the series. 

This follows a tease from producer Matt Walker who took to Twitter to promise DMC fans some news on the action masterpiece Switch port in the coming weeks. 

Eagle-eyed fans then noticed that the game's official website listed a new 'Style Change' system for the game. While in Devil May Cry 4 and 5 you can swap styles on the fly, Devil May Cry 3 originally locked you into a fighting style at the start of each level. As you can imagine, style changing allows for much more creative and extravagant combos, and it was one of the biggest improvements made in the fourth game. Devil May Cry 3 is widely regarded as the best game in the original trilogy, at least from an action standpoint, and the addition of style changing can only improve it.

The question for me is how this new system will use the many styles in Devil May Cry 3, which has more styles than any other game. It has the same base styles as the other games - Trickster, Swordmaster, Gunslinger, and Royalguard - plus the Quicksilver and Doppelganger styles gained from defeating certain bosses. Will players be able to equip all six styles at once, or perhaps substitute base styles for special styles? Devil May Cry 4, for example, added a fifth Dark Slayer style which could be accessed by essentially double-tapping your currently equipped style. 

Of course, even if it only uses the base styles, style changing will still be huge for Devil May Cry 3 on the Switch. And with this being the game's seventh release, it's nice to see it get more than a fresh coat of paint this time around. 

For the unlucky few who still haven't played Devil May Cry 5, here's everything you need to know about Dante's latest.  

Devil May Cry 3 is coming to Nintendo Switch, and in Special Edition form, no less. Despite its name, the game is a prequel to iconic the action series that's set a decade before the original Devil May Cry. It was released for Playstation 2 in 2005, a PC port dropped a year later, and has since arrived on PS4 and Xbox One. And now it's headed for Nintendo Switch next year.

In Devil May Cry 3, players step into a younger Dante's leather daddy outfit as he navigates a very inconsistent relationship with his brother Virgil (read: stabbing). Virgil wants to connect the human and demonic worlds and Dante is determined to stop him - he must wield his sword, Rebellion, and his pistols, Ebony, and Ivory, to stop the world from becoming infested with demons. The gameplay is full of intense, seemingly endless action with a combat system rooted in choosing a specific style at the onset. When it was initially released back in 2005, GamesRadar+ gave Devil May Cry 3 a 4.5 out of 5.\

The Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition for Nintendo Switch drops into action on February 20, 2020 for $19.99 / £15.99, and it's bringing a whole bunch of extras with it. According to Capcom's official press release, the game will offer "the addition of Vergil as a playable character and the 9,999 floors of the 'Bloody Palace' survival mode." The Bloody Palace mode is a single-elimination tournament that pits you up against and variety of bosses, with each victory offering you the choice of three portals, some of which can jump you forward 100 floors. Easy enough.

You won't need to fight through 9,999 floors to get your hands on these Nintendo Switch Black Friday deals. 

The Devil May Cry series is known for its thoroughly tongue-in-cheek approach to, well, most things, and now the game has really gone haywire in a brilliant, chaotic kind of way. Because now you can get Nero a banana arm for free in Devil May Cry 5. Yeah, you read that right. A banana. Arm. It’s rather fittingly called Monkey Business, and is a modified Devil Breaker, specifically one that uses the same broad moves as the Helter Skelter weapon. Plus when you hit enemies with it the bananas explode into a sticky yellow mess. Lovely. You can see it in action below. 

Acting like a potassium-soaked drill, the weapon looks like it makes short work of enemies and helpfully reminds anyone playing that they should try and get at least one of their five a day by nomming on a banana. So really, if you look at it from a certain point of view Monkey Business is a health PSA as much as it’s a weapon (although this isn’t mentioned in the item description, I should point out). This isn’t the first time Devil May Cry 5 has done something that verges on the bizarre, as in the Deluxe Edition you can replace the in-game cutscenes with live-action rehearsals from the developers themselves. I don’t think there’s a cutscene of the developers using bananas as weapons to plan out how Monkey Business would work, though… although I wouldn’t put it past them to include it at a later date. 

Here’s some Devil May Cry 5 tips if you’re thinking of tackling the game for yourself, or look below to see what we thought of Devil May Cry 5!

Devil May Cry is coming to Nintendo Switch, but maybe not in the way you expected. As Capcom announced today, the original game - and only the original game - will arrive on Switch this summer. 

This is good news for Switch owners who are hungry for a classic action game, and it'll be fun to play DMC on the go, but this is a strange port that raises a few questions. Firstly, why is only the first game getting ported rather than the Devil May Cry HD Collection? That collection includes the first three games and is already available on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC. Why not bring it to Switch too? 

It's possible Capcom is using the first game to gauge interest in Devil May Cry on the platform. The studio previously said that Devil May Cry 5 may be ported to Switch if the new port of Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen does well, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's running the same sort of test here. Reportedly, the main reason Devil May Cry 5 wasn't released for Switch was because Capcom didn't receive Switch dev kits until well into its development, so it's not as though Capcom doesn't like the system. On top of that, series director Hideaki Itsuno previously told Express that he'd love to see Devil May Cry on Switch in some form. 

If the Devil May Cry series does find a foothold on Switch, we could in theory see the face of the series, Dante, added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at some point. Merely appearing on a Nintendo platform doesn't automatically make a character a Smash candidate, but between gun-toting heroes like Persona 5's Joker and freakin' Bayonetta, strangers things have happened. There's all kinds of red tape there - including the fact that Dante, albeit DmC: Devil May Cry's Dante, is already in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale AKA Sony Smash Bros. - but as Itsuno told VG247, the first step is establishing interest in the series. 

Per our Devil May Cry 5 review, Dante's latest excursion would definitely be a worthy addition to the Switch library.

Devil May Cry 5 has already established itself as one of 2019's greatest action games - "a wild, exhilarating ride from start to finish," as our Devil May Cry 5 review puts it. Now your mastery of Nero, Dante, and V's distinct, over-the-top fighting styles needn't end after you've finished the story, as Capcom is adding in the Bloody Palace survival mode for free on all platforms starting April 1.

Despite the release date, there's no April Fool's silliness here - just you, a constantly ticking timer, and waves of demons to beat down in the fastest, flashiest way possible. With each increasingly difficult wave, you'll face off against hordes of regular enemies and even the occasional boss, testing your combos and dodging skills as the screen fills up with carnage. Once you've cleared out all the baddies in one arena, it looks like you'll drop down into the next via a gaping chasm and start the violent process all over again.

Details on the specifics of the Bloody Palace are still a bit thin, but you can bet that it'll incorporate some manner of leaderboards so you can compete with friends and strangers for the best scores and times. Being able to play as any of the three protagonists should give this survival mode plenty of replayability, as you chase after those SSStylish grades and sharpen your combat skills to a razor's edge. Get a closer look at the gauntlet that awaits you in the Bloody Palace with these screens:

Devil May Cry 5 review | Devil May Cry 5 tips | Devil May Cry 5 best Devil Breakers | Devil May Cry 5 weapons and combo guide  | Devil May Cry 5 Secret Missions | Devil May Cry 5 secret rocket launcher 

Devil May Cry 5 is here, taking a step back from Ninja Theories great DmC to return to Capcom's original old school hack and slash action. It's a fast, battle-heavy slice of action, full of thrashing soundtracks, combos and 90s style goth coats that bring back Dante and Nero and introduces newcomer V. It's good old fashioned fun and full of plenty of challenges to master like the combo fuelled combat, Secret Missions to find, and Nero's new Devil Breaker arms that give him a range of new skills.  

To help you get to grips with everything here's our complete Devil May Cry guide with everything you need to help murderise the demon threat. 

Devil May Cry 5 review

Devil May Cry 5 review

Our Devil May Cry 5 review praises the game for being a "wild, exhilarating ride from start to finish" although does admit that the "story is mostly going to be hot nonsense for those unfamiliar with the series" - expect plenty of lore and a narrative that plays heavily off the last 4 Capcom games. As long as you don't mind being a little confused from time to time (even if you are a series pro) then there's a great game here with plenty of varied combat thanks to its three wildly different protagonists: Nero, Dante and newcomer V - he shakes everything up with a new fighting styles built around controlling demons. 

Devil May Cry 5 tips

Devil May Cry 5 tips

Not sure where to start, or just need a brush up? Then our Devil May Cry 5 tips are just what you need. From basic combat, to more advanced moves this will help prime you to max out your skills, resources and avoid any rookie errors that might make life a little less cool as a world famous demon hunter. 

Devil May Cry 5 best Devil Breakers

Devil May Cry 5 best Devil Breakers 

Nero's new robot arms are a big change for the series and mastering the Devil May Cry 5 best Devil Breakers can really make all the difference to a fight. Our Devil Breaker guide will not only, ahem, break down all your options, but explain how best to use the different abilities. Not sure if you can tell your Gerbera from your Punch Line? Check this one out.  

Devil May Cry 5 weapons and combo guide

Devil May Cry 5 weapons and combo guide: how to get a S rank with Nero, Dante and V

Between Dante's guns, Nero's Devil Breakers and V's demons there's a ton of weapons, combos and ways to reach the coveted S rank in battle. That's why our Devil May Cry 5 weapons and combo guide will help you master both the arsenal as well as the technique needed to bust out killer moves. Literally. 

Devil May Cry 5 Secret Mission locations

Devil May Cry 5 Secret Mission locations

DMC 5 loves a hidden challenge and the Devil May Cry 5 secret missions locations are key to really maxing out your playthough. There are 12 in total that require various amounts of exploration and camera angling to reveal a hidden symbol that unlocks them. And it's worth the trouble as each one will reward you with a blue orb fragment you can use to boost your health.  

Devil May Cry 5 secret rocket launcher

Devil May Cry 5 secret rocket launcher 

Did you know there was a Devil May Cry 5 secret rocket launcher? You do now. It's the only weapons you can find in the world as you play and it will change your life as you unleash a ridiculous barrage of rockets at enemies. Finding it will also eventually get you two rocket launchers because you'll get another one as you play and you haven't lived until you dual wield two RPGs in Satan's face. 

It's easy to miss the Devil May Cry 5 secret rocket launcher, the Kalina Ann 2. Given that's it's actually dropped when Dante and his pals receive a beating at the start of Devil May Cry 5. However, find it and you can dual wield rocket launchers and if that doesn't sell it to you then why are you even playing DMC 5? 

Devil May Cry 5 review | Devil May Cry 5 tips | Devil May Cry 5 best Devil Breakers | Devil May Cry 5 weapons and combo guide  | Devil May Cry 5 Secret Missions 

You can forgive Lady for losing her trademark Kalina Ann rocket launcher in an early Devil May Cry 5 scuffle. Especially as later in the game Dante receives Nico’s own souped up take on the classic, the Kalina Ann 2. The real win though is that you can still find the original Kalina Ann. It's tough to spot in Mission 11, and the only weapon in the game that you can just find and pick up in the middle of a level.

It's worth the trouble though as having both Kalina Ann rocket launchers unlocks the Double Kalina Ann as a weapons option, with its own moves and upgrades. It’s a must have for causing some stylish carnage.

How to get the double Kalina Ann rocket launcher

You’ll be able to discover the Kalina Ann rocket launcher early on in Mission 11, when you get to the buildings through the gates. However, you'll first need to destroy some red root clusters to move buildings around to create new pathways and open up new areas. Look for this area: 

Drop down and you'll come across a couple of root systems to hack up. The one here is what you'll need to destroy to move forward, creating a path up top for Dante to follow in the main mission.

Don’t go straight back up though because you'll also want to destroy the other set of roots on this lower level to reach the Kalina Ann rocket launcher. Specifically, these ones: 

Destroying these will cause the first building you went through to lower and reveal a path back up to the higher level, through a room with a painting that the camera pans to. 

Go down this newly revealed route and when you reach the point below with the clearly lit room ahead, make sure you don’t miss a little alcove on the right, marked by red orbs. This is the way you need to go for the rocket launchers but because of the darkness it’s easily missed.

Pass into the right hand opening and follow the path. Eventually you’ll come to a room where you can see that something has come crashing down from above, destroying the objects around it. You can't miss it as it's marked with a “???” when you get near it. 

Picking that up will reveal the original Kalina Ann lost at the start of the game. If you already have the Kalina Ann 2 this automatically unlock the Double Kalina Ann and auto-equip it.

How to use the Double Kalina Ann

Once you obtain the Double Kalina Ann it auto-equips into the slot the single rocket launcher would be in. You can change it back in the Equipment tab of the Customisation menu to a single Kalina Ann, but why would you want to?

All your usual moves remain, only now with the power of two rocket launchers. You’ll want to make sure you drop some red orbs in the shop to unlock the Cascade skill to make best use of double packing. With that unlocked holding the button to use the gun will slot them one onto the other length wise to unleash a devastating heat ray attack. Not only does it pack a punch, but tearing through enemies with this will give you a massive style boost.

You’ll also want to upgrade the Gunslinger style to level up the Hysteric move, which unleashes a huge barrage of homing missile from both at once. The Gunslinger style will also gain you access to even more moves, like a jump attack that’ll blow a missile right below you. Whatever you do though, all your moves will hit harder and more stylishly in general with the Double Kalina Ann than with the solo option. 

Those impossibly pretty demon hunters are back in business and you're probably after some Devil May Cry 5 tips to help with all the impending hacking. Whether that's mastering the best Devil Breakers, the combat, getting more orbs or [checks notes] using chainsaws made of moterbikes... All while splitting your time between Devil May Cry 5's trio of three different heroes, each with their own interesting skill set. There's a lot to take in, especially for newcomers, so here are 12 Devil May Cry 5 tips to help you become a mean, lean, demon-killing machine. 

Devil May Cry 5 review| Devil May Cry 5 best Devil Breakers | Devil May Cry 5 weapons and combo guide  | Devil May Cry 5 Secret Missions | Devil May Cry 5 secret rocket launcher

1. Do your history homework

If Devil May Cry 5 is your first dip into the series, knowing the history is especially important, but it’s still useful even if you’re a veteran. The story of Devil May Cry 5 supposes a lot of prior knowledge from the player, and it can be a bit overwhelming when all of these characters that aren’t Dante are thrown into the mix. Even worse, most of the protagonists look pretty similar so don't be worried if it's all a touch difficult to parse! Thankfully, there’s a ‘History Of DMC’ video on the main menu that should solve this problem and help later story beats land with an “Aha!” rather than a “Wha...?”

2. Explore the levels thoroughly 

The team behind Devil May Cry 5 are clearly a bunch of devilish tricksters, as they love to hide collectables and crucial items just out of view. Whenever the game pulls you out of a cutscene or set piece, make sure you get into the habit of just turning the camera around - usually you’ll find some red orbs or some other useful resource. Make sure you also explore the carefully crafted levels thoroughly. As well as admiring the architecture, you can find secret collectables and pathways that offer fun challenges to eat up your time. So make sure you keep an eye out, especially for blue and purple orb fragments and secret missions (which provide blue orb fragments.) These permanent upgrades to your vitality and devil trigger gauges are well worth the effort of seeking out.

3. Kill healing and summoning enemies first

You'll want to focus on killing enemies that heal or summon friends as soon as possible because things get very difficult with multiple enemies around. Wipe out anything that either heals or creates monsters as a matter of priority, and ignore the grunts until you do. During the early game Nero will be introduced to empusa insects with a green rear end that exist to heal their pals - kill them first or you'll never get rid of the other bad things. This tracks for the mid-game eldritch maws that spawn lizard demons, and the late-game skeleton summoners that... you can work that bit out. Basically, always make sure you deal with anything that's adding to your problems before you try solving them. 

4. Don’t be afraid of using your Devil Breakers

Nero's Devil Breakers are weaponised robotic arms with a multitude of uses in combat. Something like the Gerbera helps boost you up to high platforms, while the Punch Line launches a flurry of pounding rocket punch attacks and lets you ride it like a skateboard. You can only carry a few Devil Breakers at a time and it’s easy to worry about them because they break easily if you take damage whilst using them. But you're going to use them up anyway by hitting LB/L1 to blow them up for a super attack when you’re in grave danger. So don't worry. You can expand how many you can carry with upgrades and will always find more in the level as you play. Just get used to them being disposable - they're far too useful not to use in combat and vastly help with your style ranking. 

5. Use The Void training area to master your moves

You may think you’re comfortable with the combat but there's a lot to master. Don’t ignore the game’s suggestion to enter The Void, a training mode where you can fight and practice your skills. The movements required to pull off some of the game’s most powerful attacks and combos are pretty precise, and getting the muscle memory locked in early will make your experience with the combat so much more fluid. The fighting in Devil May Cry 5 is the best part, so don’t stick to the easy combos - get out of your comfort zone and learn the devastating cocktail of moves that will boost your style, decimate enemies and just feel so cool. 

6. Study the skill list

It’s no secret that you will forget some of the moves. There are way too many to remember. Keeping score of all Nero's abilities, moves and Devil Breakers is tough. Plus Dante has far too many weapons to keep track of, and then there V with a whole new bag of tricks. It's easy to forget options or get into a routine of what you can remember. So take some times between all the fighting to browse the skill lists and brush up on the buttons, attack and choice you have at your disposal. 

7. Focus on mobility skills early on

Early in Devil May Cry 5, as you build up a bank of red orbs, think about spending them wisely on mobility abilities. Each character can unlock simple moves that makes them run faster, as well as a double jump and an ability that lets them bounce on enemy's heads in battle. You'll want these early because Devil May Cry 5's combat is much easier to deal with when you can move faster - it'll help with evading, and closing distances when you need to keep combos going. You might want to specifically upgrade Dante’s Trickster tree as well if you really want to double down on movement. As well as helping you fight it also means you’re well equipped to reach secret collectables when you come across them.

8. Purchase Gold orbs, and blue or purple fragments, from Nico

Gold orbs are basically extra lives in Devil May Cry 5, bringing you back from defeat and fully equipped to fight on. While blue and purple orb fragments raise your max health and Devil Trigger respectively. You can find them in the world, but like any good game, you can also buy them in the Devil May Cry van. You'll want to consider spending cash on them early if you plan to survive. Especially on Demon Hunter difficulty as this game is challenging, and you’re going to want as much vitality and Devil Trigger juice as possible to stay afloat, as well as the ability to come back when you don't. Sure, it’s a lofty price to pay when you’re picking and choosing at the start but it’s not like you’re ever really out of pocket, and you can replay levels to recoup losses.

9. Click the left stick to find your objective if you get lost

Some of the later levels can border on labyrinthian, with multiple crossroads and checkpoints that switch up the environment. This can disorient you, so make sure that you know how to fix it - click in the left analogue stick on your controller and the game will swivel the camera towards your objective. 

10. Don't forget to use Nero's Exceed ability

One of Nero’s abilities is very easily forgotten, but it’s by far one of the most devastating. Exceed is an ability where Nero revs up his Red Queen sword to boost its attacks. (Don’t think about it too much.) This is done by hammering LT/L1 and aside from feeling very cool, will power up Nero's sword and pistol to deal devastating extra damage. You can even unlock upgrades that let you tap Exceed after an attack to deal an aftershock explosion to your foe. Worth a few revs if you feel like you’re slamming your head against a brick wall.

Devil May Cry is all about style and you'll really have to master Devil May Cry 5's weapons and combos if you want to reach an S rank. The story might sputter and not always make sense but the combat continues to feel tense, tight, and tantalizing. Learn the ropes and everything in the game flows, with flashy style as the music and that Devil May Cry 5 actions swells with energy of your own making.

Devil May Cry 5 review | Devil May Cry 5 tips | Devil May Cry 5 best Devil Breakers | Devil May Cry 5 Secret Missions | Devil May Cry 5 secret rocket launcher

Of course, none of that style is obtainable if you’re struggling. Obtaining SSS rank, the highest combo level, isn’t the easiest challenge, but that’s why we’re here! We’ve put together a short guide on how to approach Devil May Cry 5’s demons with confidence, master those weapons and combos, and come out on top with a smokin’ sexy style (SSS) on the other side. 

How does the Devil May Cry 5 raking system work? 

The core of Devil May Cry 5 combat is its style ranking, a letter grade you receive after each fight and at the end of each level. They range through the following: 

• D - Dismal
• C - Crazy
• B - Badass
• A - Apocalyptic
• S - Savage
• SS - Sick skills 
• SSS - smokin’ sexy style

Your ranking will increase, with each letter filling like a meter, as you build up combos with a continuous stream of attacks. It’ll increase faster if you use a wider variety of moves, as well as ones that are harder to pull off - taunting midair while riding the Punch Line breaker will see your rank skyrocket. Spamming the same handful of attacks, less so. 

Your grade will slowly drop in between attacks, while being hit will drop your grade back down to D. So make sure to be moving and attacking at all times. You’ll also want to avoid using the same attacks repeatedly since that’ll lower your style ranking as well. Try to interchange melee attacks, ranged weapons, and the various devil breaker moves when you’re playing as Nero (or whatever special attacks the character your using has) together for the best kind of result.

At the end of each level you’ll see how many style points you gained and what you’re final grade is, but you should already have a good idea based on how each fight went.

How to get an S rank in Devil May Cry 5

You can’t say you’ve beaten Devil May Cry 5 unless you’ve conquered at least some of its levels while rockin' the SSS smokin’ sexy style. It’s the best feeling in the world to KO demon after demon, racking up kills while listening to the soundtrack build and build. So much in Devil May Cry 5 is tied to the style system and it’s a delight when it all comes together. It’s tempting to sit back and rely on one or two moves to take out the majority of enemies - but that isn’t how things work in Devil May Cry - variety is required to excel in this series.

Outside of using a variety of moves at a continuous rate there are a couple things you can do to hit a SSS smokin’ sexy style more easily: 

• Try to draw enemies in and group them up so you can hit more, faster
• Zip into enemies, or pull them in, if they get too far apart. 
• Make space to use taunts. 
• Try and constantly change up your approach, and attacks as a result - fight from the air, the ground, lock on for a bit then don't and so on. Basically switch between as much stuff as you have, as often as you can.  
• Be aware of how strong you’re weapons are, if you upgrade something too much it could one shot enemies, making it harder to build combos up. 

Use the Void to practice your attacks to both nail those timings, as well as get it all under muscle memory. It’s important to slow down when you first start and try each move as the game prompts them - you’ll learn how to dodge, do different types of melee attacks, use special abilities, fire range attacks, and more. One thing to always remember with any of the three characters is to stay loose - mobility is the name of the game so keep jumping, dodging, and dancing all the way to that SSS ranking. 

Extend Devil May Cry 5 combos with guns

Blue Rose, Nero’s gun, is great for connecting two melee attacks when enemies are spread out. It's the same for Dante's pistols, or better a rocket launcher, and V's Griffon - all fire relatively weak attacks over distance that are good for continuing a Devil May Cry 5 combo but pretty rubbish at actually killing anything. Moving between distant enemies is probably one of the biggest problems when building up combos so it's a handy way to keep things going as you cover the distance. Don’t get too reliant though, as over using anything will hurt the variety of moves. Each firearm option, or bird, also has a powered up attack you can use if you hold the ranged button to charge and release an extra powerful blast. These can do a reliable amount of damage and help vary the combo, so remember to use it. 

Devil May Cry 5 Nero combo guide: master the Red Queen

The Red Queen is Nero’s main weapon and that’s what you’ll end up using the most so mastering his moveset is paramount. Without a target lock you have the ability to mix Nero’s sword with the directional input to push each attack in a certain direction. That's good for both hitting new enemies, as well as preventing incoming attacks from breaking your combo. While locked on you'll access different moves with directions to do things like close distances, inflict extra damage or launch enemies into the air for a little juggle.

You’ll quickly find that you’ll rely on Red Queen’s aerial abilities a lot, but you’ll want to start working in gunshots and Devil Trigger hits in between slashes when you can to mix things up. After that - dodge, jump, dodge, dodge, and jump. Nothing is more important than mobility. Equip the Gerbera devil trigger as it gives you extra movement abilities as well. However if you're after damage then you can use the Tomboy Devil Breaker to give Red Queen and Blue Rose a boost. It will limit your mobility and turn off your ability to lock on to enemies, but the strength increase is worth it. 

Devil May Cry 5 Dante combo guide: change styles and mix it up

Dante has a bigger arsenal of moves and weapons, and a ton of firepower up his sleeves compare to other characters. Like Nero he has his sword, Rebellion, but he also pack multiple guns, including a high damage rocket launcher. Then there's a range of weapons like Cavaliere, a chainsaw-type weapon, and Cerberus, an ice-powered nunchaku with the ability to transform into a bo staff. Packing such an arsenal makes it much easier to alternate between weapons to raise your style rank and you use different fighting styles to boost your rank further. You can switch between these on the d-pad and select the following options: 

• Trickster - Focused on speed and evasion
• Swordmaster - Increased range of melee moves.
• Royal Guard - Lets you block and parry attacks which count towards combos.
• Gunslinger - More gun based options.

Switching between these can help increase your combo directly by varying your attacks, and it can also make combos easier to achieve. For example using Tricksters dodge can close in on enemies faster, Royal Guard can turn enemy blows into combos as you block, and Gun Slinger can access a range of new attacks to extend the range or variety of your combos. 

Devil May Cry 5 V combo guide: upgrade you abilities and know when to finish enemies

V fights with three beasts: Griffon, Shadow, and Nightmare, who take the form of a bird, panther, and giant-monster-demon, respectively. While that might seem a world away from Devil May Cry 5's usual swords and guns, they basically function in a similar way - Shadow is V’s melee move, Griffon’s thunder is his ranged attack, and Nightmare is akin to Nero’s devil bringer. All three take up space in the fight, so you’ll want to keep V at a safe distance from strong enemies while his summoned demons fight (either automatically or through your commands). Each demon has a limited amount of health so you’ll want to monitor their levels as you fight. If they die you'll lose the options they bring but if you get close to their 'body' they'll resurrect quicker. 

One of the best ways to make combos and rank increases easier is to make sure you expand each of your demon's ability by buying new skills. V can be one of the more spammy fighters in DMC5 and having more options for Shadow and Griffon is an easy way to increase styles faster. Time when you physically kill demons with V's cane as well, you'll need to do anyway but it will sharply raises style ranking so use it wisely. 

In Devil May Cry 5, the best Devil Breakers provide a great short cut to some fantastic combat moves in DMC 5, and are probably the best part of Capcom’s latest demon-hunting entry. In Devil May Cry 5 Blowing the heads off demons with a revolver feels fantastic, melee attacks connect with a bang, but above all, Nero’s new bionic-arm weapon, the Devil Breakers shine.

Devil May Cry 5 review | Devil May Cry 5 tips | Devil May Cry 5 weapons and combo guide  | Devil May Cry 5 Secret Missions | Devil May Cry 5 secret rocket launcher

The best Devil Bringers provide a number of additional abilities that spice up fights by letting you do things like slow down time or use shockwaves to offset enemy moves. There are eight different breakers that unlock over the course of the game, including a few extra ones if you shell out for the deluxe edition of the game.

How to use the best Devil Breakers in Devil May Cry 5

Every Devil Breaker has two moves, a basic attack that’s trigger by pressing circle on the PS4 and B on the Xbox One, and a more powerful attack that’s used by holding the same button. There's also a Break Away move on the left bumper that will destroy the arm with a powerful attack. These arms will also be destroyed if you're hit while using them as well. So you want to be careful but don't worry too much about breaking them - you can't switch them out manually so destroying them is the only way to change to a new one. Early on you’ll only be able to equip a few breakers (you’ll get to unlock more slots over time in the customization menu) so it’s good to know how to use them to the best of their ability. 

Whatever Devil Breaker you equip you can alway have a grab ability available to either pull enemies to you, or you to them - a valuable tool in combat to close distances and keep your style flowing. 

Can you change Devil Breakers in Devil May Cry 5? 

Short answer: no. As we mentioned above the only way to change a Devil Breaker is to break it, either intentionally with a break away attack or by being hit while using it. It's best to not get too attached to them and get used to breaking them regularly to change up the flow of battle and your options. You'll find more in the world as you play too, so you'll rarely run out. 

The best Devil Breakers in Devil May Cry 5

So, with the basics covered lets take a look at the bestDevil May Cry 5 Devil Breakers. Take note that you won't have access to all of these right at the start, but as you unlock the better options consider taking some time to get to know them as it can make a huge different to your demon slaying adventures.  

1. Ragtime

Ragtime is probably my favorite Devil May Cry 5 Devil Breaker. It stops time so you can reposition for bigger combos, set up an attack plan, or get away from a hairy situation. Ragtime is an all-purpose breaker since it’s useful in most scenarios - you can couple it with aggressive or defensive play styles and get a lot out of it either way.

2. Punch Line

Punch Line is an absolutely wild breaker if I do say so, it’s jet propulsion packs a massive hit that can send enemies, even huge bosses, flying into the air in pain. The breaker features jet gadget, the ability to shoot the breaker and detonate it remotely, and boost knuckle, a haymaker hit that’s released by holding the breaker button. Use with caution. 

The breaker also gives you the ability to ride the projectile, a mobile arm, around the level after shooting it. You can then do various skateboard-like manoeuvres by using the various face buttons as you cruise in the air for a bit. Punch Line may feel a bit intimidating compared to Overture and Gerbera but it’s worth the learning investment. It’s uppercut, that nasty haymaker, is one of the most satisfying moves in the game. 

3. Gerbera

The Gerbera, another early-game Devil Breaker, is perfect for defensive play and one of the most useful breakers in the entire game. Jocky, the breaker's standard move, can negate and reflect enemy attacks when used on its own. If you hold the analog stick while using the Gerbera you can use the shockwaves the breaker makes to dodge attacks and move around quickly. 

Considering how important combos are in Devil May Cry, the Gerbera is perfect to help acclimate new players to the fast and complicated combat. It should even help fans who haven’t played the series in over 10 years - since whose replaying Devil May Cry 4 anyway?

4. Overture

The Overture is one of the Devil Breakers you start off with. It’s a basic model that’s good to mix in with regular melee combat. It creates shockwaves that hurt most enemies and kills weaker ones - good for when you catch yourself off guard with enemies in front and behind you. 

Overture's moves are battery and exploder. Exploder is good to use when surrounded by multiple enemies as it can knock them back and set up for long combos. 

5. Buster Arm

Buster Arm is Nico’s attempt at creating Nero’s demon arm, the Devil Bringer, that was ripped off his body by a mysterious foe. It’s a mega-powerful arm that can apply devastating hits that launch enemies across the room, even the big ones. What’s even better this time around is that different enemies should have different animations for how the Buster Arm hits them and that’s something to keep an eye on.

6. Rawhide

While Rawhide is basically just a chain whip attached to Nero’s arm, it’s one of the most useful arms in the game for building up combos at range. It contains a basic whip attack and a grab that swings enemies around before discarding them. Neither are particular flashy but they get the job done. 

7. Tomboy

The Tomboy breaker is unique in giving Nero a huge boost of power to Red Queen and Blue Rose, his sword and gun, in exchange for his other abilities. While using Tomboy he can’t lock on or move freely, but each hit does plenty more damage. 

Tomboy's enhancement to Nero’s gun does feel out of place in Devil May Cry 5, since it turns the coordinated hack-and-slash nature of the series into a shooter at some points. Still, it’s a powerful move that does good damage. Although you’ll need to be able to aim competently to get anything done with it. 

8. Helter Skelter

Helter Skelter, despite its killer name, is one of the more mundane Devil Breakers. At its core it is a three layered drill that gets more intense as you attack at close range. Keep tapping the Devil Breaker button throughout the attack and each layer will open up and do additional damage. 

It’s particularly gruesome to drill three layers in to an enemies belly, but as Capcom has said, “they deserve it.” If anything, Helter Skelter is good for breaking through blocks and shields, although there are other breakers that help get around those roadblocks too. 

Other Devil May Cry 5 Devil Breakers

There are a few other breakers that come in the Deluxe Edition of the game, including the Pasta Breaker, Sweet Surrender, Mega Buster (in stunning Mega Man blue), and a special version of the Gerbera. However, these mostly have novelty value rather then any practical use: 

• Pasta Breaker - Literally created to help Nero eat, so next to no use in combat. However, every time you use it the remaining Devil Breakers in your inventory will cycle round one spot. That makes it the only thing in the game that can change Devil Breakers around without destroying them. 
• Sweet Surrender - This Devil Breaker has literally no combat ability but will passively heal you over time. You can also use its Break Away attack to heal a larger chunk of health. 
• Mega Buster - This is basically just Mega Man's Mega Buster blaster arm. It shoots laser blasts on a regular attack and a larger, more damaging attack for its Break Away. 
• Gerbera GP01 - This is a recoloured Gerbera as a tribute to its designer, Gundam GP01 designer Shoji Kawamori. It has one new move where triggering an attack without a direction will boost Nero straight up or down from his current position. 

Whatever you go for though, take a bit of time to find the loadout that’s right for you. Then dump it and use Ragtime, Punch Line, Gerbera, (thank me later). 

If the Devil May Cry 5 Secret Mission locations aren't top of your list while your playing they should be. In a game packed full of collectible bits, the Secret Missions are one of the more lucrative distractions you can seek out, denoted by a hidden pentagram usually found via exploration or by a precise camera angle. 

These Secret Missions will test the skills that you’ve learned so far as Nero, V and Dante and, crucially, offer up a Blue Orb Fragment in return. If you want to max out your Vitality this is crucial, as it’s impossible without finding and completing these challenges. Follow along as we lay the smack down on some demons and teach you how to find every Secret Mission in Devil May Cry 5.

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How to find Secret Missions in Devil May Cry 5

The Devil May Cry 5 secret missions aren't always easy to find because they wouldn't be very secret otherwise. Instead you have to keep any eye out for a red pentagram like design somewhere in the world. To activate the mission you need to frame this sigil perfectly in the screen centre, which will make a glowing red marker appear. When you have the position exactly right a Secret Mission prompt will appear letting you access the extra challenge. For some mission this symbol can be split over several surfaces, requiring a precise alignment to activate. In others, the markers are just on the wall but in hidden or hard to reach locations.  

Secret Mission 1

Confusingly enough, the first Secret Mission in Devil May Cry 5 is in Mission 2. Playing as Nero, after you get past the section that looks like Piccadilly Circus and enter a decrepit building, the game will introduce you to the Nidhogg Hatchling. Once you’ve wrapped this puzzle up, keep going until a tentacle burrows through the wall and forces your path into a bedroom. The game will actually give you this one for free by showing you the Pentagram on the wall, but the place where you need to stand is on the side of the bed closest to the back wall. It’s a red point that you stand on, which you use to line up the pentagram in your perspective until it turns red, and this will unlock the Secret Mission. Sorted.

Secret Mission 2

In mission 3, still as Nero, you will use your zip wire ability to hop into a sewer about halfway through the level. Once you’re in there, you’ll see roots blocking a door with an exit sign above it. Progress until you destroy the roots, and then head into this room, but instead of heading up, hop down to the bottom floor and look up and you will see the pentagram above you. The red point is in a little archway. Line it up and unlock it!

Secret Mission 3

In mission 4 now, you’ll be playing as emo prince V. When you enter a cobbled street area, you should fight in front of a wall covered in a skeleton mural. Break it by summoning Nightmare who will burst through. Then, follow the ruins of the building through until you find a second Nidhogg hatchling. Backtrack and then take the left path past the mural building and all the way to the end. On the left, unlock the first Nidhogg door and then the next one, then follow the path to a vantage point where you will be lined up properly for the secret mission pentagram.

Secret Mission 4

After starting out in the sewer as V in Mission 5, you will head to a construction site where tendrils keep appearing out of the ceiling. After fighting the second you will see a wall made out of poles and boxes. It looks structurally weak and well… it is. Summon Nightmare to smash through it, and you will see a yellow staircase on the right with an Empusa on it. Head up there to the top and the red point will be sitting there, waiting for you to line up the pentagram. 

Secret Mission 5

Big time skip now. In Mission 8 as Nero, you will come across rock elevators moving through lava. During the second elevator, look to your right and you will see an optional post with a Devil Breaker on. Hop to that and then shoot the floating robot so you can use your zip wire on it. Repeat the process on the next robot whilst in mid-air, and then hop down into a chasm. Stand in the middle on the red point and turn around to look at the pentagram.

Secret Mission 6

Back playing as the V again in Mission 9, you'll spot a thorn-covered door protecting an orb fragment after a set of arches midway through the level. Stand near the door and use Nightmare to bust through and then head forwards and turn around. You will see the pentagram on the back wall - hop up on the stone platform and line it up to unlock the Secret Mission.

Secret Mission 7

In Mission 10 you’ll be playing as Dante, and will be introduced to the Flaming Hellbat during a battle. Once you wipe it out, there will be two tendril doors. Head into the one on the right of the room, and follow the path to the top. Keep jumping until Dante says “Bet I’ll find something here.” Step on the platform and turn around to see the pentagram.

Secret Mission 8

Mission 11 sees you playing as Dante and be asked to descend to advance once you enter the ruins near the start. Dante will moan about the fleshy red globs that you have to destroy to advance. Once you do that, don’t head down, go back up and hop up on the platform that took you into this room. You should see the red platform, where you can line yourself up to capture the pentagram. 

Secret Mission 9

In Mission 12, you will have to fill up four pools of blood around a statue to advance. Drop down the hole after you’ve completed this puzzle and the camera will follow you in an old-school fashion as you enter a ruin. Look up and you should see the pentagram. Switch on trickster style, turn around and jump dash towards the platform behind you and you will find the red spot.

Secret Mission 10

After you escape the dark zone with the three boss battles as V (no spoilers here!) keep going until you have to break a red globby mass to progress. The game will trick you, spinning you around so the camera faces forward, pushing you to progress. A fool would just follow orders, but we’re a little bit slicker than that. Turn around and step on the light to find the pentagram right above you. 

Secret Mission 11

In Mission 15 you will be following a divergent path as Nero. Once you find the Divinity Statue (unfortunately Nico doesn’t get phone service in uh… Hell) go behind the makeshift shop and you will find a skateboarding mini-game where you use your Punch Line Devil Breaker, riding it up steep slopes and following an orb-laden track. Keep going until you hit the back wall. Ride it up and Nero will talk about a “presence.” Stand on the red spot and look behind you. Lo and behold, the 11th pentagram on the cavern wall!

Secret Mission 12

Playing as Dante in Mission 16 you'll alternate between clearing rooms and dropping down shafts. After the third time your progress is blocked to fight, you should battle some of the spinning lizard demons. Clear them and you'll reach another shaft with a large platform immediately below with red and white orbs to collect, and a smaller platform below that with a red orb cluster the left. Jump to that platform and you should see a ledge with a big red orb cluster directly opposite. You'll need to have upgraded Trickster to reach but when you do drop down to the second ledge on the other side where you'll be able to see the Secret Mission on the opposite wall. 

The best parts of Devil May Cry 5 aren't when I'm being most challenged, they're actually when I can cut through that challenge, when I'm in full flow pushing buttons without having to think about it, mentally flicking through a menu of outlandish moves to weave my own varied combos. Of course, make no mistake, the game has its fair share of hard-as-nails boss encounters and a bevy of increasingly hard difficulty modes that can absolutely make me crush my controller into a fine dust. But it's watching the style meter ticks up, adding extra layers to the pulse pounding soundtrack with my moves that's the major appeal. Devil May Cry 5 is an absolutely stunning return to form that builds on improvements Ninja Theory's spin-off and reimagining DmC. 

But for all the bright sparks, spurts of blood, raging fires and more action hitting the screen at once - all gloriously rendered in Capcom's own Resident Evil 7 RE engine - it’s always the character you’re controlling that’s your real focus. The true genius of Devil May Cry 5 is that it's not just a great action game - it's three. You play as Dante, Nero and V, and each of these playable characters are so unique that I might as well be playing different games that share a narrative. These are no simple reskins. 

Three's a company

As you fight your way through hordes of demons on your way to Qliphoth, the massive demon tree from Hell that's invaded Red Grave City, it's easy to see that each character is based on the same framework. Everyone has a long range attack, a close range attack, a dodge/evade, a lock on, and a couple of unique moves mapped to other buttons and so on. The rating system revolves around avoiding being hit, and making sure you're using a variation of moves, regardless of who you play as. But that's where the similarities end.

Nero's intricacies like his heavy-hitting revolver, the sword with motorbike throttle handle that you can rev mid-combo for stronger attacks, and more return. But this time, his unique arm - a literal demon arm - has been stolen for plot reasons, meaning he's got a slot for an interchangeable robot arm. These, known as Devil Breakers, are littered around the levels to pick up or available to buy from the customisation shop. From abilities ranging from whips to rocket punches, they're all pretty crazy, and always come with the ability to grapple enemies from a distance, which is handy. 

However, you can't switch them out on the fly, which feels a little annoying at first, though it's clear that it's meant to encourage you to mix up the powerful moves to get through them. You can break them entirely, which lets you unleash a powerful attack and switch to a new arm, but it'll just be to whatever is next in your arm magazine. Seriously. Particularly intense moments see deft use of all the arms in your magazine to run rings around your enemies. It's terrific fun, but so much so that the Devil Breakers can overshadow things like Nero's Exceed system - the robo-arms are just more well developed. It's easy to get carried away and forget to make best use of Exceed when you're distracted with the Devil Breakers, but it does end up feeling pretty satisfying when you do manage it.

Dante is the least changed from his previous appearances. He's still all about swapping between a large arsenal of guns and close-quarters weapons on the fly; as well as switching styles between Gunslinger, Trickster, Sword Master, and Royal Guard, which give you access to different moves depending on what you have active. Considering you can switch between all of these mid-combo, the options are immense. Fittingly you don't get to play as him until around the midpoint of the game, so the slightly more complex aspect of switching between all these things feels much easier by that point. New weapons offer great new twists on his gameplay, feeling right at home alongside returning and revised classics - a fitting metaphor for Devil May Cry 5 as a whole.

V for victory

It's V that offers the freshest gameplay for the series, and understandably would make veterans the most hesitant. Instead of getting involved in the action himself, he summons demons to do the dirty work first before zapping in with a finishing move. You have the option to summon three demons, which are all based on enemies from the first game, but functionally they provide the same roles as the other two devil hunters’ weapons.

Griffon fires long range zaps, and the panther-like Shadow uses claws and tentacles. The main difference is you're remotely controlling them, giving you a fresh perspective on encounters as you hang back, waiting to land that final strike with your cane. Summoning the third demon, Nightmare, uses your devil trigger meter, and he'll mostly just destroy everything around him without you having to worry about it. V adds a new dimension to the series that proves Capcom can continue to innovate as well as refine what came before.

Anarchy in Red Grave

All three characters team up to take down the demon tree that's torn up this sort of “Not London”, Red Grave City. The ruined city has some interesting environments you don't get to see a lot in games, and being from the UK it was nice to see designs inspired by where I live, even if that's just things like big red public telephone boxes (which you use to call up Nico, the engineer of Nero's arm, and all-round customisation shopkeeper queen). While fun to a degree, the settings do at times lean towards the same colour palettes of browns and reds, especially as the action moves deeper into the Qliphoth tree. It would have been exciting to see the inside riff on the idea of bright, bizarre flora more than the repeated thorny vine theme, as the bright early morning colours of the previous levels felt very fresh.

That doesn't detract too much from the game's appeal as a whole though, especially as each character has unique missions, which is a big step away from the huge amount of repetition in Devil May Cry 4. At points you'll even see the others fighting their own way through sections in the distance, which is rather cleverly drawn from actual player combat data. Perhaps you'll even see me in the distance! Because each of the 20 or so missions is one character or the other, that doesn't leave you with a whole heap of missions per character, but that also means nothing really overstays its welcome. The appeal is, as always with Devil May Cry, on replaying for more stylish scores, to challenge higher difficulties, and find all the hidden orbs and secret missions.

Even on easier difficulties the game retains a reasonable amount of challenge and plenty of options to feel like you're overcoming them with stylish scores without being too unforgiving. The option for the game to give you auto-combos also helps as an entry point for new players. For a game that can have such a high skill ceiling with crazy combos, it's excellent to see genuine care taken with welcoming newcomers. The story though is mostly going to be hot nonsense for those unfamiliar with the series, as it references and pays off on a surprising amount of lore - though enough is unique to this adventure and explained to the point where it makes a certain amount of thrilling sense. It's a wild, exhilarating ride from start to finish.

Reviewed on PS4 Pro and Xbox One.

Sure, Nero and Dante look pretty damned swish in the Devil May Cry 5 cutscenes, but trust me: you’ll want to have a look behind the scenes if you really want to be blown away. Because if you get the Devil May Cry 5 Deluxe Edition you can see what these scenes started off as, with the developer’s live action rehearsals for each one replacing the usual cutscenes. Cardboard boxes being pulled along the ground as stand-ins for cars, a plastic box a placeholder for a radio, even plastic figurines stuck to the ends of straws: it’s all gold, and apart from being hilarious these glimpses are a brilliant way to show you what goes on behind the scenes in Capcom towers. 

Look above to see these live-action scenes in all their glory, and wonder at their majesty. Seriously though, how cool is it that this is where those fancy cutscenes begin? I would never have guessed that to get the uncontrollable veering of a truck just right the devs had to yank a box along the floor using a rope, or that they’d use anything as basic as a hoodie with bunny ears to stand in for an enemy of some sort. 

But why wouldn’t you? To be as thrifty as possible of course you’d just make do with whatever you have on hand, and it’s all going to be replaced by actual game cutscenes anyway. Nevertheless it’s really rad to see the behind-the-scenes escapades that developers engage in when they’re getting a game off of the ground, and it’s definitely a bonus worthy of the Deluxe Edition.

If you're already thinking of other games to buy in 2019, try out our list of the best new games 2019 has to offer! Below are some of the ones you'll want to keep an eye out for (and yes, we know Resident Evil 2 Remake is already out).

Devil May Cry 5 is just one short month away, but devil hunters who are desperate to give it a try will be delighted to jump into the PS4 and Xbox One demo that went live today. Along with giving you a good feel for the intense action of this third-person brawler, playing the demo will also grant you a bonus 30,000 Red Orbs (i.e. money) when you jump into the full game.

This is technically the demo's second appearance after it first appeared as a limited-time, Xbox One exclusive demo last December. That said, there have been a few new additions to this run through Red Grave City: access to the Punchline Devil Breaker and the Customize option. You'll get to play as Nero, one of the three playable protagonists alongside Dante and newcomer V, using his changeable Devil Breaker arm to string together absurd combos and juggle demons into oblivion. It's the perfect opportunity to start practicing DMC5's impressive combos, as you slash up baddies with your Red Queen sword then blast them out of the air with a few rounds from your Blue Rose handgun. 

Our recent hands-on Devil May Cry 5 preview was a blast, and gave us more insight into how the mysterious V plays using his menagerie of spirit animals. "Devil May Cry 5 definitely has the most to offer core players out of all the games in the series to date," we wrote, "and we don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest it could be the most fun we’re going to have from an action game in 2019." Here's how to download the demo on your platform of choice, and you should do so ASAP before it potentially goes away. Devil May Cry 5 will launch in full for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 8. 

Devil May Cry 5 demo download - PS4 

As always, you can find the demo via your console - but you can also add the demo to your library via its PlayStation Store page and start the download going from your browser if your PS4 is currently in rest mode. The demo is 8.82GB on PS4. 

Devil May Cry 5 demo download - Xbox One 

You can find the download directly on your Xbox One, or queue it up on the Xbox Store page. If you previously installed the Xbox One demo, you may want to uninstall that and redownload this new one just in case, given the small additions to the content. The demo is 8.31GB on Xbox One. 

Devil May Cry 5 is one of our most anticipated new games of 2019 - come see what else we're looking forward to.

Devil May Cry 5 is full of cool new ideas. Back in the hands of Capcom’s internal studios after interim caretakers Ninja Theory divided opinion with 2013’s 2edgy4u DmC: Devil May Cry, the series has never looked in better shape. Capcom has clearly listened to fan feedback from the doomed reboot and gone full circle, making a game set later in the canon than any other Devil May Cry game to date.

By moving the timeline forward, Capcom has been able to bring a wholly new character into the frame – V. The newcomer (the third playable character in the game after Dante and Nero) is a complete breath of fresh air for the series and operates unlike anyone we’ve ever played with in a character action game before.

In the past, dual protagonists Dante and Nero have gone through their fair share of arms – both figurative and literal. Dante has had weapons built around guitars, gauntlets, suitcases, nunchaku, and more besides, all giving him different kinds of mobility and combat choices through five previous games. Mixing up firearms and melee, Dante is a solid generalist who’s main draw is letting players adapt to enemy deployments and tactics on the fly.

Nero – who has only appeared in one previous entry – changed up the game with his Devil Bringer arm which allowed him to zip to enemies or bring them to him, depending on their heft and weight. He could grab enemies and use them as shields to absorb blows, disarm creatures by snatching items off them… even break attacks in progress by using his Buster uppercut at the right time.

So, in its sixth entry, Devil May Cry needed to do something new. It needed to introduce a moveset that sat between Dante’s rushdown approach to combat and Nero’s zone control setup… better yet, Capcom could introduce a whole new character.

A new fighter joins the fray

Enter V. The awkwardly named, poetry-reciting emo is accompanied by two familiars in battle: a bird and a panther. These characters are controller by the two face buttons that correspond to Dante or Nero’s weapon and firearm attacks, and can be mixed up with nudges of the directional stick as you input your moves.

So far, so familiar (no pun intended). But what makes V so different is that he needs to be kept out of the action – he has very little offensive capability himself. Hitting Circle/B will have him finish off enemies, but otherwise he’s a commander – sitting behind the front lines, directing his magical companions to do his dirty work for him. 

Anyone that’s ever played a 2D fighter will feel immediately at home with V: he’s reminiscent of Ferra/Torr in  Mortal Kombat X, Ken and his dog Konomaru in Persona 4 Arena, or Carl Clover from the BlazBlue series. Android 17/18 in Dragon Ball FighterZ and the relationship between character and Stand in JoJo’s fighting games cover this idea, too. Certain corners of the internet call these ‘dividual’ characters: fighters that need you to think of spacing and setup for two on-screen sprites, rather than one.

It’s no surprise, then, that the game director in charge of Devil May Cry 5 - Hideaki Itsuno – has history with 2D fighting games, cutting his teeth as a designer on Street Fighter Alpha: Warrior’s Dream and going on to work on Street Fighter III, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Rival Schools – eventually directing Capcom vs SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001 and Darkstalkers.

“I have never really thought about that, but yes - there’s definitely something to it!” laughs Itsuno when we ask if his experience working on these games - especially with ‘dividual’ characters – has influenced the design and feel of V in Devil May Cry 5.

“It’s especially true in the thinking behind execution of the spacing…” He pauses for a second, turns to DmC 5's producer Matt Walker and laughs. “You know in SNK’s Samurai Shodown, you had Galford his dog, Poppy, and Poppy would do its own thing… [to control that character properly], you had to understand what the spacing is, and be aware [of your button presses]. So yeah, there’s absolutely an element of that coming into Devil May Cry 5 and the kinds of 3D action games I make.”

Itsuno laughs again, points at us, and shouts “GO POPPY!” to emphasise the point. Walker jumps in, adding, “I’ve always really loved those kinds of mechanics myself, too. I think even looking into Dante and his Royal Guard… you can see that kind-of parry which, you could probably say, comes from Street Fighter III and that massive risk/reward dynamic you’ve got going on in there."

“Incorporating those escape and evade mechanics in the game is a tricky thing to do - yes, it can be hard to pull of because you have to know the timing, you have to know the moves – but if you can pull it off and you’re at an advantage… there’s really no other feeling like it.”

DmC is back and better than ever

And that’s particularly true of V. Whilst tricky at first, V really comes into his own as you nail the spacing, rhythm and combo potential of his attacks – it's a rhythm fighting game veterans know all too well. With streaks of lightning or blasts of energy, the bird can crowd control mobs whilst the panther rips into armoured foes. Whether you’re charging attacks on the ground whilst interrupting enemies on high, or using the panther to occupy heavy-hitters whilst you get the bird’s area-of-effect blast ready to go, V is – instantly – a Devil May Cry classic in his own right.

The creatures V summons sort-of remind us of Bayonetta and her hair-powered demons: they’re silky smooth, sleek and black (and don’t abide to the laws of physics). When we asked Itsuno if he’d taken any inspiration from the half-sibling series, he shook his head.

“No, I’ve not really taken any inspiration from Bayonetta,” he explains. “In fact, it’s interesting. This project is a Devil May Cry game, right? That’s what it needs to be first and foremost, so that’s what I focussed on. In fact, I’ve never even played a Bayonetta game!”

We found that surprising. The gameplay in Devil May Cry 5 feels so much pacier and immediate compared to other numbered entries in the series. This is the first game in the series to be built using the RE Engine – the power house toolkit that has powered the brilliant Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 2 Remake – so perhaps it's no surprise that the game feels a little different. Itsuno, however, believes that the game is closest to Devil May Cry 4 in terms of overall feel – that's the foundation that the programming team worked from when it took to building the first PS4/Xbox One-era game in the series. 

“We based the balance and the speed of the combat on Devil May Cry 4, as it happens, so we don’t feel the combat in itself is much quicker than [other Devil May Cry games]," Itsuno tells us. “However, we have rethought what happens between battles, and the process of going from battle to battle is something we’ve wanted to improve. So there’s more going on in-between fights now, and no area is in the game without purpose. There’s a purpose to everything you see in every level. Perhaps that makes the whole game feel slightly better-paced – even during the battles. I think it creates better momentum overall.”

He’s right. From what we've seen of it so far, the flow in Devil May Cry 5 works better than any other Devil May Cry game that has come before it. There are still puzzles, there are still sadistically hidden orbs and secret levels to sniff out, and there are still angsty, raucous cutscenes to punctuate all of the action – all of it with that punky energy the series has become iconic for.

In leveraging the technicality of fighting game systems and planting those bones into the body of the most stylish 3D action game out there, Capcom has bottled lightning here. Devil May Cry 5 definitely has the most to offer core players out of all the games in the series to date, and we don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest it could be the most fun we’re going to have from an action game in 2019.

Fighting game fanatics, action game aficionados, Devil May Cry stans, and anyone that just likes over-the-top, joyous good fun… brace yourselves. You’re in for the ride of a generation.

Devil May Cry 5 is out on March 8 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Devil May Cry 5 is getting some lavish special editions - at least in Japan. Per Capcom's Japanese site for the upcoming hack-and-slasher, the most expensive edition - priced at an eye-watering ¥900,000 (about $8,000 before tax) - comes with a wearable and irresponsibly detailed replica of Dante's iconic red leather coat (pictured above). 

There's also a ¥750,000 ($6,600) edition for Nero, one of Devil May Cry 5's other playable characters, which comes with his blue jacket. Nero lost his right arm and uses a robot arm to fight in-game, so naturally the right sleeve on the jacket is torn. Finally, there's a ¥600,000 ($5,300) edition for V - DMC5's third and most mysterious playable character - and his, uh,  sleeveless robe thing. Capcom's site describes the jackets as "master model replica costumes," which jibes with a tip Kotaku received suggesting they're based on the props worn by DMC5's motion capture actors. 

For those hungry for DMC swag but frightened by all the zeros in the prices above, Capcom is also offering a tamer, ¥11,852 ($105) special edition which comes with an embroidered DMC5 button-up. All of these editions also include the base game and three pieces of alternate cover art. However, none of them have been confirmed for release outside Japan. For the time being, all we have is the standard $70 deluxe edition which comes with alternate skins for several characters, a bunch of red orbs you can use to level up quickly, and a bundle of gear like new robot arms for Nero and a revamped version of Dante's Cavaliere motorcycle. 

Devil May Cry fans are still divided on the microtransactions in Devil May Cry 5, which let players spend real money to upgrade their abilities.  

Devil May Cry 5 will feature microtransactions, allowing players to pay real-life money for Red Orbs, the in-game currency used since the series' beginning to purchase upgrades and abilities. There have been defenses from Capcom - that the game is still balanced, that it's about offering players choice, etc. - but the fact of the matter is that the addition of this business model represents a significant change in the series. And, as significant changes are wont to do, it's got the DMC community talking.

Well, debating, really. Over on r/DevilMayCry, the "Microtransaction Megathread" contains a veritable buffet of opinions on the matter. Some plan to boycott the game over the inclusion of microtransactions, while others are totally fine with it. This by itself isn't particularly unexpected; microtransactions have been a contentious item for years, with staunch defenders as well as those seeking an end to a practice they consider manipulative and sleazy.

What's interesting about the conversations happening on Reddit is just how involved and in-depth so many of them are. Far from a simple "I think they're fine" vs "I think they're awful" flame war, there are fascinating discussions about how this move could impact the game's economy, difficulty curve, playerbase, and more.

One of the biggest sticking points is how this will impact revives; the DMC series has always been known for its difficulty, and it's not uncommon for players to die mid-level or mid-boss fight. Previously, players had to have a Yellow or Gold Orb in order to revive - if you didn't, it was back to the beginning of a mission/fight for you. In DMC5 however, reviving costs Red Orbs. And given how Red Orbs can be bought with real money, there's a concern about balance.

"Reviving always cost Red Orbs, just indirectly. And regardless, this is not a real issue," writes LoyalLedger, who asserts that the way people play is more important than whether or not microtransactions (abbreviated "MTX") are in the game. "If you die on Easy, then MTX are not the problem. If you die on Hard, you probably aren't interested in using revives anyway. The DMC fanbase is hardcore enough that most players don't use any items at all. Some players never even get hit. If casuals want to spend real money to restart half-way through a boss fight, let them."

But right below that comment is another stating that the system changes the flow of gameplay, regardless of whether you personally use them or not. "It's just bad game design. Even if you couldn't pay RL money for red orbs, it'd be bad," writes homer_3. "Finding or purchasing Gold Orbs to use to revive just has a different dynamic to it. For one, you've already invested those orbs, so the option to use them for something else if you don't die isn't there. Using specialized items is also more clear to the player. I have 1 Gold Orb? I have 1 extra life. I have 50k Red Orbs? Let me break out the calculator. I don't doubt the game will still be fantastic, but this just seems like a very poor design decision to me."

User endneo is fine with microtransactions, provided they add value. But DMC5's won't, they argue. "What they are selling are digital Red Orbs. That isn't something that is worked on or even content like skins and cosmetics which deserve pay in exchange for service. Red Orbs and currency in games can literally be added in as the publisher pleases, like a number you adjust in a digital engine. It's an economy that they control and can choose to inflate as they want, and that's what I take issue with. Regardless of DMC5 handling them well or not, as a matter of principle, I'm against this kind of practice."

Really, the whole thread is worth a read, even if you're not planning to pick up DMC5 or not even a DMC fan. The discussion about how microtransactions and other business models impact gameplay is one players should be aware of as the industry continues to evolve.

A final note: while not everyone in the thread is on their best behavior, I want to give kudos to the large majority of players weighing in respectfully, even when they disagree. Y'all are doing it right.

While opinion continues to be split about microtransactions, at least we can all agree that Devil May Cry 5 Dante gameplay trailer was pretty SSStylish, right? 

Devil May Cry 5 has been long-awaited by fans, so it was a bit surprising when, during the Microsoft E3 2018 press conference, the reveal trailer largely focused on relative newcomer Nero as opposed to series mainstay Dante. Not to worry, though; a new trailer released during Tokyo Game Show has all the red-hot Dante action you could want (plus a few other surprises).

For the uninitiated wondering why the longtime DMC fans in your vicinity are grinning wickedly from ear to ear, let's break a few things down. First of all, Dante looks to be back and ready to party - he is the cocky, freewheeling smart-ass archetype to a T, and it's been too long since we saw that side of the character. I'm not sure if he's getting a shave from that blade-spinning demon or just enjoying the breeze, but either way it's a very Dante thing to do, as is using his motorcycle like a giant club.

Second, DMC5 seems to be looping in almost every disparate part of the Devil May Cry universe. The long-haired blonde woman and short-haired brunette who join him 45 seconds into the trailer are Trish and Lady, respectively. Trish was a quasi-antagonist, quasi-love interest from the first game, while Lady debuted in Devil May Cry 3 (which, to be clear, was a prequel). The girl with tattoos is Nico - she seems to be Nero's partner, but as she says in the trailer, it was her grandmother who crafted Dante's signature firearms.

That's right, the world of Devil May Cry is apparently one giant supernatural soap opera where everyone is related to or has secret history with everyone. And you know what? I'm here for it. At this point, we've got pretty much every major player on the field save for Dante's brother Vergil and Devil May Cry 2 co-star Lucia. Personally I'd love to see the latter get another turn in the spotlight, but I'm not holding my breath.

Lastly, we get an all-too brief tease of an entirely new character, known only as "V". He looks a bit like every emo band's lead singer, or sexy YA novel Kylo Ren, but I can dig it - after all, the Devil May Cry series has never taken itself too seriously (except DMC2, but we don't talk about that game) so why hold this guy to an unfair standard?

Oh sorry, did I say "lastly"? Because after the what-if-Adam-Driver-but-tattoos reveal and a title card showing the release date and platforms, we're given one more tease: the Mega Buster from Mega Man, which will be exclusive to the Devil May Cry 5 Deluxe Edition. Turns out the Blue Bomber's signature weapon is effective not just against renegade robots, but demons too:

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Devil May Cry 5 is real, it stars Nero, and it's coming in spring 2019. Capcom revealed the game, intended as a direct sequel to Devil May Cry 4 (rather than the DmC: Devil May Cry reboot that succeeded it) on the stage at Microsoft's E3 2018 press conference with a slow-motion-happy trailer. The perspective was slowed down but the action was still super-fast - this looks very much like a successor to the frenetic character action embodied by the original series.

Though the trailer mostly focused on Nero rolling around, killing lots of stuff, and using his cool new robot arm for all kinds of tricks (of course it has a grappling hook built in), it also introduced a new wise-talking mechanic character. She's the one who built Nero's arm and it looks like she'll be a regular companion throughout the game - though she sure as heck isn't doing all this work for free. Don't worry, the teaser ended with a quick appearance from original Devil May Cry protagonist Dante as well. He had his old long hair and a motorcycle and it was great.

Devil May Cry 5 was introduced as a "world premiere" on Microsoft's stage, which means that it isn't an exclusive or anything - it will probably come out on PS4 at the same time and possibly on PC as well. But still, nice of Microsoft to give Nero and friends a great big stage to do their debut on, right?

Oh, and one last thing: despite the fact that Microsoft now owns Ninja Theory, which developed DmC: Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 5 is being built internally at Capcom. We'll just have to wait and see what Ninja Theory gets up to next.

Check out our E3 2018 schedule to make sure you don't miss out any of the biggest announcements.

Rarely can there ever have been such a great fuss over a hairdo. It all began in late 2010 at the Tokyo Game Show, where Capcom unveiled DmC: Devil May Cry with a short trailer showing off the new-look Dante. Younger, grumpier and a good deal darker on top, this angsty smoker was nothing like the cocksure, silver-bobbed protagonist fans knew. The reaction was far from pleasant. Ninja Theory creative chief Tameem Antoniades puts it bluntly: “The vitriol was immediate, aggressive and relentless for the next two years. Without a second of gameplay being shown, it had been written off as a disaster in the making.” Looking back at forum threads from the time, you can see his point. “Kill it with fire.” “Is Dante emo and gay now?” “Ninja Theory is on crack.”

You’d forgive a studio for responding to a reaction like that by caving and trying again. At Ninja Theory’s Cambridge offices, however, visual art director Alessandro Taini was totally unperturbed. “As an artist, you’re a little a bit selfish,” he tells us. “You think about what you like. We were happy with the results, and so was the client. If I like something, and I don’t hear any complaints from the people paying my wages, then I’m OK.”

Despite the furore online, the client was indeed happy: Ninja Theory was doing exactly what Capcom had asked of it. At the time, the publisher believed western developers were the key to global success and was working with overseas studios on both new and existing IP. Keiji Inafune’s team was making a Dead Rising sequel with Blue Castle Games, a partnership so successful that Capcom would later buy the Canadian studio, rebadging it as Capcom Vancouver. Swedish studio Grin rebooted Bionic Commando, while Airtight Games in the US was making Dark Void. Results were mixed, of course – Dark Void tanked, Grin closed down, and Inafune left under a cloud to set up on his own – but at the time Capcom believed it was on the right path. Most of Capcom, anyway.

“There was some resistance internally, particularly from the original DMC team,” says Hideaki Itsuno, the director of DMCs 2, 3 and 4, who oversaw development of DmC from Japan. “But Capcom as a whole was in the mindset that we needed to collaborate with western studios. We could tell from titles such as Heavenly Sword and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West [which was still in development during DmC’s inception] that Ninja Theory were incredibly capable developers and designers.”

While hardened fans of Japanese action games would hardly point to those two games as evidence of a studio’s suitability for making a new Devil May Cry, they meant Ninja Theory was exactly what Capcom was looking for: a modestly sized, technically proficient western studio with experience of melee combat systems. Even better, there were several fans of the DMC series at the studio, including Antoniades. Ninja Theory leapt at the chance but not, Antoniades explains, without some trepidation.

“The parameters for the project were daunting,” he says. “Capcom’s MT Framework [engine] was off the table, so we had to build everything from scratch ourselves. It also became very clear that Capcom didn’t just want a Devil May Cry 5, but a full-blown revamp of the gameplay, art style and story.” So while the bulk of the studio was putting the finishing touches on Enslaved, a small team began preproduction on Ninja Theory’s trickiest project to date.

One of that team was Rahni Tucker, an Australian who quit her job as a senior designer at THQ Brisbane simply to work for Ninja Theory. She packed up, said her goodbyes and made the 24-hour trip halfway around the planet with absolutely no idea what she would be working on when she arrived. “I had my meeting with HR on the first day,” she tells us, “and they said, ‘Well, you’re going to be working on Devil May Cry.’ I think I just said, ‘Oh my God’. It was pretty great.”

THQ Brisbane’s wheelhouse was licensed kids’ games, but Tucker had some melee systems experience from her work on Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, a thirdperson shooter-brawler hybrid that began life in Brisbane but was finished in Canada by Relic Entertainment. Realising she needed more, she began her studies. “I went back and played the old Devil May Crys, Bayonetta, Street Fighter, gathering as much inspiration and influence as I could in that early preproduction stage,” she says. It paid off. Tucker would later become the lead combat designer on the project as a whole, working closely with Itsuno and his team to ensure Ninja Theory’s work stayed true to series tradition.

To a point, that is. Capcom knew that Devil May Cry’s sales had not historically been held back by the country in which it was made, and that simply handing the keys of Hideki Kamiya’s revered series to a western studio would not by itself create the surge in sales figures the publisher sought. “I think they wanted to make it little bit more accessible,” Tucker says. “Devil May Cry is about creativity with combos, [about] being able to get in there with all the different moves and weapons and juggle the enemy about. When you learn how to do it, you feel pretty awesome. That’s the key thing for me, and the thing we tried to bring to DmC for people who maybe don’t get to sit down for hundreds of hours to practice.”

Which isn’t to say that the plan was to dumb the game down. In the hands, Ninja Theory’s Dante retained the complexity and flexibility of games gone by, players juggling enemies ever higher into the air, and switching weapons on the fly mid-combo. The core input set – a jump, gunshot, and light and heavy attacks – remained, and many of Dante’s signature moves were brought over unchanged. Five games in, there was no sense in messing with a proven formula. Instead, Ninja Theory made some subtle tweaks to bring the flashier techniques within reach of beginners.

“A lot of the magic in Devil May Cry happens when you’re in the air – that’s been true for a long time,” Tucker says. “But getting into the air has, for novice players, been difficult in the past: you have to lock on, tilt the stick away [from the opponent] and press a button. That’s fine if you play games a lot, but if you’re fairly new to the series... people have struggled to ‘get’ those inputs. Trying to get some of those important moves onto a single button press was one of the first things we did to make it more accessible.”

So if you tap the heavy attack button in DmC, an opponent is launched into the air; keep it held down and Dante goes up with them. Tucker and team would next turn their attention to pause combos, which use the same string of inputs as regular combos but with a small break in between two button presses. Previously a question of getting a feel for the timing, now there would be a glint on the tip of Dante’s sword and a touch of rumble in the controller to signal when it was time to continue the assault. Simple, slight changes like this were exactly what Capcom desired: a way to make the game more accessible without compromising the intricacy of the systems at Devil May Cry’s core. A simplified launcher input was surely not going to upset the hardcore too much.

That job fell instead to Taini and the art team, although his first instinct was to do the opposite. “The first thing we tried was what we thought they wanted,” he says. “We were thinking about the classic Dante. Usually they do the same Dante with a different jacket, so we thought, ‘Maybe they want something like that.’ And we tried it. But when they saw it, they said they wanted us to put our own twist on it, to not think about the past, but to try something totally new. I remember they said, ‘Do something that we wouldn’t be able to do, otherwise we might as well do it ourselves.’”

So Taini rethought, and before long had come up with a design that Itsuno and Capcom fell in love with. He would turn his attention to the world next, steering DmC away from the foreboding, spiky Gothic architecture of previous games. He told the team in Japan that he wanted a more Romanesque style instead, something found across his home city of Genoa, Italy. “I didn’t want to make something that was classically Gothic,” he says. “There are already many games like that. I would talk to them about the different types of Gothic we have in Europe. In Genoa, there’s a lot of [Romanesque], and it’s more colourful, it’s a mix of styles. And they said, ‘Look, you’re European. You know much better than us what Gothic is, so if you want to use that, do it.’”

Basing Limbo on a real city was key, too. Capcom didn’t want Ninja Theory to refresh only the look and feel of the series, but its story. Both Heavenly Sword and Enslaved had been about relationships as well as action. Dante, however, had spent four games toiling largely alone in a demonic otherworld. Something had to give. “Devil May Cry games have often been set in the middle of nowhere – a big fight in a huge cathedral with nobody around,” Taini says. “I really needed an excuse for why there were no people around [when he fights]. That’s why we came up with the idea of Limbo: somewhere only Dante and demons can be, but it’s still a real city, with real people living there.” Grounding DmC in some sense of reality let Ninja Theory play around with convention. In one level, for example, Dante tries to save his accomplice, a medium called Kat, from an advancing SWAT team that he can hear but not see. He battles enemies in closed-off arenas while the SWAT forces break down the doors around him, allowing him to press deeper into the bunker where Kat is hiding.

While Capcom Japan kept a close eye on Ninja Theory’s work on DmC’s characters, story and world, its greatest focus was, naturally, on the game’s combat. Itsuno and other key personnel would visit the studio in Cambridge every few months to check in on its progress, Ninja Theory staff would often make the trip out to Japan, and in between those times there would be regular video conferences and daily email updates. All that communication helped to unify the two companies, despite a fundamental split between their approaches to game development: Ninja Theory liked to start with the visual design, and Capcom with the mechanics. Modestly, Itsuno admits he learned a lot from the collaboration; Tucker believes she picked up an awful lot more.

“I learnt so much,” she says. “Itsuno would speak philosophically about how he approaches combat and enemy design. They build most of the player’s set of actions first, and then think about the things they can build to allow players to exploit particular elements of the system they’ve designed. They really put the emphasis of the baddie design back onto the player’s actions. It’s kind of obvious, but just the way that he spoke about it was inspiring, and it made a lot of sense to me.”

As the project drew closer to completion, Capcom’s attention to the finer details – frame timings, cancel windows, animations – increased. The game launched in January 2013 and was well received critically, but it would not do as well commercially, despite a strong start that saw it hit number one in the charts in the US, Europe and Japan simultaneously. Antoniades says sales were “ultimately disappointing”.

Capcom’s last official update on the game’s performance came in June 2014, when worldwide sales totalled 1.6 million, some way short of the two million copies that Capcom had initially planned to ship to retailers in the game’s first six months on shelves. Within three months of DmC’s release, Capcom had announced an end to cross-continental collaboration and told the world that it would be bringing back in-house development of both existing and new IP.

Yet while the official figures may not flatter, the tone of those angry forum threads gradually warmed in the weeks and months following release. Check in on them now and the invective that surrounded the announcement is all but gone, replaced instead by fond recollections of a game that brought Dante’s flashy badassery within slightly easier reach. Unluckily for Capcom and Ninja Theory, many of those players found the game for free through PlayStation Plus, rather than on a store shelf. The PS4 and Xbox One Definitive Edition, released on March 10, may yet reverse the game’s fortunes, but in the meantime there are no regrets expressed over a healthy collaboration project that deserved to do better at retail.

“With every project you work on, you learn so much,” Tucker says. “And when you’re working so closely with a company that has so much experience with a genre that Ninja Theory is so interested in, you do learn a lot. We’ve definitely got better at combat. I know I have.” The studio’s greater experience is currently powering development of Hellblade. Tucker, however, is working on another project, one in its early stages and shrouded in secrecy. Expect another Ninja Theory staple – that blend of story, character and combat – but this time with a less controversial haircut.

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The original Devil May Cry 4 feels like half a game. Once you reach the midpoint of its 20 missions as the blade-wielding, gun-toting, demon-armed Nero, you fight back through the same locations as usual series hero, Dante. I expected to feel short-changed by this recursive structure, but in a series all about the art of killing, the addition of three extra playable characters in this new-gen Special Edition adds a bit of spice. What’s more, the ferocious combat system - now running at an immediate and satisfying 60 FPS - ensures makes the re-release is somewhat worthwhile in spite of some tedious, outdated level design.

The story is a prime slice of melodrama: Nero must rescue the love of his life from a demon-infested religious order by blitzing their armies with hundred-hit, free-flowing combos in glorious third-person combat. Nero's main selling point is his demonic arm. Like Dante, you can punt enemies into the sky with your greatsword, and keep them afloat with barrage of bullets from your twin pistols, but now when an enemy sails out of range you can snatch them right back with a huge ghostly fist. Break their guard and you can use the arm to throw them, or even hold them to use as a meat shield as you keep up your frenzied assault - most satisfying. Every attack chain is watched by a judgemental score tally that rewards variety and improvisation. If you want to hit the highest style rank, never stop comboing.

Dante returns with a similar ability set to Devil May Cry 3, but his standard assortment of stabs and slashes are augmented by some extreme weapons, like the transforming war-machine, Pandora's box, which can be used as a bow, a rocket launcher and a floating weapons array. Vergil, meanwhile, favours a laconic, katana-led style that will be familiar to players of Devil May Cry 3's special edition - though he feels a little quicker here. Trish made her debut in Devil May Cry 2, and fights with the enormous sword of Sparda, which she uses quickly in conjunction with electrified kicks to stunlock and dice multiple enemies. Her relatively simple controls makes her the friendliest character to use. The Nero/Dante tag team is replaced by Lady and Trish for their playthrough, and oddly the easier of the pair to control is held back for the latter half of the game.

Lady is the standout addition. Her rocket launcher can fire off a dozen missiles in a single attack. When paired with grenades, this creates spectacular bursts of damage that melt hordes in seconds. She's a roving artillery strike, and great fit for the new-to-console “Legendary Dark Knight” mode that vastly increases the number of enemies in each encounter. DMC4's most satisfying moments happen here, when you nuke a packed room into a sea of red orbs with Lady's launcher.

It's a good job fighting is still fun, because the rest of the package hasn't aged well. Don't expect any visual upgrades beyond the slicker framerate and a move to 1080p. A port town, a jungle and a handful of gloomy castles provide meagre scenic variety, and by modern standards seem sparse and flatly textured. Level design harks back to Devil May Cry 1, so expect lots of laborious switch-pulling, backtracking and unwelcome platforming and puzzle interludes, including one particularly annoying puzzle that has you punching a giant die to move a statue around. The camera was a problem in 2008, and is just as jarring now. Some areas have fixed camera angles, some don't. A sudden shift in camera can wrongfoot you and send Nero right-angling off wrong-ways. It gets worse during combat in cramped spaces. Enemies trapped behind the sluggish camera could throw a party and you’d never know. Expect to take the odd cheap shot as a result.

It can be a struggle to lock on to a particular enemy too. Devil May Cry 4 has a good variety of villains, from fodder like the limping marionettes to ghostly spectres that spear you with lacerating finger-spikes. They present interesting challenges when combined: if charging lancers appear with a commander, they start using formations and co-ordinating their strikes. Locking on to a primary threat like the commander is a matter of luck, however. The game likes to fixate on enemies the camera is facing rather than the enemies your character is facing, and given that your right thumb is busy unleashing red hot death with the face buttons, this can be a problem.

For all those niggles, combat is responsive and consistently exhilarating. But DMC4's main problem is still repetition, both of levels and of the game's bosses, which you must beat multiple times. The giant demon toad Bael, and its humanoid angler fish lures, make for a memorable and close first fight - DMC4's difficulty is very well balanced - but the novelty fades when you kill it a second time in exactly the same place. The recycling of bosses and areas has a serious cheapening effect on the overall experience.

If you can forgive it that, the lower price tag makes DMC4: Special Edition an easier recommendation. If you played and loved it in 2008, then it's worth picking up for the power trip of playing as Lady. Alternatively, if you've beaten Ninja Theory’s faster, prettier DmC reboot and still have an irresistible urge to combo something, then, flawed though it is, Devil May Cry 4 will deliver. Just be prepared to get very familiar with those environments.

This game was reviewed on Xbox One.

The platinum locks of Dante Classic will flow over PS4 and Xbox One for the first time on June 23. Capcom has announced the digital-only release date for Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition (which is also headed to PC) along with a brand new gameplay trailer, starring all five of the game's playable characters.

Dante, Nero, Vergil, Trish, and Lady all sport freshly remastered character models and playstyles, and you'll be able to put them through their paces in two modes which were previously only available in DMC4's PC version: Turbo Mode, which is just the regular game running about 20-percent faster, and Legendary Dark Knight Mode, which throws hordes of super-powered enemies at you in every encounter.

The Special Edition also includes assorted "gameplay improvements," but those don't have a cool-sounding name like Legendary Dark Knight Mode, so they're clearly less important. Pre-ordering Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition for $24.99 / £19.99 will unlock bonus costumes for Lady and Trish, and if you pre-order on PS4 you'll also receive a bonus system theme.

Let me just preface this with a quick, but essential note. I'm actually rather good at video games. Ok, so I'm not cresting to the top of the Resogun leaders boards or lording it over anyone with less than a 10 rank in Hearthstone. But I can parry the smoke out of Gwyn Lord of Cinder and can carry a Guild Wars 2 dungeon run when the mood strikes.

But Bloodborne seems to have done something to me. After polishing off the game for our review, and finally, shakily, putting the controller down, I naturally jumped straight back into some other titles that had been placed on the back burner for the duration of my time in Yharnam. At the top of that heap was a second playthrough of Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin.

Somehow I was utterly bossing it, attempting fighting manoeuvres I wouldn't have dreamed of trying out before. Enemies seemed to move so slowly, compared to their Bloodborne-ian brethren. I was charging through Heide's Tower taking on the resident knights and those big hairy bleeders two or three at a time. And beating them. Did my time playing Bloodborne do this?

A couple of days later I found myself giving DmC another whirl, just to test this theory. I leapt into Turbo mode, wherein the speed of the game is notched up by 20%. Somehow I was suddenly capable of Zen-like fighting transcendence. I could read audio cues from foes that seemed to have not been there before.

I can only deduce that it was Bloodborne that did this to me. I'm thinking it's the learning curve, thrusting me past Father Gascoigne, who's all about the timed stagger attacks, and the Cleric Beast, training you to get in there, rewarding you with success for getting up in its grill rather than backing off.

I'm still rubbish at Mortal Kombat X, mind. Besides that, though, have I evolved into some form of super gamer? Or is this phenomenon wider spread? Have you lot felt better at games since dipping into From Software's Lovecraftian actioner?

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Of all the games receiving a current-gen resurrection, Devil May Cry 4 seems the unlikeliest. Some fans really do prefer its action to that of the DmC reboot, which itself has already received a modern redux to great effect. But fact is, it's happening, I've played it and it's bringing loads of tweaks and new features to the table.

You can now play as five different characters (three new), with Dante and Nero joined by Trish, Lady and Vergil. Trish is no longer the reskinned Dante she was in DMC2, instead sporting a much more distinct moveset. Bizarrely, she has to stand still to build up weapon power, but her gun-based combat is at least a change from all the usual slashing.

The game is said to runs at 60fps in 1080p but, having played it, that hasn't equated to a great-looking game. It's smooth, certainly, but a lot of the background textures currently look low-res and washed out (check out the screens on the following slides) and there are jagged lines around the edges of everything bar the on-screen text. It's still only preview stage so the Devil may Change (aha!), but right now the game looks old. But then, Bloodborne has done that to a lot of games.

Despite the changes, this still feels like DMC4, with precise, chunky movement and that trademark combo ranking system that encourages you to play with style. Vergil is based on his DMC3 appearance, and and can use his summon swords at any time, impaling unfortunate enemies from afar.

With Devil Triggers, launchers, a concentration gauge and alternate 'True Demon' forms (for everyone aside from Lady, who is human), there's a lot here for advanced players to master. They'll also enjoy the Legendary Dark Knight Mode, previously only seen in the PC version of DMC4, which offers loads of enemies and a sharply elevated difficulty curve.

The package is decent, but when the game wasn't that impressive when it came out 7 years ago, it's difficult to muster excitement for it now. Especially when even Bayonetta 2 on Wii U looks better than the code I'm playing here. Still, let's wait and see when it's finished.

Click on through for more details and screenshots.

In 2013 Ninja Theory gave the classic hack and slash series, Devil May Cry, a punky makeover to woo western audiences. Floppy haircuts and melodrama were binned, replaced by contrived urban cool. The half-angel, half-demon Dante was transformed into a male model from an edgy fashion ad. In Devil May Cry 3 he was a cocksure lunatic, now he's a hard-drinking philandering malcontent with a bad attitude and an expensive London hipster haircut. You can almost smell the graffiti paint.

While series fans were freaking the hell out over the Son of Sparda's transformation, it was easy to miss the confident hack-and-slash game hiding behind the heavy metal and nail varnish. The good news is that the Definitive Edition recreates that at a slick 60 FPS and bundles in the three-hour DLC adventure starring Dante's gentlemanly samurai brother, Vergil, who also gets his own survival arena mode called The Bloody Palace. Various character skins for Dante and his weapons are included, along with some some new difficulty modifiers, such as the exhilarating Turbo option that boosts the game speed by 20%. That's about it. If you played DmC in 2013, there's no need to buy this version. If you didn't, strap in.

DmC is the story of two brothers, sons of the banished demon, Sparda. They're gunning for the demon lord, Mundus, who rules the city with a cohort of demons from his ostentatious tower of doom, located on doom street in district doom, just opposite Tesco. His demon lieutenants and their minions must be slain before the big boss fight can happen, and the journey takes Dante through some surprising and memorable places. One set in a rave has you jumping between dance-floor fights inside a pulsing sound wave. Another builds a level out of the tickers of a 24-hour news channel. In another level Dante dives into a river to access a demonic prison, and fights through a warped, inverted reflection of the surface world above. The Definitive Edition hasn't received a significant visual upgrade from its last-gen release, but it still looks decent.

These levels play with DmC's richest artistic conceit: limbo. Demons live in this parallel dimension, which looks like a twisted version of the real world. The world geometry is controlled by this realm's demon overlords, who like to play mind games. Streets erupt around Dante constantly, corridors lurch and stretch as you think you're about to escape. The level can shift from one lurid colour palette to another in moments. Sometimes your enemies like to project giant words onto your surroundings to freak you out, but these are mostly variations on “KILL DANTE”, because demons aren’t too imaginative.

The projections sometimes serve as a mouthpiece for DmC's clumsy brand of social commentary. The demons represent various real-world ills. A popular soft drink infused with demon gunk is keeping the human population docile. Mundus has leveraged bankers' greed to control the world with debt. The surveillance state is run by demons, too – cameras turn into demonic eyeballs when you shift into limbo. On-the-nose doesn't really cover it. It's like a Russell Brand rant given form. In the soft drink factory, the words “GREED” and “OBESITY” plaster the walls. It's as subtle as a brick with the word “BRICK” projected onto it.

Luckily, there's an excellent game about beating up monsters behind all that. DmC, like its forebears, is fundamentally about dismembering demon armies with long, unbroken combos. Dante does this with an arsenal of scythes, axes, swords and big red-hot fists. The triggers switch weapon instantly, and combos are interchangeable between them. You can land the first two hits of Dante's five-hit combo with his sword, Rebellion, and switch to the final three strikes with the scythe, or start with the scythe for extra crowd control and finish with the flaming fists for good single-target damage.

The moves are fast, and beautiful, and incredibly responsive. With some practice you control a battlefield with improvised carnage, moving enemies around impetuously to set up bigger combos. Suck in enemies with a chakram throw, blow them apart with a whirling shotgun blast, lift them twenty feet into the air with a spiralling scythe attack and pummel them with sword blows as you fall. The style meter applauds your efforts with screams of “SAVAGE!”, “SADISTIC!” and – if you're doing really well - “SENSATIONAL!”

This is the third time we've played through the game on various systems, and combat still feels terrific, in spite of some small returning niggles. It can be difficult to pick out targets with your grappling hook, for example, particularly the annoying evil cherubs who like to pepper you with grenades. The new manual targeting option doesn't really help, but missed targeting only occasionally breaks the flow. I spent more time focusing on the varying weaknesses built into the demon hordes. Little guys with telegraphed attacks are easily mopped up, but it takes skill to uppercut a lumbering Tyrant charge and counter-attack effectively.

As you kill enemies they explode into blobby souls that you can hoover up to spend on combat upgrades later. New weapons unlock gradually, which provides good incentive to replay the campaign on Hardcore Mode with a full weapon stock. Hardcore mode - selectable at any time from the pre-misson screen, but best tackled once you’ve powered up and gained more expertise - remixes enemy attack timings and makes you work harder for style ratings. For a ridiculous challenge, you can also activate an unlockable mode that prevents enemies from taking damage until you're hitting a decent style score.

As impossible as that sounds, DmC’s frenzied monster-clobbering is moreish enough to tempt me back. Given the current release crop on Xbox One and PS4, DmC should be the go-to choice for hack-and-slash connoisseurs. Who knows, maybe you'll even come to not-hate punk Dante.

This game was reviewed on PS4.

"30fps, I think, is a clearly established standard and is now the minimum acceptable standard, and it will only go up from there. As we hit the next gen, God help us, it might become 60!"

Those are the words of Capcom’s Alex Jones, Producer of DmC: Devil May Cry. The still-beautiful game that controversially took the series away from 60 frames per second and down to 30 (albeit with some alleged fancy visual tricks to hide the fact). Why controversially? Because 60fps really matters to some gamers. Big time. In fact, with next-gen just around the corner, I think Alex is right to suggest it's time to move up. 60fps should be the standard for next-gen games. Because it makes a huge difference in so many ways. Let's take a closer look...

Contrary to what your mind is constantly telling you, TV screens don’t display moving images. They display a rapid succession of still images to trick your mind into thinking you’re watching moving images. It’s a small but important difference. Although perhaps ‘trick’ isn’t the right word. So eager are our brains to make sense of what they’re shown, they’ll happily fool themselves, filling in countless gaps between images and allowing us to suspend our disbelief so we can watch a film or play a game.

But the rate of good information has to be quick. Because the fewer still frames you are shown every second, the less convinced your brain is by the movement it’s seeing. The game or film will start to look less fluid, then decidedly jerky, before your mind gives up trying to recognise movement and dismisses what it’s seeing as a mere collection of different images. For example, look at Team Fortress 2 running at 1fps:

It's a slideshow. But I bet you still imagined movement, even then, didn’t you? You were linking each frame to the next like a storyboard, imagining the reloading animation and the character's movement across the room. That's how keen your mind is to make sense of what it's seeing. But there's only so much it can do with such limited information. 10 frames per second is about the limit for lifelike images to appear to move properly, although let's face it: Video games need to be quicker than that.

So how fast should games be? We've had everything from perhaps the worst frame-rate in any game ever through to Quake being run at thousands of frames per second. Ironically, the 16-bit era was a golden age for 60fps games, with everything from Sonic and Mario through to Pac-Man and Zelda running at 60fps. But then, when 3D came along in the arcades (running at a beautiful 60fps), it all slipped on home consoles because the processing load was so high.

Games like Soul Blade on PS1, GoldenEye on N64 and even the original Gran Turismo all ran at 30fps or lower. It was a frustrating time. But no coincidence that these games also pushed the boundaries of what was possible on home machines. The rule is simple: The more you stretch the hardware, the more the frame-rate takes a hit.

Growing up with such games is undoubtedly the reason why gamers like me can 'see through the Matrix'. We got used to championing games with good frame-rates because there simply weren't that many of them around. The ones we had were fuel for debates about which console was best. But after the 32-bit era ended, I'll never forget my intense disappointment when I played Sega Rally 2 on Dreamcast and the frame-rate dipped to 30fps at the first corner, proceeding to fluctuate between arcade-perfect 60fps and 'last-gen' 30fps for the entirety of the game. That wasn't good enough then, it still happens now and it needs to be eliminated. Completely.

But why is 60fps the holy grail for graphics hogs? Why not 70? Well, it's to do with TV sets. The difference between 30 frames per second and 60 frames per second sounds huge, but it’s actually rather subtle. American and Japanese CRT TVs refresh their still picture a total of 30 times every second. But, crucially, each one of those frames is constructed in two sweeps.

That’s where 60fps comes in. Each sweep between odd and even lines of pixels contains a new, up-to date version of the image. For PAL TVs, the rates are 25fps with two scans, totalling 50fps (or said another way, 50hz). So when everyone in the UK talked about 60fps in the '90s, it was actually just 50fps. But the result was the same: Every fresh scan had a fresh update to the image, making it look better.

Modern TVs don't construct their picture in the same ways as CRT, but the difference between 30/60 is still easy to describe. In layman's terms, 60fps looks mega-smooth. I would show you a video of it, but YouTube itself is capped at 30fps so you wouldn't see any difference. But load up any 60fps game like Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Wii U version notwithstanding), Dead or Alive 5, or Bayonetta on Xbox 360 and you'll immediately see how smoothly they move.

In fact, Bayonetta is the perfect example because it runs at around 30fps on PS3 and (mostly) 60fps on Xbox 360. The difference this makes to the experience is massive, especially if you come to one version after playing the other for a decent length of time. This video from DigitalFoundry illustrates the difference in frame-rate well:

It's worth noting that we still gave Bayonetta 10/10 at review, even though we only received the PS3 version prior to release. A great game is a great game. But a great game running at 60fps will always be better. And, crucially, once you've seen how it's supposed to be, you'll never go back.

So I say why not have next-gen machines just deliver this premium experience all the time? Let's not forget what id's John Carmack said, though: "[Next-gen] will let us do everything we want to do now, with the knobs turned up. If you take a current game like Halo which is a 30 hertz game at 720p; if you run that at 1080p, 60 frames with high dynamic frame buffers, all of a sudden you've sucked up all the power you have in the next-generation. It will be what we already have, but a lot better."

I'm actually OK with that. Because for me (and perhaps this goes back to those dreadful 32-bit days), a solid 60fps frame-rate demonstrates a developer's complete mastery of a console's hardware. It means a game always looks 100% assured in its movement and responds quicker to control inputs. It ages better. But it would also convince the masses that the new generation of consoles are awesome because they'd be purring along like a cheetah on catnip. I can picture the adverts now...

Of course, anything left over should go into everything else. The eminently quotable industry analyst Michael Pachter has gone on-record to say he believes the PS4 will be able to render games at 240fps. That's madness. At least in terms of frame-rate. For instance, the physics engine of GRID 2 is said to run at 1,000 hertz. That’s 1,000 cycles per second, or 33 samples of the car’s tyres against the track for every one frame of the 30fps visuals shown to the gamer. The car drives and handles more smoothly as a result. That's where progress should be made. There's no need for 240fps graphical refresh rates because your eyes literally can't see the difference. Few TVs even display images that quickly.

Until hyper-realistic techniques like ray-tracing become fully usable in real-time (almost certainly not going to happen in home consoles any time soon), why not use this coming generation to really consolidate what we have? Make excellence the norm and get people used to the best, ready for the true generational leap into the truly photo-real in a few more years? Ray-traced water effects like this NVIDIA tech demo are unlikely to be fully realised in next-gen consoles, so why chase them prematurely at the expense of gaming fluidity? There's plenty of time for them later.

But I fear the industry will be too keen to push the boundaries before the hardware can do it properly. With every new console generation, developers are always keen to squeeze every drop of graphical power from the new hardware, which almost always ends with a compromise in frame-rate. As Jones told me:

"It's the thing you end up struggling with the most. On one hand you want the richest, densest visuals and character art you can achieve, but, particularly in a game like DmC, you absolutely must have a character that feels hyper-responsive and that reacts to your input without any lag whatsoever. It's a difficult and precarious balancing act that consumes a lot of time, particularly in the back end of the development cycle as you are optimizing and doing everything you can to squeeze those frames out of the engine."

He added: "I think twitch games, particularly those with a competitive element to them, would likely start to assume 60 as a base, but for open world type games that are trying to make massive, living worlds, I think there is still a place for 30 fps games that can portray realistic population density and environmental detail. Game development will always be a tradeoff of how to marshall limited hardware resources in order to achieve the best result for a particular game."

I'm up for that. Of course there's room for both, but I want to see next-gen games running below 60fps only because they really need to. I think we can all agree that arcades are dead because home gaming caught up. So it's about time things at home actually ran 'at arcade speeds' at last.

What do you think? Should next-gen games all run at 60fps? Or do you not even notice frame-rates? Let us know in the comments.

There are a fair amount of collectibles to find in DmC: Devil May Cry. If you're looking for a video guide for all of the Secret Missions, we've got you covered.

Be sure to check out our DmC: Devil May Cry review if you haven't already.

RELATED GUIDES

• Lost Souls Locations Guide
• Key and Secret Door Locations Guide

Copper Secret Missions [01-05]

01 AIR BRAWL

Kill all enemies within the time limit. Enemies only take damage in the air.
A rather easy mission in which performing simple air juggling of enemies with the Rebellion will have it completed in no time.

02 SIMPLE TRAVERSAL

Reach the goal within the time limit.
In this race type of mission, you will have one minute to reach the finish line. There’s nothing too fancy about the race and it’s the easiest of the traversal missions.

03 SIMPLE ERADICATION

Kill all enemies within the time limit
Here you are required to kill 6 enemies within a minute time limit. There’s no other requirements other than mass slaughter. Go nuts and have fun.

04 DEMONIC CONFLICT

Kill all enemies within the time limit. Enemies only take damage from Demon weapons.
For this mission, you will have a minute and twenty seconds to defeat 5 rather weak enemies using only the Eryx and/or Arbiter.

05 ANGELIC WARFARE

Kill all enemies within the time limit. Enemies only take damage from Angel weapons.
For this mission, you will have a minute and twenty seconds to defeat 5 rather weak enemies using only the Osiris and/or Aquila.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Copper Missions [01-05]
• Copper Missions [06-10]
• Argent Missions [11-16]
• Gold Missions [17-20]
• Ivory Mission [21]

Copper Secret Missions [06-10]

06 RAPID DESCENT

Reach the goal within the time limit.
Once of the trickier race missions, you need to hit each of the 20 markers along the downhill route within the one minute and twenty second time limit. Follow the route in the video and you’ll nail it easily.

07 A TASTE OF HEAVEN

Kill all enemies within the time limit. Enemies and Dante die in one hit.
Keep enemies at a distance and do your best to avoid any hit. Air attacks work the best as do wide area effect attacks.

08 STYLISH VICTORY

Gain an S rank within the time limit.
For this all you need to do is just keep switching up your attacks and make sure you don’t get tagged by an enemy. As long as you don’t get hit and you change weapon attacks, you’ll complete this rather quickly.

09 BAIT AND SWITCH

Kill all enemies within the time limit. Enemies only take damage while the demon evade damage bonus is active.
To invoke the demon evade bonus, you’ll need to hit RB/R1 while holding RT/R2 at the exact time that an enemy swings its attack at you. You’ll know if you have successfully pulled it off as time will slow and Dante will glow. Once you have it acquired, kill the three enemies.

10 THE POWERS WITHIN

Kill all enemies before Dante’s devil trigger expires.
Once the devil Trigger is active, simply use your Demon Pull to grab each enemy and give them a pummeling with the Eryx. Move from one to the next until all 9 are defeated.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Copper Missions [01-05]
• Copper Missions [06-10]
• Argent Missions [11-16]
• Gold Missions [17-20]
• Ivory Mission [21]

Argent Secret Missions [11-16]

11 WHAT GOES AROUND

Kill all enemies within the time limit. Enemies only take damage from other enemy attacks.
The easiest way to complete this mission is to lure the ground enemies to the bombs that the flying Bathos drop on the ground. Dodge out of the lighted circle on the ground before they explode and continue to repeat until all the ground enemies are destroyed. For the flying Bathos, you can use the Arbiter or Osiris to deflect the bombs back at the attackers.

12 MODERATE TRAVERSAL

Reach the goal within the time limit.

13 FLAWLESS CONQUEST

Kill all enemies without taking damage.
Much like the Taste of Heaven mission, this will require you to not get hit by any enemy. Just like that mission Air attacks work the best as do wide area effect attacks.

14 COLOSSAL TRIUMPH

Kill the Tyrant within the time limit.

15 HASTY ACQUISITION

Gain the target number of red orbs within the time limit.
This mission can be tough but using ranged weapons such as the Revenant can be useful, but tricky since you are not able to aim with it. It can be completed with melee weapons by following the street and focusing more on the large groups of items rather than the lone street signs.

16 DISPLACED SKIRMISH

Kill all enemies within the time limit. Enemies only take damage from within the active zones.
This mission can get tricky when the active zones appear far away. When they do, air dash to them and them demon pull enemies towards you to get a good start on beating them. When the rest of the enemies gather around, use a wide area attack to hit the group.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Copper Missions [01-05]
• Copper Missions [06-10]
• Argent Missions [11-16]
• Gold Missions [17-20]
• Ivory Mission [21]

Gold Secret Missions [17-20]

17 DIVERGENT SLAUGHTER

Kill all enemies. Do not use the same attack twice.
For this mission, the easiest way is to knock each of the enemies off the platform. If you can line up more than one enemy, that works best, but otherwise, a launch attack from each weapon will knock off each enemy, one at a time.

18 EXTREME TRAVERSAL

Reach the goal within the time limit.

19 A DAY IN HELL

Kill all enemies. Dante dies in one hit.
Much like the Taste of Heaven and Flawless Conquest missions, this will require you to not get hit by any enemy, although the enemies this time around do not die in one hit. Just like that mission Air attacks work the best as do wide area effect attacks.

20 SUBSISTENCE

Survive until the timer expires.
For this mission, you don’t have to kill every enemy that appears, you just need to survive the 3 minutes. Toy around with the Stygians and leave some alive as time ticks down so that you can have some easier enemies to kill when the tougher enemies come out and your health ticks down. When the Dreamrunners appear around the 1 minute mark, just try to avoid their teleport attacks and focus on the weaker enemies to replenish your health until the timer reaches zero.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Copper Missions [01-05]
• Copper Missions [06-10]
• Argent Missions [11-16]
• Gold Missions [17-20]
• Ivory Mission [21]

Ivory Secret Mission [21]

21 SHENANIGANS

Kill all enemies.
For this mission, you’ll want to focus on the witch first. She has a very annoying habit of shielding the Rages and tossing multiple knives at you. Getting her out of the way first allows you to not have to worry about her daggers and then focus on the two rages. Which Rage you go after first once the Witch is down is up to you, but I found taking out the Demon Rage from the air was easiest, leaving just the Angelic Rage by its lonesome to finish off.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Copper Missions [01-05]
• Copper Missions [06-10]
• Argent Missions [11-16]
• Gold Missions [17-20]
• Ivory Mission [21]

There are a fair amount of collectibles to find in DmC: Devil May Cry. If you're looking for all of the Keys and Secret Doors, we've got you covered.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Missions 1-3
• Missions 4-6
• Missions 7-9
• Missions 10-12
• Missions 13-15
• Missions 16-18

Be sure to check out our DmC: Devil May Cry review if you haven't already.

RELATED GUIDES

• Lost Souls Locations Guide
• Secret Missions Guide

Mission 1: Found

COPPER KEY

To find the first key, head to the left of where you take out your first Lost Soul and hop across the platforms that lead out to the small area. When you reach the end of the path, the key will be waiting for you there

COPPER DOOR

When you enter the funhouse, make a left at the wall of eyeball paintings and run towards the mirror at the far end. Before you reach it, make a right and the door will be in a hallway there.

Mission 2: Home Truths

COPPER KEY

When you are in the first large room, go up the stairs and head to the right. Continue around and inside the door way at the far wall will be the key.

ARGENT KEY

This key can be found just after you get the arbiter from the painting. When you proceed down the hallway and drop through the floor, there will be a red jewel on the ground that you will need to smash with the Eryx. Smash it and the key will be in the floor

COPPER DOOR

Immediately after you are shown how to use the demon pull, you will drop down a hole in the floor that has a red jewel on the ground. The door will be to the right of the jewel and in plain sight to see.

COPPER DOOR

After you receive the Osiris from the painting, you will then need to head back outside and cross some platforms by demon pulling them. When you reach the far side, you will need to smash through a red and then a blue door. Once you do, look to the right to see a large gap with the lost soul at the far end. Air dash across to reach it.

Mission 3: Bloodline

COPPER KEY

At the start, after the battle with the Ravager, go forward to the door opening, but before going through, make a left down the corridor. Smash through the red door there and follow the stairs up to find the key at the top.

ARGENT DOOR

In the main area where you begin, you can reach the Argent door by making an air dash (once it is acquired) from the upper walkway to the platform that the door is resting on.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Missions 1-3
• Missions 4-6
• Missions 7-9
• Missions 10-12
• Missions 13-15
• Missions 16-18

Mission 4: Under Watch

ARGENT KEY

Proceed down the stairs just after the Kat tells you the city is trying to stop you and make a right at the bottom. A wall will shoot towards you and you will need to use the Eryx to break the red stone on it. Follow the alley to the end to find the key there.

GOLD KEY

When at the open street area where the divinity statue and fountain area, hop on top of the fountain and then jump and air dash toward where you entered. There will be a grapple point on top of the building across from you that you can snag and pull yourself up on. Once up, run through the building and follow it around to the key.

COPPER DOOR

Can be found just after the battle with the Frost Knights where you find the two cameras. Use the grapple to reach the ledge above and then hop over to the right and cut through the blue door to find the Copper door inside the building

ARGENT DOOR

Near the end of the mission, after you pull out the stairs and find the last camera, air dash to the left and you will see a grapple point where you can latch to. Pull yourself there and you will land at the Argent door.

Mission 5: Virility

COPPER KEY

After the battle with the hell knight once you go through the red container, hop over the fence on the left side to find the key

ARGENT KEY

When in the floating container room, go to the far side and hop up the broken stairs and go to the opposite side. Follow the grapples around you will eventually slide through a container to a platform. Continue across the grapples, air dashing the larger gaps and you will come to land on the platform with the argent key at the far side of the room.

COPPER DOOR

Just after the divinity statue, hop on the boxes to the left and air dash across to the right to find the Copper door on the ledge above.

ARGENT DOOR

While running through the corridors with the yellow pulsating tubes, you will eventually come to a red door on the left hand side. Smash through it and you will find the argent door there.

Mission 6: Secret Ingredient

COPPER KEY

As soon as you are in control and in the yellow tunnel, turn around and you will see the key directly behind you.

COPPER DOOR

Once you reach the bottom of the yellow tunnel and enter the hatch, exit to the platform with pillars on it and the door will be located on a small platform to the left side.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Missions 1-3
• Missions 4-6
• Missions 7-9
• Missions 10-12
• Missions 13-15
• Missions 16-18

Mission 7: Overturn

ARGENT KEY

Once you enter the penitentiary and use the boost rings for the first time, you will come to a blue door on the right up high. Use the Aquila to cut through and then grapple over to reach the key.

COPPER KEY

When you reach the divinity statue, grapple over to the catwalk on the right. Follow it to the right side and you will come across the key inside the building.

COPPER KEY

After you smash through the second red jewel in the elevator, grapple upwards in the next room to the doorway. Turn around when in the doorway and you’ll see the key across from you.

GOLD DOOR

After you use the boost rings for the first time and go to the left where a large tv screen blocks your path, there will be a fenced are across from you. Pull out the container and jump on it. Then jump to the right of the fenced area to find an opening you can go through to reach the door there.

COPPER DOOR

After you hit the second red jewel in the elevator, this door will be to the left of you when you land and fight the Rages.

Mission 8: Eyeless

ARGENT KEY

After you have defeated the enemies where the train I running long the ceiling, go to the opening at the far end and make a right when you can. There you can find a blue door to cut through. Once you are through it, the key will be at the end of the corridor.

COPPER DOOR

Just after the start of the mission, you will hop into a tunnel that extends. Look to the upper right and you will see a blue door that you can use the Aquila to cut open. Hop up to the left ledge and use the Aquila and then hop over to the opening and go to the right to find the door.

ARGENT DOOR

As soon as you find the first divinity statue, continue down the tunnel and on the left there will be an opening with a red door. Hop up into it and smash it with the Arbiter to find the door.

Mission 9: Devil Inside

GOLD KEY

Just after you have received the devil trigger, you will enter a building and battle against some Rages. To get the key, you will need to launch an enemy into the air and then use your grapple to launch off them and jump up to the balcony above. Once you get to the balcony, you can find the key in the corner.

GOLD DOOR

Just after you receive the Devil Trigger, you will enter a building where you will be introduced to the Fallen Harpys. Once you have defeated them and the Witches that appear as well, the door will become accessible in the far corner.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Missions 1-3
• Missions 4-6
• Missions 7-9
• Missions 10-12
• Missions 13-15
• Missions 16-18

Mission 10: Bad News

None

Mission 11: The Order

COPPER KEY

When you pass through the server rooms, you will eventually come to a divinity statue down some stairs. Go back to the left and left again to find the key there behind some glass. Smash the red jewel to the right of it to gain access and collect it.

COPPER DOOR

To get this door, you need to be pretty quick on the feet. When you enter the servers rooms, take the left path and go forward down the hall. When you punch through the wall on the right with the red jewel, quickly run around the corner and there will be a metal door on the left that is closing. Run in before it closes and you will be able to access the secret door within.

Mission 12: Under Siege

None

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Missions 1-3
• Missions 4-6
• Missions 7-9
• Missions 10-12
• Missions 13-15
• Missions 16-18

Mission 13: Devil’s Dalliance

GOLD KEY

After the initial waves of enemies are over at the start of the mission and the ramp appears ahead of you, turn around and hop up the ledge behind you. Grapple over to the left side and the key will be on the walkway there.

IVORY DOOR

After you enter the club and fight off the first few waves of enemies, a ramp will appear and you will be able to proceed. Instead, turn around and climb up the ledge behind you. Once up, go to the right and you will be able to grapple over to the door there.

ARGENT DOOR

This can be found behind a wall to the right of the divinity statue just after round 5. To reach it, walk to the edge of it and look down to see the door. Drop down to access it.

Mission 14: Last Dance

None

Mission 15: The Trade

COPPER KEY

For the first key, hop to the left of the crates when you land on the red jewel just after hoping on the car. Jump down to the ground and the key will be on the far side of the crates there.

COPPER KEY

Just after you pull the bus out of the way, hop to the left of it and there will be a fenced in area to the upper left. Hop up the crates there to reach it.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Missions 1-3
• Missions 4-6
• Missions 7-9
• Missions 10-12
• Missions 13-15
• Missions 16-18

Mission 16: The Plan

GOLD KEY

This key is found as soon as you get off the elevator on the 105^th floor. Go to the right and around the corner you will see the gold key between two lost souls.

GOLD DOOR

When on floor 106, go to the right and there will be two hallways. The first will have red/white opening in the floor. Hop to the center and enter the opening on the right to enter the stairwell. Go down the stairs to floor 104 to find the door.

COPPER DOOR

When you reach the elevator on floor 154, Kat will tell you to go up and that you’ll “face five floors of hell.” Before entering the elevator, go to the right and around the corner will be the door.

Mission 17: Furnace of Souls

IVORY KEY

After the battle on the main platform with the Witch, hop across the blue grapple to the red and the next red point that reveals a blue one. Grapple across the blue one to the ledge and then grapple to the right to the large stone against the wall. You can then use the Osiris to cut through the blue door.

GOLD DOOR

Once you pass the divinity statue, demon pull the red ledge to the right of it and it will pull out a platform that will allow you to jump over to the door on the right side of the area.

Mission 18: Demon’s Den

ARGENT KEY

To get this key, enter the tunnel to the right of the large center door in the main chamber. Follow the cave until you come to a large hole in the floor. When you reach it, drop down to the left and then follow the ramp up to reach the key.

ARGENT DOOR

When you enter the cave directly to the left of the large center door in the main chamber, you can see the door on the far right before entering the generator room.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Missions 1-3
• Missions 4-6
• Missions 7-9
• Missions 10-12
• Missions 13-15
• Missions 16-18

There are a fair amount of collectibles to find in DmC: Devil May Cry. If you're looking for all of the Lost Souls, we've got you covered.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

Be sure to check out our DmC: Devil May Cry review if you haven't already.

RELATED GUIDES

• Key and Secret Door Locations
• Secret Missions Guide

Mission 1: Found

LOST SOUL 1

The first soul is on the wall to the left of the first appearance of the Bathos demons. You will be told how to get it and what it is.

LOST SOUL 2

Once the hunter smashes through the mirror in the fun house, go to the right to find the lost soul on the wall there.

LOST SOUL 3

Across from the previous soul, will be a red door. Once you have the Arbiter (found in mission 2), return here and use it to smash through it and collect the lost soul and the horde of red orbs inside.

LOST SOUL 4

Just after the mirror, to the left you will see a large doll in an electric chair. Go to the left of the doll and in the small room there will be the lost soul above the door.

LOST SOUL 5

For this lost soul, you’ll need to return after mission 6 when you have the Eryx weapon. When you do, go to the red jewel that is in the wall directly across from where the first lost soul was and punch through it. Inside, you’ll find the soul on the wall.

LOST SOUL 6

When you have the grapple (Angel Lift), continue through the level until you reach the merry go round. Now that you have it, there will be a path to the right of the ride that will take you over to a small platform with a structure on it where the soul is.

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

Mission 2: Home Truths

LOST SOUL 1

When you are in the first large room, go through the door on the left and halfway through the broken corridor, use the grapple on the ledge to the right. Enter the room there to get the soul.

LOST SOUL 2

Just past the divinity statue on the upper floor, through the left corridor, use the Aquila (which you acquire in mission 10) on the blue door that is to the right. Once it is open, jump across and enter the room to find it.

LOST SOUL 3

After you receive the Arbiter from the painting, defeat the enemies and then go through the doorway. The wall with the next lost soul will back away from you and you will need to air dash across to get it.

LOST SOUL 4

Just after the previous lost soul, drop down into the opening in the floor and slash the lost soul off the wall there.

LOST SOUL 5

Once you are back in the main hallway and see the image of the kids playing, smash through the red door and on the other side will be the lost soul atop the door frame.

LOST SOUL 6

Immediately after the previous soul, go to the right and you will come to a blue door to slice through. Once you have the Osiris from the painting, slash through the door to find this lost soul.

LOST SOUL 7

Once you have completed the demon pull tutorial, drop down the opening in the floor and go through the doorway. The lost soul will be located above the door frame.

LOST SOUL 8

When you enter the main chamber once again and it tears apart, follow the ghost up the stairs and through the red door. Once inside, just to the right of the divinity statue will be a blue door. Use the Osiris, once you have it, to get through and find the lost soul above the door frame.

LOST SOUL 9

After you receive the Osiris from the painting, you will then need to head back outside and cross some platforms by demon pulling them. When you reach the far side, you will need to smash through a red and then a blue door. Once you do, look to the right to see a large gap with the lost soul at the far end. You can then air dash across to reach it.

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

Mission 3: Bloodline

LOST SOUL 1

Back track to this mission when you have the Aquila and you can then get the Lost Soul that is in the blue door along the wall in the starting area. Shoot your blades at it and when the door is opened, grapple up to the room to find the soul.

LOST SOUL 2

At the beginning of the mission, after you deal with the Ravager, go through the doorway that opens up and a scene will play where the ground breaks apart. As soon as it is over, turn around and look up to the left to see the soul there.

LOST SOUL 3

Once you receive the air dash, use it to reach the upper ledge in the starting area. Once you reach the ledge, the soul is easy to hit.

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

Mission 4: Underwatch

LOST SOUL 1

When you first enter the mission, there will be a soul on the wall to the far left.

LOST SOUL 2

After the first battle and you pull the ledge out from the wall, hop over one ledge and the lost soul will be on the corner of the building. Jump and slash to take it down.

LOST SOUL 3

After you take out the first camera and then talk to Kat, go up the stairs on the left side where the Vital Star is located and there will be a soul on the wall above the stairs.

LOST SOUL 4

When you come to a large open area with a divinity statue and a dirt filled fountain in the center of the road, there are two lost souls you can get here. There will be one to the left and one to the right. To get the left one, hop on top of the fountain and air dash over to it.

LOST SOUL 5

For the second Lost Soul in the open street area where the divinity statue and fountain area, hop on top of the fountain and then jump and air dash toward where you entered. There will be a grapple point on top of the building across from you that you can snag and pull yourself up on. Once up, hop over to the lost soul and hack away at it.

LOST SOUL 6

After your first battle with the Frost Knight, hop up on the ledge using the grapple and then turn around to see the soul in the wall behind you. Air dash over to it and slash away to collect it.

LOST SOUL 7

After Kat does her spray can mumbo jumbo and you pull out the stairs, hop across to the second ledge, just before the red door, and then look to the right. The lost soul will be on the side on the building there.

LOST SOUL 8

When you get the previous Lost Soul, continue across the ledges and smash through the red door at the far end to find the lost soul inside along with some extra red orbs.

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

Mission 5: Virility

LOST SOUL 1

Just after you enter Limbo, hop across the crates along the left hand side. After the first battle, look to the crate up behind you and there will be a lost soul hanging out there.

LOST SOUL 2

After you cross the first set of platforms and pass through the red container, you will square off against some enemies and a Tyrant. Once they are down, look to the left of the area and there will be some grapple points in the distance. Hook over to them and to the platform on the right where the lost soul will be.

LOST SOUL 3

After you pass the divinity statue and hop up the tall stack of boxes down the right hand corridor, you will fight some Bathos and then pull a container over. When you reach the other side, enter the walkway and look to the right to see the soul on the wall there.

LOST SOUL 4

When you reach the far side of the large floating container room, there will be a lost soul in the far right hand side corner.

LOST SOUL 5

When you are at the far side of the container room and fight the frost and hell knights, defeat them and then go up the ramp on the far left side to reach the upper level. The Lost Soul will be on the left side wall there.

LOST SOUL 6

In the container room, go to the far side and hop up the broken stairs and turn to face the room. Up above on the right you will see a blue door that can be opened with the Aquila. Use it to rip open the door and then grapple to the container. Grapple again a couple times to the right and you will reach the lost soul on the side of a container.

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

Mission 6: Secret Ingredient

LOST SOUL 1

From the beginning of the mission, there will be one spot that you need to use the demon pull to advance. Once you use it, look on the rear side of the panel on the left that is sticking out to see the lost soul there.

LOST SOUL 2

Once you enter the hatch at the end of the first tunnel, walk through the second and when you exit, the lost soul will be on the pillar to the left.

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

Mission 7: Overturn

LOST SOUL 1

When you reach the Penitentiary, grapple your way around to the left and when you land at the red jewel to smash, look to the left wall to see the lost soul there.

LOST SOUL 2

After you use the boost rings for the first time and go to the left where a large TV screen blocks your path, there will be a fenced are across from you. Pull out the container and jump on it. Then jump to the right of the fenced area to find an opening you can go through to reach the lost soul there.

LOST SOUL 3

Just after the previous soul, you will grapple over to a platform with a large yellow light above it. Turn around and look up to see a grapple point and a platform with a lost soul on it. Grapple your way up and air dash over to reach it.

LOST SOUL 4

After your battle with the two Rages, hop through the opening and the lost soul will be on the wall to the left of you.

LOST SOUL 5

When you exit out of the corridor where the previous lost soul was, go around to the right of the elevator shaft to find this lost soul there.

LOST SOUL 6

When you reach the top of the elevator, there will be a upside down boxes blocking the path to the left side. The lost soul here is on the other side of it. Make your way to the right and jump and air dash your way around to the other side to reach it.

LOST SOUL 7

When you smash the first red jewel to lower the elevator, go forward to the next jewel. Before you hit it though, look to the right to see the lost soul on the wall.

LOST SOUL 8

After the elevator, you will come to a divinity statue. When you reach it, look to the right of it and there will be a lost soul on the wall there.

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

Mission 8: Eyeless

LOST SOUL 1

Just after the start of the mission, you will hop into a tunnel that extends. Look to the upper right and you will see a blue door that you can use the Aquila to cut open. Hop up to the left ledge and use the Aquila and then hop over to the opening to get the soul inside.

LOST SOUL 2

Just after the previous lost soul, you will come to a tunnel with a subway that goes zipping past. When you enter the tunnel, go to the left to find the soul on the wall.

LOST SOUL 3

As soon as you find the first divinity statue, continue down the tunnel and on the right there will be an opening. Hop up into it to find the lost soul.

LOST SOUL 4 & 5

When you reach the Harpy nest, look around the edges and there will be two yellow signs labeled platform 1 and platform 2. Grapple up to each and there will be a lost soul in each.

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

Mission 9: Devil Inside

LOST SOUL 1

When you reach a fenced in area, you will be able to see the lost soul on the other side. To reach it, use the Osiris on the door to the right of it to gain access to it.

LOST SOUL 2

After you get the Devil Trigger and are introduced to the Fallen Harpy’s, there is a lost soul that can be seen through a window. To get it, walk to the edge of the wall and hop around the wall to the ledge on the other side to reach it.

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

Mission 11: The Order

LOST SOUL 1

Once you pass the divinity statue at the start of the mission and drop down the hole in the floor, look for this lost soul in the doorway across from the red jewel to need to punch through to proceed.

LOST SOUL 2

After the battle with the witch and the bladed tyrant, you will follow the cops as they breach two doors. After the second door, look to the left inside the room and the lost soul will be on the wall there.

LOST SOUL 3

After you enter the first server room, exit it and make a right to the end of the hall. Make another right and the lost soul will be on the wall at the dead end.

LOST SOUL 4

From the previous soul, go back out to the main corridor and go to the far end. Make a left where the door closes and then smash through the red door. To the right will be the lost soul.

LOST SOUL 5

After you get the previous lost soul, smash through the red door and then through the red jewel across the hallway. Once inside, go to the left to find the lost soul in the next room.

LOST SOUL 6

Go back to the corridor where you first entered this area and then take the central passage forward. About halfway down, there will be an opening on the right will the lost soul on the wall there.

LOST SOUL 7

This is one of the trickiest lost souls in the game to get. When you arrive to battle with the Dreamrunner, the lost soul will be high above the door you entered through. To get it, you’ll have to do an attack that will get you high enough to reach it. I would suggest allowing the Dreamrunner to teleport, dodge his attack, and then have Dante launch him up with a charged uppercut with the Eryx. Once he is launched, grapple to him and then attack the lost soul.

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

Mission 13: Devil’s Dalliance

LOST SOUL 1

Once you have fought the first waves of enemies and the club changes to allow you to move forward, jump up on the ledge behind you to find the soul above the door there.

LOST SOUL 2

Just after the previous soul, as you pass the divinity statue, look under the ramp to find the soul on the wall there.

LOST SOUL 3

Once you enter the competition and have to walk along the devil and angel squares, go to the right path and follow it to the platform floating out in the middle of nowhere. On the platform will be a column with the soul on it.

LOST SOUL 4

After you complete round three, look behind you and there will be a Lost Soul to the right of the door way.

LOST SOUL 5

When you finish Round three, you will need to follow a light path to round four. Take the left path and then as you reach the right side, grapple to the platform. Grapple again to the lift point and hit the floor switch to create another path. This path will take you to the lost soul directly ahead.

LOST SOUL 6

After Round 5, and after the Dreamrunner, proceed up the stairs and you will come to a divinity statue on the left. Go to the right of the platform and you will see another floating out in space. Grapple over to it and then along the next two platforms to find the lost soul on a wall along with a Devil Trigger Star.

LOST SOUL 7

Continue past the Divinity statue from the previous lost soul and you will come to another plate on the ground to smash. Before you do, the lost soul will be on the wall to the right.

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

Mission 16: The Plan

LOST SOUL 1

Just after the first divinity statue, there will be a red door on the right side. Smash through to find the soul at the bottom of the stairs.

LOST SOUL 2 & 3

When you get off the elevator at floor 105, make your way to the right and around the corner will be a small hallway with two lost souls on each wall along with a gold key. Simply hop across the gap when the floating boxes are gone to get them.

LOST SOUL 4

When on floor 106, go to the right and there will be two hallways. The first will have red/white opening in the floor. Hop to the center and enter the opening on the right to enter the stairwell. Go up the stairs to find a soul on the wall.

LOST SOUL 5

Once on floor 106, you will cross a large gap and then fall back down to 105. Take out the enemies there and then check the office on the left to find a lost soul on the wall.

LOST SOUL 6 & 7

When on the floor 105, after the battle is over and before grappling back up to 106, walk to the elevator door that is closed and it will open revealing two lost souls inside.

LOST SOUL 8

As soon as you get through the laser bridge, go to the left and the lost soul will be right there on the wall.

LOST SOUL 9

Just after you get the Kablooey, you will face a few enemies and then be told to go right. Keep going straight instead to find the lost soul on the wall there.

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

Mission 17: Furnace of Souls

LOST SOUL 1

When you first enter the Furnace, stick to the left path and you will eventually come to a large wall on the left side. Walk behind the wall to find the soul.

LOST SOUL 2

For the next soul, you’ll need to go to right from the start and follow the ledges across until you get attacked by a frost and hell knight. When you do, grapple your way over to the platform on the left side and the soul will be on the wall.

LOST SOUL 3

After you land on the large center structure and fight the witches, there will be a lost soul in the far corner on the wall.

LOST SOUL 4

Once you pass the divinity statue, hop over to the next platform and then up to the right on the wall there to see the soul.

LOST SOUL 5

Near the end of the mission, you will fight some Dreamrunners and Witches. Once they are defeated, you will grapple across some points. When you reach the platform that you can safely land on, look to the right to see the soul there.

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

Mission 18: Demon’s Den

LOST SOUL 1

For this lost soul, Enter the first tunnel on the left and you will come to a large cavern with some ledge. Look to the upper right and you will see the lost soul there.

LOST SOUL 2

In the middle tunnel to the right of the area, you can find another soul at the generator. When you reach it at the end of the tunnel, look to the left side to see it on the wall.

LOST SOUL 3

For the final soul, enter the tunnel that is immediately left of the large center doors. Look for the soul down below on a platform to the right.

• Mission 1: Found
• Mission 2: Home Truths
• Mission 3: Bloodline
• Mission 4: Underwatch
• Mission 5: Virility
• Mission 6: Secret Ingredient
• Mission 7: Overturn
• Mission 8: Eyeless
• Mission 9: Devil Inside
• Mission 11: The Order
• Mission 13: Devil's Dalliance
• Mission 16: The Plan
• Mission 17: Furnace of Souls
• Mission 18: Demon's Den

DmC Devil May Cry has entered the UK all formats chart at No.1 for the week ended January 19.

The Ninja Theory developed series reboot secures publisher Capcom its first chart top spot since Resident Evil 5 back in March 2009, despite its launch week sales coming in at just over a third of Devil May Cry 4’s when that game reached No.1 back in February 2008.

We said in our DmC Devil May Cry review: “It's challenging, accessible, and experimental in all the right ways, while retaining the top-notch combat that put Dante on the map in the first place.”

The game ended FIFA 13’s two week run at the top of the all formats chart, with the football title dropping to No.2 ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Far Cry 3 and Need For Speed: Most Wanted.

GfK/Chart-Track Top 10:

Change can be scary. When Ninja Theory's DmC was announced, many feared it would be an insult to Capcom's sacred hack and slash franchise. But it isn't. DmC is a fantastic action game, featuring intelligent combo-centric combat and creative world and boss designs.

This reimagining of Dante's origin story is set in an alternate timeline, where the Son of Sparda is just as self-assured as ever--even if he relies a bit more on salty smack talking. Yes, he's likable, and no, his updated vocabulary doesn't just include F-bombs. Dante's witty, cocky, and surprisingly mellow through most of the game's nine-hour campaign. His half-angel, half-demon lineage has piqued the interest of the demon lord Mundus, DmC's antagonist intent on destroying Sparda's spawn. While this setup is easy to digest, it isn't particularly interesting. Sure, you'll always know what's going on in the story and why, but the plot quickly becomes predictable and ultimately feels like a missed opportunity for something greater.

Check out the video review!

While DmC's story falls short, the combat excels, rivaling the best that the action genre has to offer. Each tool in Dante's vast arsenal comes with a staggering number of ground and air-based combos, which you'll unlock with greater frequency because separate resources are used for purchasing new abilities versus items. While the series has never suffered from a lack of combo variety, the ease with which you can transition between weaponry is admirably seamless. It's entirely plausible (and extremely gratifying) to include each of Dante's eight weapons into a single chain without missing a beat--and you'll frequently have to do so if you hope to land that coveted SSS rank.

Franchise fans will notice that the combat is slightly slower in pace compared to its predecessors, and it's more forgiving as well--but this doesn't detract from the intensity of the action. Though casual players will enjoy DmC on its normal difficulty mode, seasoned demon hunters will want to crank up the challenge right from the onset. In typical Devil May Cry fashion, grueling difficulties--such as the one-hit-and-you're-dead Hell And Hell mode--unlock after subsequent playthroughs. These, coupled with the fact that unlocked weapons, abilities, and combos are retained, will give you plenty of reason to jump back in once the credits roll.

Still, balletic combos are only as interesting as the enemies you use them on, and while DmC has some slick demons to slay, you'll encounter most of them within the first half of the game. From there, you'll come across reskinned versions of familiar monstrosities--except this time they have a shield, or are immune to all but a couple of Dante's weapons. These mechanics certainly help make fights more dynamic, but they also run counter to the emphasis placed on combo variety. It's difficult to pull off impressive chains when some enemies can only be harmed by two of your weapons. Thankfully, these types of encounters don't occur with enough frequency to be damning, but you might be disappointed by the limited types of demons you'll face.

DmC's boss fights have the opposite problem: The gargantuan battles are impressive to behold, and many bosses have some of the most unique designs we've seen in years. Unfortunately, they're not always as fun to fight as they are to look at, because most rely on bland "hit the glowing weak spot" mechanics without ever really challenging your combat ability. That's not to say the bosses aren't enjoyable--but you'll probably only use the word "epic" to describe their size as opposed to the experience of taking them on.

The biggest change to the series, however, is in Ninja Theory's Limbo City setting, a parallel universe where demons reign supreme. Dante is constantly pulled into this hostile, living environment--and that's "living" in a literal sense. City streets twist, contort, and vanish from under you, while alleyways and buildings implode in an attempt to crush the wily demon slayer. Every new area is full of surprises (including a great deal of enjoyable platforming segments), and you'll marvel in awe as static environments transform into imaginative death traps.

You'll also get a kick out of the nuggets of social commentary embedded in each level. A billboard advertisement for Virility, a soft drink that demons use to enslave mankind, will suddenly be superimposed with the words "GLUTTONY IS GOOD" as you pass by in Limbo. Similarly, Raptor News--a Fox News parody--is full of over-the-top reporting gags that'll have you giggling while you murder legions of demons.

What's more, each of the game's missions are rife with hidden secrets, some of which you can only reach once you obtain certain abilities and weapons later on. This adds a bit of Metroidvania flavor to the experience, and you'll fervently replay each level in an attempt to find every hidden treat.

Some of the secrets you'll come across take the form of challenge rooms, which require you to defeat large groups of enemies under certain conditions. One will task you with putting down demons without getting hit, while another might dictate that foes can only take damage in the air. These are great arenas for testing your combat prowess, and you'll be eager to complete them as quickly as possible to secure a top spot on the leaderboards. Best of all, you'll hone specific skills while attempting to do so. You'll need every ounce of ability you can muster if you hope to finish the game on its highest difficulty settings. No matter how many times you play through DmC, its frantic combat remains just as fulfilling.

It's natural to be afraid of change--especially when dealing with a long-running franchise like Devil May Cry--but DmC's gameplay speaks for itself. It's challenging, accessible, and experimental in all the right ways, while retaining the top-notch combat that put Dante on the map in the first place. Sure, it's not without its shortcomings, but DmC easily ranks among the action game elite.

This game was reviewed on Xbox 360.