DmC: Devil May Crya is an action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Capcom for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. It is a reboot of the Devil May Cry series. Announced in late 2010 during the Tokyo Game Show, the game is set in an alternate reality to the mainline Devil May Cry series.
The game's story focuses on the player character Dante, a young man at the start of his saga. Dante is a Nephilim: half-angel, half-demon. He is partnered with his twin brother, Vergil, and is on a quest to kill the Demon King Mundus, who murdered their mother and condemned their father to banishment. Players can use Dante's iconic sword, Rebellion, and signature handguns, Ebony and Ivory, as well as a variety of other melee weapons and firearms to defeat enemies. The game also introduces Angel Mode and Demon Mode, which are modifiers to Dante's moveset.
The re-imagination of the Devil May Cry series was requested by Capcom, resulting in a total reboot. Capcom chose Ninja Theory to develop the game, assisting them to ensure that gameplay was reminiscent, but distinct, compared to previous titles. Early reaction to the game was widely negative, generally as a result of Dante's visual redesign; nevertheless, DmC received positive reviews from critics upon release, but less favorable reception among fans. Critics praised the gameplay, art style, and story of the game, as well as the redesigned Dante. The game ultimately failed to meet Capcom's sales expectations.
A DLC expansion for the game, titled Vergil's Downfall, which takes place after the main game and features Dante's brother Vergil as the playable character, was released on 23 March 2013. A remastered edition of the full game, titled DmC: Definitive Edition, running at 1080p/60fps and including all downloadable content, new costumes and new gameplay features such as a manual targeting system, was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 10 March 2015. The Definitive Edition and the original PC version were developed by Q-LOC.
Gameplay
DmC: Devil May Cry is an action-adventure hack and slash video game. Players take on the role of Dante as he uses his powers and weaponry to fight against enemies and navigate the treacherous Limbo. Like previous games in the series, Dante can perform combos by attacking with his sword, Rebellion, and shooting with his twin pistols, Ebony and Ivory. New to the series are modifiers to Dante's moveset, known as Angel Mode and Devil Mode, activated by holding down one of the trigger buttons. When in Angel mode, Dante's sword attacks change to the Osiris, a speedy scythe type weapon, whilst Devil mode uses the slower but more powerful axe, Arbiter. These modes also alter Dante's mobility. Using Angel mode allows Dante to pull himself towards enemies and various points in each level, whilst Devil mode lets Dante pull enemies and objects towards him. Dante is also able to dash across large gaps in Angel mode. All of these moves can be used in conjunction with each other to perform massive combos, which are ranked based on the damage the player makes. When enough power has been gathered, Dante can activate Devil Trigger mode, which slows down time around him and levitates enemies into the air, allowing him to perform much stronger attacks. Like previous games, Dante can collect various types of souls which can be used to recover health, purchase items and upgrade Dante's moveset.
Plot
The game is set in an alternate reality of the series. The game's story takes place in Limbo City, a modern-day city secretly controlled by all-powerful demons, manipulating humanity through the comforts of life, with the demons themselves residing in a parallel plane called 'Limbo'. Living on the fringes of the brainwashed society is Dante, a young man at odds with the demons who constantly hunt him, and the civilian authorities they control. Dante is warned by a young woman named Kat that he is in danger just as a Hunter demon drags him into Limbo. Dante navigates the Bellevue Pier's carnival and kills the demon with Kat's aid, who can see into Limbo with her psychic powers. Dante returns to the human world and accepts Kat's offer to meet with her boss, Vergil.
Along the way, Kat explains that Vergil leads "The Order", a rogue vigilante organisation intent on exposing the demons and releasing the world from their control. Vergil tells Dante that with his help the Order can bring down the demons. Dante learns that he and Vergil are not only long lost twin brothers but also Nephilim, the children of Angel and Demon and the only beings capable of killing the cruel demon king Mundus. Their demon father Sparda was Mundus' chief lieutenant in the war against the angels until he betrayed Mundus when he fell in love with the angel Eva and sired the twins. Mundus, afraid of the Nephilim, attacked the family and killed Eva. Sparda spirited his sons to safety, wiped their memories for their own protection and gave each a sword (Rebellion for Dante, Yamato for Vergil). Mundus imprisoned Sparda and condemned him to eternal torture and has hunted Dante ever since. After learning of his past, Dante resolves to help Vergil bring down Mundus and his regime.
Dante, with help from Kat, gradually takes down Mundus' operations. During the final stages of his campaign, Dante witnesses a SWAT team raid the Order's headquarters, killing everyone in sight. Dante rescues Vergil from Limbo but he is helpless to protect Kat from being brutally beaten and dragged back to Mundus' lair. Dante then kidnaps Lilith, Mundus' demon concubine carrying Mundus' unborn child, and offers to trade her to Mundus for Kat. During the exchange, Vergil kills Lilith, her child and the SWAT troops. The three allies narrowly escape as Mundus tears much of the city apart in an outburst of power that depletes the Hellgate, a portal to the demon world within his stronghold in Silver Sacks Tower. Kat, recovering from her injuries, leads the brothers through a detailed plan to infiltrate the Towers and defeat Mundus. Dante draws Mundus out of his lair and Vergil closes the Hellgate, rendering Mundus mortal. Mundus forms a massive body for himself and confronts the brothers, but Dante lands the killing blow to destroy Mundus for good. Limbo collapses into the human world, making demons visible to humans and creating chaos and pandemonium worldwide.
After Mundus' defeat, Vergil reveals his true intentions: with their family avenged, he intends to rule humanity in Mundus' place. Vergil argues that as their saviours, they must protect humans "from themselves" yet he callously dismisses the human Kat's role in saving humanity. Dante is appalled at Vergil's attitude and defeats him in a climactic sword fight. Kat stops Dante from killing his brother and Vergil leaves in disgrace. Faced with a world now infested with demons and abandoned by his own brother, Dante questions his own identity, and Kat comforts him by claiming that he is "Dante, nothing more and nothing less".
The DLC chapter Vergil's Downfall follows Vergil after escaping from Dante. He finds himself in an unknown dimension, where he is guided by the voice of Eva to "head toward the lights". Vergil reaches the light area but is stopped by illusions of Kat and Dante, the latter of whom stabs him again. Vergil is saved by a hollow version of himself and is transported to an area where he has to fight to heal his wounds. During his journey Vergil kills the illusions to heal his wounds, and leaves Eva to mourn after discovering what a monster he has chosen to become. Vergil later defeats his hollow counterpart and takes his amulet. Vergil then returns to the real world and encounters demons, who begin to bow at his feet. Confident in his future, Vergil becomes the new Demon King and leads his new army to the unknown.
