Devil May Cry 5

Devil May Cry 5 is the stylish action series' return after a long break, and probably the purest showcase of what combat built on elegance looks like. A demonic tree has grown out of the city center, draining blood from its inhabitants, and three playable characters stand against it: young Nero with his interchangeable mechanical arms, the mysterious newcomer V, who fights exclusively through summoned demons, and the veteran Dante with his entire arsenal. The story is an over-the-top, confidently ridiculous spectacle full of posturing, but it holds together and, for series fans, closes several long-open threads.

Gameplay-wise, it's a combination of swords, firearms, and abilities that the game grades after every fight based on how inventive it was and whether the player kept repeating the same thing or got hit too much. Chasing a higher rank is exactly what drives the whole game and leads to constantly trying new combinations. Each character plays noticeably differently; Nero handles distance with a grappling hook and one-use Devil Breakers, V merely directs a panther and a bird and finishes off weakened enemies himself, while Dante switches between several combat styles and weapons on the fly, making him the most complex but also the deepest choice.

On PC the game runs exceptionally well, since it's built on the studio's modern in-house engine, delivering a sharp, detailed image at high frame rates even on a mid-range rig. Characters and environments use photogrammetry, so faces look almost unsettlingly real, which contrasts with the utterly over-the-top action. The music blends metal with electronic elements and dynamically ramps up during fights based on your rank, so the reward for a good performance is a louder chorus, too. Critics received the game excellently, and today it's considered one of the genre's high points and an ideal entry point into the series even for newcomers. Anyone content with just clearing the story gets a brisk few evenings of action; but anyone who starts learning the combos and chasing the top rank can return to the same levels for many dozens more hours.