The Devil May Cry series is fabled for it’s tough enemies and even tougher boss fights. Throughout the years it has amassed a cult following of fans that have a profound love for the red leather jacket-wearing Devil Hunter known as Dante.
In Devil May Cry 5, Dante returns with Devil May Cry 4’s protagonist, Nero, and the fresh faced V. What lies ahead is a swathe of demons, red orbs, and stylish combos and we’re here to help you push those lonely S’s all the way towards the coveted SSS ranking.
Take a quick history lesson
As a true sequel to Devil May Cry 4, Devil May Cry 5 discards the events of Ninja Theory’s Devil May Cry entry. Subsequently, it has been over a decade since we last seen Dante and Nero. While the games have slowly appeared on modern consoles, there are bound to be a plethora of new fans that haven’t a clue what is going on and there is undoubtedly a fair few out there that have simply forgotten. Well, worry not. The aptly named History of DMC can be found at the title screen and provides a quick five minute recap of all the events that lead up to the events of the current installment.
Opt for Human difficulty
There’s a certain amount of pride that comes with playing the Devil May Cry series on the higher difficulties. Absolutely nobody wants to be a human when they can proclaim that they are the Son of Sparda, but the reality is that you probably need to play on Human difficulty – Devil May Cry’s Easy mode equivalent. Doing so will allow you to come to grips with all three of the playable characters, net you some much needed Red Orbs to buy skills, and allow you to practise your combos.
Use The Void
If you still need some extra practice to really understand how everything works in Devil May Cry 5, you can take a trip to The Void. Within The Void, you’re able to pick any type of monster you see throughout the game and practice the perfect combo to take them out and achieve the highest rating. You can even set them to attack so you can practise your evasive skills or even master the art of parrying their attacks. It’s definitely a worthwhile resource for those looking to invest heavily in perfecting each and every mission Devil May Cry 5 has to offer.
When shopping, be savvy
The amount of purchasable items, skills, and orbs on offer in Devil May Cry 5 can be overwhelming. There’s just so much you can buy that might not be worth it early doors – purchases like a very flashy and expensive taunt are cool, but it should probably be the last item you buy. It might seem like a good idea to buy some extra Devil Breakers for Nero too, but seeing as the game’s levels can be very generous in providing those extra arms your Red Orbs would be best spent on Blue/Purple Orbs and combo based skills. Buying the right skills will ultimately result in you netting more Red Orbs overall thanks to the additional boost to your purse that accompanies higher mission ranks.
Writing on the wall reveals secrets
Throughout Devil May Cry 5 there’s a total of 12 Secret Missions. They are scattered far and wide, but the trick to finding them is to look for the literal writing on the wall. Each Secret Mission is signalled by a very distinct pattern on a wall that needs aligned. When you’re in sight of one there will be a small pinkish/purple pyre that alights below your feet. Stand on the pyre and line up that image. You never know where they might be as, so vigilance is key – especially when it comes to V’s Secret Missions as they often require you to smash through other walls with the help of Nightmare to find.
Adapt your controls to something unique
There’s no denying that Devil May Cry 5 can be quite a burden on your hands, so finding a style of controls that fits is extremely important. Make sure you test out all the possibilities. Thanks to the ability to individually bind every single possible attack, you can make your own unique control scheme. While some players might opt for a claw type grip, ensuring they can charge the various attack constantly and switching at will, others might opt to utilise the triggers for basic attacks that involve holding certain attacks for a period of time.
Remember, you have time to explore
Unlike previous Devil May Cry games, time does not play a part in your style ranking at the end of missions. Now that you have the freedom to explore and enjoy the scenery, you can look for Blue and Purple orb fragments. This is doubly important as Devil May Cry’s missions are intertwined. At the start of every mission with a crossover there is a mechanic that loads replay data from other players in to your game. These players are able to unlock shortcuts and dramatically alter the path you take to the end of some missions. It’s a neat trick that allows further exploration of levels and offers additional routes to find lots of glowing goodies.
Find the perfect loadout
While this tip doesn’t apply to V, Dante and Nero benefit massively from understanding their kit and how to best use it. Dante’s weapons and the order in which they appear will impact your combos and how you tackle specific missions, this also extends to Dante’s firearms. In fact, we opted to remove Dante’s Dr. Faust weapon as it relied on the use of Red Orbs to be effective. As for Nero, you can select which of the many Devil Breakers he has available. Knowing that you need to dodge a lot will most likely result in the need to a Gerbara. Combo and area of effect requirements demand something like Rawhide. And if you’re struggling with timing the revs on Nero’s Red Queen you can opt for Tomboy as well as the Sweet Surrender to heal you up in a tight spot.
Use taunts to boost rankings
Nothing quite states that you’re ready for anything like a taunt. Squeezing in a few taunts, both aerial and grounded, will help you boost your combo rankings in Devil May Cry 5 dramatically. You can lockdown opponents with Dante’s roundtrip and taunt the helpless enemy while they struggle to break free of the spinning swords, or you can use Nero’s Streak attack to knock down an enemy for the same effect. The same applies when you’re in the air. For those brave enough, you can even add extra flare by taunting while the enemies spawn between waves to maintain the style rank as opposed to hearing the announcer slowly count away all your hard earned points.
The game rewards multiple playthroughs
Devil May Cry 5 isn’t a big game, but it’s a game that you absolutely need to play a second time at the very least. Throughout your first playthrough you will start to amass a torrent of weapons, abilities, and a few extras we will keep hidden. After you’ve unlocked all of that, the gameplay changes dramatically for some characters and adds weight to the different routes you missed on your first playthrough. There are also a few missions that allow you to choose who you play as, so revisiting those missions with different characters will also net you a few achievements/trophies for your troubles.
If one thing is clear, it’s that you will not see everything Devil May Cry 5 has to offer in your first run. You might not even see it all until your fourth. It takes timing, dedication, and thumbs of steel to push through the likes of Son of Sparda and the difficulties beyond it. So be wary Devil Hunter, this is only the beginning.
DMC 5 is hitting PS4, Xbox One and PC on March 8.