Thus far, DmC was defined by the caustic relationship between Ninja Theory and a vocal subset of hateful fans. On the epicentre of the talk is a brand new look Dante; he isn’t the Dante these fans want, entirely because he doesn’t seem like the Dante they know. It’s the fireplace smoke blowers are fanning to obscure the greater ambition, more fool them.

DmC is bold and brilliant; a wonderful union of East and West that marries deep and responsive gameplay with high-quality production values, vivacious environments and tasty characters. From here on out, DmC could be defined because the game that pulled the franchise back from the threshold.

Got the Devil’s Haircut in My Mind

The irony of all of it is that, beyond the visual differences, Dante is identical cocksure rogue. If truth be told, a number of the returning Devil May Cry cast aren’t all that different, they’ve just been reinterpreted through a latest lense, bringing them in keeping with the contemporary setting and giving them some much needed texture.

Dante is humanised, and is a more interesting character due to it. His story is charted from the very beginning, from orphaned infant to rebellious teen growing up at the mean streets. A lost soul looking for his humanity and being affected by his inner devil, who becomes an alcohol guzzling, sexually promiscuous loose cannon.

Of course, he plays the brazen bad boy too, and in that respect Ninja Theory has turned him as much as 11. He curses up a storm, filling our ears with F-bombs at a frequency we haven’t heard since playing Bulletstorm. His one-liners are as corny and as crass as ever, but delivered so well that it’s impossible to not chuckle.

Mundus, DmC’s prime antagonist, isn’t any longer the abstract threat looming over the player until the closing moments. Instead he’s an ever-present manifestation of contemporary fears and anxieties: a fat cat bureaucrat commanding an Orwellian world of his creation, controlling the flow of info and crippling it under debt.

New character Kat has a method with witchcraft, making her indispensable to Dante in his quest for revenge and liberation, but she hides a troubled past that touches on some very sensitive issues. Because the only fully human main character, she also serves because the moral anchor.

DmC’s narrative is nuanced similarly. In its broad strokes the tale plays out very similar to the unique, however the old angels-and-demons yarn is a bit more colorful because of the biting social commentary and clever satire woven into it.

The moments wherein DmC pushes up against the fourth wall are its most memorable. As an example, Raptor News Network anchor Bob Barbas spreads demon propaganda and villainises Dante. He’s a creep with a comb over that preaches about “doing God’s work”. The similarities to a undeniable Fox News host are obvious, which makes all of it the sweeter while you get to smack him around. One of several game’s more memorable missions sees Dante forced to compete in ‘The Devil’s Got Talent’, a gauntlet of platforming and combat challenges.

DmC’s many hooks into the $64000 world give it cultural relevance, an extraordinary quality in games.