Game review – Devil May Cry V: Special Edition (Xbox Series X)

Many Devil May Cry fans celebrated once Devil May Cry V released for PC, PS4 and Xbox One back in March 2019. It was a very long wait for a direct sequel because Devil May Cry 4 was released way back in 2008.

The reason the game took so long to come out is because Capcom decided to reboot the series with DmC: Devil May Cry in 2013. The prequel/reboot was ill-received by hardcore fans as they didn't like Dante's new look and gameplay.

It goes without saying that last year's release of Devil May Cry V was a huge success. The game got great reviews from critics, and most importantly the fans started to love the franchise once more.

Thanks to the success of the game on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, Capcom is now re-releasing the game with Devil May Cry V: Special Edition. This version of the game comes with next-gen exclusive features as it is being released for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Devil May Cry V already looked great on PS4 and Xbox One as it featured the award-winning RE Engine. This is the same game engine that powers the most recent Resident Evil remakes. Well now the game looks even better with the power of the new PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles.

One of the best new graphical features of the game is ray-tracing support. The already photorealistic backgrounds now look even better thanks to better lighting and reflections. The character models are also great to look at, and they're one of the best I've seen on next-gen hardware.

There are also many graphical modes you can do to make this game look and play the way you want it to. You can play this game in 4K with 60fps, although the frame-rate will dip if ray-tracing support is on. If you have a monitor or TV that supports it, 120fps mode is also available for you to choose from.

You can also play the game at 1080p with 60fps and ray-tracing on. With my 4KTV though, I preferred playing the game in 4K at 60fps. Playing at 60fps or higher just looks so much smoother when you've seen it a couple of times.

Another great thing about this re-release is the fact that the loading times are now blistering fast. I reviewed this on Xbox Series X and the game only takes a few seconds to load into the gameplay. I remember the loading times were much longer when I played the original release on Xbox One X a few months ago.

In terms of other new content, hardcore fans will love the fact that you can play as Dante's cooler brother named Vergil. Vergil can play through all of the game's missions from the start, plus his moves more much different compared to the other playable characters.

Vergil has access to two special swords as well as some special gloves that allow him to punch enemies. He also has a special kind of ranged attack that is different to the other characters because he doesn't carry guns. This ranged attack is pretty unique and is really effective against enemies and some bosses.

He can also make a duplicate of himself and that can aid him in battle. The duplicate version of him is really helpful especially if you're playing on a harder difficulty mode that increases the number of enemies that you have to face!

Some other new content is the "Legendary Dark Knight Mode". This is essentially an even harder difficulty mode that you can set, but it's only recommended for expert Devil May Cry fans. You can also set the game to "Turbo Mode" as well which makes the gameplay even faster than it was before.

Sadly, Devil May Cry V: Special Edition does not include any new levels which is kind of disappointing. I would have liked if new levels were made specifically for Vergil, but he just goes through the same 21 story stages as the rest of the characters do.

If you have already played Devil May Cry V on PS4 or Xbox One, I don't think there's too much new content for you to explore here. It will only be worth getting this "Special Edition" if you're interested in the new graphical settings and difficulty modes.

For players that have never played Devil May Cry before, Devil May Cry V: Special Edition is a great action game that will be a good collection for your new PS5 and/or Xbox Series X/S console. However, this isn't an essential purchase if you're already played the base version on PS4 and Xbox One. That being said, the new graphical options do make the game look prettier than ever before though.

Verdict: 8.0/10