DmC: Devil May Cry is a 2013 action-adventure game created by Ninja Theory and released by Capcom. The story happens in a different world from earlier Devil May Cry games. It follows Dante, a young demon hunter who is asked by his twin brother, Vergil, to help fight the demon king, Mundus. The gameplay is similar to older Devil May Cry games, where players control Dante and use weapons like swords and guns to defeat enemies.
Capcom decided to restart the Devil May Cry series to make it more popular after Devil May Cry 4 (2008). They chose Ninja Theory because they were impressed with their work on Heavenly Sword (2007). Ninja Theory made DmC using Unreal Engine 3 and designed it to be easier for new players to enjoy. Capcom helped ensure the gameplay felt familiar to fans of previous Devil May Cry games. At Capcom’s request, Dante’s appearance was changed to better appeal to Western audiences and younger players.
After being shown at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2010, DmC received criticism from fans who disliked the reboot and Dante’s new look. The game was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows in January 2013. While many fans were unhappy, some praised the gameplay, art style, and story. It sold 4.40 million copies by March 2024, but it did not meet Capcom’s goals and was less profitable than Devil May Cry 4.
A downloadable content pack called Vergil’s Downfall, which lets players control Vergil, was released in March 2013. A remastered version called the Definitive Edition, including all DLC, new costumes, and extra features, was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in March 2015. Devil May Cry 5 (2019) returned to the original story of the series but included gameplay and design ideas from DmC.
Gameplay
DmC: Devil May Cry is an action-adventure combat video game. Players control Dante, who uses his abilities and weapons to fight enemies and move through the dangerous world of Limbo. Like earlier games in the series, Dante can perform combinations of attacks by using his sword, Rebellion, and shooting with his twin pistols, Ebony and Ivory. A new feature in this game is the ability to change Dante’s fighting style through two modes: Angel Mode and Devil Mode. These modes are activated by pressing a trigger button. In Angel Mode, Dante’s sword becomes Osiris, a fast scythe-like weapon, and he can pull himself toward enemies and objects in the environment. In Devil Mode, Dante’s weapon changes to Arbiter, a slower but stronger axe, and he can pull enemies and objects toward him. Angel Mode also allows Dante to jump across large gaps. These abilities can be combined to create long sequences of attacks, which are rated based on the amount of damage done. When enough power is collected, Dante can enter Devil Trigger mode, which slows time around him and lifts enemies into the air, letting him attack more strongly. As in previous games, Dante can collect souls, which can be used to restore health, buy items, and improve his fighting abilities.
Plot
The game takes place in a different world from the series. The story happens in Limbo City, a modern city secretly controlled by powerful demons who influence humans through everyday comforts. The demons live in a separate world called "Limbo." Living on the edges of society is Dante, a young man who knows about demons and secretly fights them. However, he spends much of his time eating unhealthy food and enjoying relationships.
One day, Dante is warned by a young woman named Kat that he is in danger. A Hunter demon attacks him, dragging him into Limbo and destroying his trailer at the end of Bellevue Pier. Dante grabs his weapons and defeats the Hunter with Kat's help. Kat has the ability to see into Limbo using her psychic powers. After returning to the human world, Dante agrees to meet Kat's boss, Vergil.
Kat explains that Vergil leads "The Order," a group determined to expose demons and free humans from their control. Vergil asks Dante to join the Order. Dante learns that he and Vergil are twin brothers and Nephilim, beings born from an angel and a demon. They are the only ones who can kill the demon king, Mundus. Their father, Sparda, was Mundus's top officer in a war against angels until he betrayed Mundus by having children with the angel Eva. Mundus, fearing the Nephilim, killed Eva. Sparda protected his sons, erased their memories, and gave them swords (Rebellion for Dante, Yamato for Vergil). Mundus captured Sparda and punished him endlessly, vowing to find Dante while not knowing about Vergil. After discovering his past by visiting his family's ruined home, Dante decides to help Vergil defeat Mundus.
With Kat's help, Dante attacks Mundus's operations and defeats the demons who work for him. During the final battle, Dante sees a SWAT team attack the Order's headquarters, killing Vergil's followers. He rescues Vergil from Limbo but cannot save Kat, who is beaten and taken by Mundus. Dante kidnaps Lilith, Mundus's demon companion carrying his unborn child, and offers to trade her for Kat. During the exchange, Vergil kills Lilith, ending Mundus's line of heirs. Dante, Vergil, and Kat escape as Mundus destroys the city, weakening the "Hellgate," a portal to the demon world in Silver Sacks Tower. Kat, recovering from her injuries, creates a plan to attack the Tower and defeat Mundus. Dante confronts Mundus, and Vergil seals the Hellgate, making Mundus mortal. Mundus forms a massive body from the city's rubble and fights the brothers. Dante defeats Mundus by attacking his original body, causing Limbo to collapse into the human world. This makes demons visible to humans, causing worldwide chaos.
After Mundus's death, Vergil reveals his plan to rule humanity in Mundus's place. He believes Nephilim must protect humans from themselves and abandons Kat, seeing her as insignificant because she is human. Dante is shocked by Vergil's actions and fights him, winning the battle. Kat stops Dante from killing Vergil, and Vergil leaves in disgrace. With demons now visible and no family left, Dante questions his identity and purpose. Kat reassures him, saying he is simply "Dante." After using his full demonic power, Dante's hair turns completely white. He decides to protect humans by hunting demons.
The DLC chapter "Vergil's Downfall" shows what happens to Vergil after his loss. He is in an unknown place and is guided by his mother's voice to "head toward the lights." Vergil follows the lights but is attacked by illusions of Kat and Dante, the latter stabbing him again. An illusion of himself saves Vergil, who fights demons while recovering. Vergil defeats the illusions of his brother and Kat, and his mother disappears, horrified by his actions. Vergil completes his trial by defeating his own illusion, absorbing its power, and returns to the real world. Demons bow to him, accepting him as their new king. Confident, Vergil leaves to lead his new army to unknown places.
Development
Capcom officially announced the game during a press conference at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show in September. This confirmed a rumor from the May 2010 issue of Game Informer, which stated that the fifth Devil May Cry game would be developed by Ninja Theory. Japanese Capcom staff instructed the Western team to create a game with a different direction. Although Devil May Cry 4 was a commercial success, the staff considered rebooting the series because other game series had higher sales. They chose Ninja Theory, impressed by their work on Heavenly Sword, which they believed could fit with a Devil May Cry game. Ninja Theory’s creative director, Tameem Antoniades, said the game’s system would include mechanics that would make it stand out from other action titles, such as Bayonetta, developed by PlatinumGames and directed by Hideki Kamiya, the creator of Devil May Cry. Lead producer Alex Jones stated the team aimed to compete with PlatinumGames in gameplay and storytelling. A new idea for the game involved a town that wanted to kill the player, an element not seen before in the Devil May Cry series. The actions of Limbo City were inspired by earlier Devil May Cry games, where environments would close when Dante was surrounded by enemies. Combat designer Rahni Tucker noted that newcomers to the series had difficulty understanding how advanced players from classic games could perform complex combos. To address this, she designed the combat to make it easier for newcomers while still offering challenges for experienced players.
Most of the game was completed by April 2012, with Capcom helping Ninja Theory refine details for the final version. Capcom was heavily involved in the combat system to ensure the character’s moves were responsive and to add new air combos never seen before in the franchise. The development team had over ninety members, with nearly ten from Capcom. While Capcom’s Hideaki Itsuno oversaw the project, Alex Jones and Motohide Eshiro acted as producers. They aimed to help Ninja Theory make DmC play more like previous Devil May Cry games. The PC version’s release was delayed to allow faster releases for console versions. However, Ninja Theory planned to launch the PC version shortly after the console versions, aiming for the shortest possible gap. This depended on how quickly the PC version finished development. Due to speculation about Vergil being a playable character, Jones stated that Dante would be the only character controlled by the player. The game uses Unreal Engine 3.
Dante’s design was originally planned to be similar to earlier games, but Capcom asked Ninja Theory to make it completely different to appeal to younger players. While the original Dante was designed from a Japanese perspective, the new design was based on a Western perspective. The final model was inspired by Christopher Nolan’s film The Dark Knight, as Tameem Antoniades from Ninja Theory said they wanted to make the character realistic. In an interview with Official Xbox Magazine, Jones explained he received many death threats in the form of comic books and a metal song due to the controversial decision to reboot the series. Antoniades responded to criticism, stating they would not change the design because the character was meant to fit the game’s setting. Antoniades said the gameplay would be similar to previous Devil May Cry games. In November 2011, an extended trailer and new concept art were released. In May 2012, Capcom announced they expected the game to sell 2 million copies by the end of the fiscal year, though no release date was given. The game’s music was composed by electronic groups Noisia and Combichrist. A playable demo was released on November 20, 2012.
In December 2014, Capcom announced a definitive edition of the game for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This version included improvements and new features, such as 1080p resolution and 60 fps frame rate, rebalanced gameplay, all downloadable content from previous versions, a new Bloody Palace mode for Vergil, Turbo Mode (which increased game speed by 20 percent), Hardcore mode (which raised difficulty), Gods Must Die difficulty (where enemies immediately use Devil Trigger and deal 2.5 times normal damage), Must Style mode (where enemies can only be damaged when the style rank is S or higher), new costumes not available in earlier versions, updated trophies and achievements, and new leaderboards for Hardcore mode.
Downloadable content
A few days after the game was released on Windows, the first Costume Pack downloadable content (DLC) was available for all consoles. The pack includes several outfits for Dante to use in the main game, such as a Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening outfit, a "Dark Dante" outfit, and a "Neo Dante" outfit.
On February 20, 2013, the second DLC, called Bloody Palace, was released. This free DLC is a survival mode where players face 101 waves of enemies and bosses. Along with Bloody Palace, a "Weapons Bundle" DLC was also released. This DLC includes three sets of weapon skins (Bone, Gold, and Samurai) for three in-game weapons (Arbiter, Osiris, and Revenant). The bundle also unlocks two in-game perks, Orb Harvester and Item Finder, and gives the player three upgrade points. These skin packs were previously only available as pre-order DLCs for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
On March 5, 2013, the fourth DLC, Vergil's Downfall, was released. This DLC adds a new section to the main game, introducing a new single-player campaign where Vergil is the main character. It includes its own leaderboard, statistics, and achievements/trophies. This DLC is available for free to those who pre-ordered the game on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. American composer Jason Graves created an hour of music for Vergil's Downfall.
Reception
Before the game was released, some people were not happy with the new design of Dante or the changes in the series' direction. Hideki Kamiya, the original creator of the series, was not pleased with the game's direction and said he felt "missing" Dante. However, he later encouraged people to try the game. Some video game websites, such as 1UP.com and GamesRadar, believed these negative claims were overstated. 1UP.com found the demo's gameplay and humor enjoyable, while GamesRadar was hopeful about how the game might affect the series. Other websites listed the game as one of the most anticipated games of 2012, noting that despite the controversy, the game looked promising because of its presentation and untested gameplay. In September 2012, Capcom US producer Alex Jones said some of the negative reactions had become more positive. Reuben Langdon, Dante's voice actor from Devil May Cry 3 and 4, expressed disappointment with Dante's character design but had positive impressions of the game and encouraged fans to try it.
DmC: Devil May Cry received "generally favorable" reviews, according to Metacritic, a website that collects game reviews.
At the 17th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated DmC: Devil May Cry for "Action Game of the Year."
Critics gave positive feedback about the game's story. Jose Otero from 1UP.com said the story worked well with the gameplay and praised the quality of the game's cutscenes. Ryan Clements from IGN believed the storytelling was an improvement for the series but criticized the game's short campaign length. Ryan Taljonick from GamesRadar called the campaign "predictable" and said it was a missed opportunity for DmC.
The game's gameplay also received praise. Otero said the combat was flexible and that the developer created memorable levels using Limbo. Rich Stanton from Eurogamer praised the combat's flow and called the use of the Rebellion "an awesome achievement." However, he criticized the platforming sections as boring and the boss battles as disappointing. Clements called the combat system "the most intelligent design to date" but criticized the camera for not keeping up with the action. Juba praised the combat variety and accessible controls, saying the gameplay increased the game's replayability.
The game's art style was widely praised. Stanton said the art style was striking, while Clements called the visuals "stunning." Joe Juba from Game Informer praised the artistic direction, saying the visuals added a sense of unpleasantness and surrealism to the game's alternate universe. Taljonick praised the boss design but said the enemies were not fun to play with and criticized the lack of enemy variety.
Otero praised Ninja Theory for changing Dante's old personality traits, making him more relatable to players. He called the redesign "a fresh and imaginative take on Dante." Clements said the redesigned character was more relatable. Stanton from Eurogamer also praised the redesign, calling it one of the best character reinventions in gaming history. In contrast, Chris Schilling from VideoGamer.com was not happy with the redesign, saying the new Dante lacked some of the original's iconic features.
While critics gave positive reviews, many fans of the original Devil May Cry series were not happy with DmC. Jonah Schuhart of ScreenRant wrote in 2020 that the game "struck all the wrong chords" with most fans, as it changed the story and characters in ways that felt disrespectful to the fanbase. Schuhart said the community disliked the game's changes, which replaced beloved characters with "rude, simplistic, and distasteful" versions.
With the announcement of Devil May Cry 5, producer Matt Walker said Capcom was returning to the original series' style but emphasized that this was not a criticism of DmC or Ninja Theory. Walker explained that Hideaki Itsuno, the series' director, believed DmC was as important as other titles in the series and was proud of it. He added that DmC had its own unique world, created by the talented team at Ninja Theory.
Capcom initially hoped to sell 2 million copies of DmC by the end of its financial year but later revised its goal to 1.2 million. Reasons given for lower sales included a slow response to the growing digital market, poor coordination between marketing and development teams in overseas markets, and a decline in quality due to outsourcing. It was unclear whether these issues applied to DmC or Capcom as a whole. The game sold 116,000 copies in its first week in Japan and reached the top of the charts. It also topped the UK's sales charts but sold only a third of what Devil May Cry 4 sold. Capcom said the original game's sales were "solid" but noted it did not attract as many Eastern gamers as Devil May Cry 4. In 2015, Hideaki Itsuno said the game's performance was "between two extremes" and that he was satisfied with its success. Capcom reported in September 2015 that sales of the Definitive Edition were "very happy." As of March 31, 2024, 3 million copies of the original version had been sold worldwide, and the Definitive Edition sold an additional 1.4 million copies, totaling 4 million copies sold globally.
Future
Capcom has said that a sequel to DmC: Devil May Cry could be made, but only if created with the help of Ninja Theory. In 2019, producer Matt Walker said the company "would still love to see a sequel," but added that it "absolutely has to be made by Ninja Theory" because of the studio’s unique approach to game design and its role in creating the DmC reboot. Series director Hideaki Itsuno also mentioned that a follow-up to DmC was considered before the team focused on developing Devil May Cry 5, explaining that any future continuation of the reboot would need to involve Ninja Theory.
Capcom officials have also stated that the company has "no intention of erasing DmC from its history." However, Ninja Theory’s purchase by Microsoft in 2018 has made it harder to plan a future sequel.
Legacy
Although DmC: Devil May Cry is a new version of the series that is different from the original story line, members of Capcom's team have said that the game affected how Devil May Cry 5 was designed. Director Hideaki Itsuno explained that “we learned a lot from Ninja Theory and DmC. That was a partnership between Capcom and Ninja Theory… we used many lessons from that game to create DmC 5,” and he also described Ninja Theory as “a great example of style… the art style, animations, and overall look of DmC showed strong creativity.” Senior producer Matt Walker added that “DmC is one of my favorite Devil May Cry games… we learned a lot from working with Ninja Theory on that project, and we hope they also gained something from the experience.”
Some critics and analysts have noted that Devil May Cry 5 used or improved features first introduced in DmC. These include the style-rank announcer, simpler missions with less repetition, and a stronger focus on movie-like scenes and smooth camera movements. While the main fighting system of Devil May Cry 5 is based on the original ideas from earlier games, the game’s use of modern animation, quick and easy controls, and a more dramatic and movie-like appearance has been partly linked to lessons learned during the making of DmC.