Capcom
Update (June 10, 2018): Devil May Cry 5 has been announced at Microsoft’s E3 2018 conference. The game is coming Spring 2019 to PS4, Xbox, and Windows PC.
According to the trailer, the game appears to take off from where Devil May Cry 4 left off 10 years ago. Nero looks to be the main playable character and has a new robotic arm to replace his demon arm. We also got a brief clip of what appears to be a much older Dante on his motorbike.
Producer Matthew Walker and Director Hideaki Itsuno came on stage to talk about the game. Walker said that early on in the game’s development they set out to make a game with “world class visuals,” so they scanned fully costumed models into the game so that the Xbox One X could render them as powerfully as possible. He also said that they’ve assembled the best minds at Capcom to ensure that the game had tight controls and that it feels better than any action game the publisher has ever created. Itsuno said that he is convinced that Devil May Cry 5 is the best game he has ever made because he made it for the fans.
According to a press release, the game will show the conclusion of the Sons of Sparda saga as the rumors speculated it will. The game also takes place several years after Devil May Cry 4 with the seeds of a “demon tree” taking root in Red Grave City and causing a demon invasion. The press release confirms that the main character will be Nero, who travels in a mobile home named “Devil May Cry” with his partner Nico who builds him a new robot arm after he loses his demon arm. Graphics will be rendered with the RE Engine. There will be three different playable characters, but the press release didn’t specify who. The series has sold a combined total of 16 million units, according to the press release.
Original Story: Devil May Cry has often been credited as codifying the subgenre of action games that emphasize aggressive, stylish action and combos against hordes of enemies. Games from God of War to Bayonetta can be traced back to the series. But the series was truly beloved thanks to its sheer, unashamed, cheesy ridiculousness contrasted with a grotesque horror aesthetic (Fun Fact: the series actually began as a sequel to Resident Evil). Much how like “Souls-like” games are compared to Dark Souls or “Metroidvania” games are compared to Metroid and Castlevania, to this day all other action games are compared to Devil May Cry.
However, the sequels have had quite a bumpy ride. Devil May Cry 2 was famously disappointing despite introducing features that would come with every following entry. Many fans swear that the series peaked with Devil May Cry 3 as it took everything from the first game and honed it to a tee. Devil May Cry 4 introduced a new playable hero with an exciting new weapon but we all knew the true highlight of the game was playing as Dante as the camp was at an all time high.
The series would take a break for five years and return with development shifting from Capcom to the western studio Ninja Theory for their new take known as DmC: Devil May Cry. The 2013 game would go on to become one of the most contentious video game reboots of all time with series purists eviscerating the gameplay changes and the redesigns to protagonist Dante. However it did have its fans who argued that its fluid, streamlined combat and memorable bosses made it worthy of a place in the series.
It has been five years since then, and after the release of special and definitive editions, we think it’s time for another return to form. And according to some rumors, a new entry may not be too far off. Here’s what we can expect for a DMC 5 reveal and release date.
The Rumors
CapcomDevil May Cry HD Collection
Capcom has been giving the series quite a bit of attention recently. The publisher released the Devil May Cry HD Collection to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 13, 2018, bringing the first three games to modern systems. Monster Hunter World will feature an event quest starting April 27 that will let you craft armor that turns you into Dante and a Charge Blade modeled after his Force Edge and Alastor swords. However, rumblings of a fifth entry in the series has been propagating since last year.
A community member by the name of Son of Sparda – the same name used to refer to Dante and his brother Vergil – along with other Devil May Cry community members claim to be aware of the existence of a new game in the series. They knew about the secret project of Hideaki Itsuno, the director of the series from Devil May Cry 2 onward, but waited before leaking the information to give him a chance to announce it. But no info from the project has been released on official channels and as details of the leak began spreading they decided to leak it early in November 2017 on ResetEra.
Now, the staff of ResetEra said that they cannot verify that all the contents of the leak are accurate. However Son of Sparda agreed to take full responsibility for the leak and take a permanent ban from the site if the news is proven to be untrue. We will update the article when any official news or confirmation arises.
Update (June 2, 2018): An anonymous user on 4Chan leaked an alleged internal document from E3 listing games for Sony’s presentation, one of which is Devil May Cry 5. Other games supposedly include the Medievil remake, Shenmue 3, a remake of Resident Evil 2, a new Bioshock game, a PS4 port of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Bloodborne 2.
Update (June 4, 2018): Capcom registered a website domain name for Devil May Cry 5, according to the DMC Discord server (via Resetera). The domain devilmaycry5.com was registered with Japanese company GMO Internet, Inc. on May 18, 2018 and updated on June 1, 2018. As the DMC Discord server points out, GMO Internet also registered the website domains for Capcom’s Monster Hunter World and Resident Evil 7. In addition, the website domain for Resident Evil 2 was updated in April 2018 after it was registered in 1997.
What to Expect
CapcomDevil May Cry 4 Special Edition
Son of Sparda and others believe that Itsuno’s secret project is a fifth entry in the series simply titled “Devil May Cry V.” Pre-production reportedly began in 2015 shortly after the release of Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition, which means the game has the longest development period in the history of the series. The team behind the previous entries and Dragon’s Dogma under Itsuno’s supervision is behind the game. Yuji Shimomura is returning as the cutscene developer and the game is said to have the longest cutscene runtime of all the other DMC games. Onyay Pheori, who composed the song for Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition’s launch trailer, is helping with the soundtrack.
An exclusivity deal is allegedly in talks with Sony, however it is not clear if the game is completely exclusive to PS4, console exclusive, or timed exclusive. Sony is reportedly contributing some funding for the game but to what extent is unknown. It’s possible that the game will come to PC later. And while we cannot verify the allegedly leaked document listing all the games at Sony’s E3 presentation, it none the less contributes to the idea of Devil May Cry 5 being a PS4 exclusive.
Sony backing the game is plausible. Games with cult followings like Devil May Cry are attractive to platform holders as it’s a good way to help sell consoles. However Capcom may be less willing to make another entry because Devil May Cry isn’t as big of a seller as their other franchises. So having some of the financial risk offset by Sony would better convince them to make another game on the condition that it’s at least a timed exclusive. This is similar to how Bayonetta 2 became an exclusive on the Wii U and later the Switch as Nintendo was the only company to express interest and a willingness to collaborate on a new Bayonetta game according to Platinum Games producer Atsushi Inaba.
A user on the site known as wubbyz claims that the game is also coming to Xbox One and even said that they’re willing to take a permanent ban for it. Another user, DanteLinkX, also said that the game is coming to Xbox One and that it is a timed PS4 exclusive for six to twelve months.
Another user, ShamelessZeroMain, states that the leak is false. They also claim that the game will have microtransactions similar to Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition. Son of Sparda called ShamelessZeroMain out on the post and then community manager SweetNicole reminded ShamelessZeroMain that they could risk being banned if their leak is proven false. The user was banned after failing to provide evidence to back up their claims.
Son of Sparda later posted that a company called Player Research in Brighton, United Kingdom took in players to test a new game in November 2017. Son of Sparda received a job description from an anonymous user that asked for players who have previously played Devil May Cry, God of War, Bayonetta, Okami, and other action/adventure games. Now this could be for a entirely different game but considering the list of games this could be another hint at DMCV.
The Story & Characters
CapcomDevil May Cry 4 Special Edition
DMCV will supposedly pick up right after the end of DMC4, as is to be expected. The game might be the end of the “Sons of Sparda” storyline according to the rumor. Dante is of course playable and will have the same flair and cockiness he’s had since day one but the game will allegedly be more personal and emotional for him. The main antagonist of the story is referred to as the “Prince of Darkness” which points to Mundus from the first Devil May Cry but another character may take up the mantle.
The game title switching from numerical numbering to roman is interesting. This may just be a way to make a fifth entry sound cooler, but as Dahbomb speculates in their lengthy analysis the V shape of the numeral could indicate an increased focus on Vergil and his return.
It sounds like the game is gearing up for a definitive conclusion to the series with all of the characters and their relationships tying up. That would explain the more serious tone and longer cutscene runtime as alluded to in the rumor. If this is the end of the Sons of Sparda then the supposed return of Vergil also makes sense since Dante and Vergil are the two Sons of Sparda.
Rueben Langdon, Johnny Young Bosch, and Dan Southworth are supposedly reprising their roles as Dante, Nero, and Vergil respectively. Trish will have a prominent role but there’s no word yet on if the voice behind her, Danielle Burgio, is returning.
Some of the voice actors’ social media posts have put the community in a frenzy as they may be teases for DMCV. Southworth said on Facebook that he can neither confirm nor deny the DMCV rumors. Burgio reportedly retweeted a post asking her to reprise her role as Trish. Bosch tweeted a picture of his alarm clock at 5:05 a.m., which could stand for SOS or Sons of Sparda. Stephanie Sheh, the voice for Kyrie in Devil May Cry 4, tweeted about being “back in the booth” for a voice acting role but it could be totally unrelated to DMC5.
The Combat
CapcomDevil May Cry 4 Special Edition
Along with Dante, two other playable characters have been suggested for the game. One may be Nero and the other is likely to be Vergil. However a brand new character is possible as well. Dahbomb noted that it’s possible for Trish to be a playable character since she supposedly has a big role to play. Dahbomb also said that Sparda could be playable since the third playable character is said to be “very powerful” in the rumor, though this could easily apply to Vergil or any of the other characters really.
The dodge system will allegedly be reworked so that it’s smoother than before. DahBomb stated the dodges aren’t all that helpful in previous entries and high level players don’t even use regular ground rolls. Having dodges better worked into the combat and making them useful for all skill levels would do wonders for the game according to DahBomb.
In addition, hard lock is standard. The rumor also mentions that there is no stamina bar but the series never had a stamina bar to begin with.
The style system, with Dante switching between different stances for alternative abilities, could return. Enemies would react differently to each style. It’s speculated that the style system will be reworked to make it easier to get into than in Devil May Cry 4. And while you can get through the game with a single style, certain styles are more effective on certain enemies. Hopefully this will encourage new players to use and better learn each style as DahBomb speculates.
Some fights will supposedly pit you against more enemies than you are used to in a Devil May Cry game. Bosses will also get some dramatic changes with one taking you through multiple areas of the game.
The game will allegedly feature dynamic environment destruction and transformation similar to the contorting worlds of DmC: Devil May Cry. Environment interactivity will complement the combat system.
Mission and ranking systems may be employed with chapter selects and everything else you expect from previous entries.
The Exploration
CapcomDevil May Cry 4 Special Edition
The level design is allegedly more open but it won’t be open world. It’s possible that some inspirations were taken from Dragon’s Dogma. We’re thinking it will be a bit more like the exploration of the original Devil May Cry with some branching paths and a bit of backtracking. Though hopefully it won’t be as cramped as Devil May Cry. We can also expect action set pieces but reportedly without quick time events.
The Graphics/Technical Specs
CapcomDevil May Cry 4 Special Edition
The game runs on Unreal Engine 4 according to the rumor. The console version is reportedly targeted at 60 frames per second. If this is true, then it will be very much welcome as DmC: Devil May Cry was stuck at 30 fps until the release of its Definitive Edition. Animations may also be improved to be less stiff and incorporate things like cloth physics. Maybe Dante’s sword won’t clip through his jacket anymore.
The developers are apparently very proud of their dynamic camera system with it pulling back during big fights. Most entries in the series featured a fixed camera that would occasionally get in the way of combat so this change would be much appreciated.
The game will possibly have online integration but no multiplayer.
When to Expect It
Capcom Devil May Cry HD Collection
According to the rumor, Devil May Cry 5 is slated for release sometime in the fiscal year 2018 for Japan (April 1, 2018 – March 30, 2019). The original plan was apparently to release it in November 2018 but it was possibly pushed back to early 2019. It was rumored to be announced at the PlayStation Experience 2017, but that has come and gone without an announcement. Sony allegedly decided to scale back PSX so they could scale up E3 2018, so the game will more than likely be announced then. There will be a demo for the game sometime before release, according to the rumor.
This timing makes sense. As user Dahbomb points out, these days Capcom has been announcing games less than a year before their release, as was the case with Monster Hunter World, Marvel vs Capcom Infinite, Resident Evil 7, and many other games. An E3 2018 announcement would mean an early 2019 release.
We’ll have to wait and see for official information but it looks like DMCV will be more ambitious and polished than we’ve ever seen before from the series. After DmC: Devil May Cry divided fans, Capcom announcing a return to form with classic Dante and everything else we love from the franchise would get everyone excited.
What do you think? Do the rumors and speculations get a D or a SSS? Let us know in the comment section below.
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