After finishing every DMC game it was only natural to come to this, and unsurprisingly I'm happy to report that this surpasses every game in that series other than maybe 5, and that could be purely by virtue of being almost a decade that game's senior.
First, what doesn't work;
I won't speak on derivity, from the story to the gameplay loop this game makes it clear that it's the quintessential DMC-like and it wears that on its sleeve, I have no qualms with that. What I do take issue with is some of the art design, I can excuse repetitiveness in enemy visual design because they stand out, work and telegraph well, I can't do the same for the environments. Considering the huge variety of places this game takes place in on paper it's a shame that they all look so similar, it's almost impressive how can you make such a huge selection of locales feel like they're just a doorway away from each other, but not impressive in a good way.
Next up is the combat, whilst great in the boss fights, in regular battles against smaller enemies it feels like there's no higher level play, you either don't know the combat, or you do, and there's not much going on beyond that, once you can do a perfect dodge and have five or so combos memorised you've basically mastered the game as far as there is to master. This is an issue I've lamented over in all DMC-likes, from those games themselves to 2022's Soulstice earlier this month. And this wouldn't be as much of an issue if it weren't for the next thing on my list.
The game seems confused when it comes to introducing new mechanics and gameplay ideas, and in differing ways throughout the gameplay cycle; during the exploration segments the game introduces mechanics and then oveuses them to the point of annoyance, for instance the sun statues or the key blades. Then during combat it introduces mechanics that it proceeds to use the absolute minimum it can, and I miss them before I really get to know them, for instance otherworld enemies and elemental enemies.
These are all a real shame but overall are a tiny dent in an overall fantastic experience. The combat is silky smooth and satisfying, not to mention rewarding when you get into its flow, and not all new mechanics in combat aren't expanded on, for instance moonlight walking seemed like a level gimmick but is used to great effect throughout the game from then on, in both exploration and combat. The boss fights are interesting and engaging, and all just different enough to keep you on your toes. It's a shame it takes a bad leaf from DMCs playbook and boss rushes you unnecessarily at the end with all the previous bosses but it's a forgivable crime.
I can see myself coming back to this one easily, but we'll see how I feel after beating the second, I can't see how it could top this as opposed to being just... More, but I've been surprised before. I feel like my rating could go up in future playthroughs, but we will see!
First, what doesn't work;
I won't speak on derivity, from the story to the gameplay loop this game makes it clear that it's the quintessential DMC-like and it wears that on its sleeve, I have no qualms with that. What I do take issue with is some of the art design, I can excuse repetitiveness in enemy visual design because they stand out, work and telegraph well, I can't do the same for the environments. Considering the huge variety of places this game takes place in on paper it's a shame that they all look so similar, it's almost impressive how can you make such a huge selection of locales feel like they're just a doorway away from each other, but not impressive in a good way.
Next up is the combat, whilst great in the boss fights, in regular battles against smaller enemies it feels like there's no higher level play, you either don't know the combat, or you do, and there's not much going on beyond that, once you can do a perfect dodge and have five or so combos memorised you've basically mastered the game as far as there is to master. This is an issue I've lamented over in all DMC-likes, from those games themselves to 2022's Soulstice earlier this month. And this wouldn't be as much of an issue if it weren't for the next thing on my list.
The game seems confused when it comes to introducing new mechanics and gameplay ideas, and in differing ways throughout the gameplay cycle; during the exploration segments the game introduces mechanics and then oveuses them to the point of annoyance, for instance the sun statues or the key blades. Then during combat it introduces mechanics that it proceeds to use the absolute minimum it can, and I miss them before I really get to know them, for instance otherworld enemies and elemental enemies.
These are all a real shame but overall are a tiny dent in an overall fantastic experience. The combat is silky smooth and satisfying, not to mention rewarding when you get into its flow, and not all new mechanics in combat aren't expanded on, for instance moonlight walking seemed like a level gimmick but is used to great effect throughout the game from then on, in both exploration and combat. The boss fights are interesting and engaging, and all just different enough to keep you on your toes. It's a shame it takes a bad leaf from DMCs playbook and boss rushes you unnecessarily at the end with all the previous bosses but it's a forgivable crime.
I can see myself coming back to this one easily, but we'll see how I feel after beating the second, I can't see how it could top this as opposed to being just... More, but I've been surprised before. I feel like my rating could go up in future playthroughs, but we will see!