The only game in the Devil May Cry series that I’ve played was the relatively recent reboot, with the original four games completely passing me by (they were released during a time I did hardly any gaming. What dark days they were) and so it was with no expectations that I went into this recent re-release of Devil May Cry 2 and whilst I had fun with it, that mid-2000’s design philosophy and subsequent gameplay limitations does make the game feel very much of its time which will be a boon to some but perhaps alienate others.
As demon-hunter Dante, Devil May Cry 2 follows on from the original game and sees you making your way through cavernous gothic-inspired locations in your quest. Running at a very smooth 60fps, the game plays great and the ability to flick fluidly between gunplay and melee combat as well as the sense of airborne movement on offer makes the game fun to play even after a decade and a half, the ‘shoot’ button can be held down for a slower auto-fire or tapped quickly for a speedier barrage of bullets, I find this immensely satisfying.
There are issues, however. The constantly respawning enemies (in exactly the same locations and waves) whenever you enter and leave an area does get repetitive quickly, however the enormous boss fights and satisfying click-happy gunplay more than make up for it. There’s also the age-old Capcom issue of the moments in the game where the free-moving camera locks in place in some locations and restricts your view on the combat taking place often just off-screen, making it feels older than its years. The surroundings in the more labyrinthine can also get a bit samey and make progress more onerous than it should be.
Reading some articles in preparation for the game did reveal that it is looked upon as the weakest title in the Devil May Cry series which makes the choice to remake this one at the moment a bit of a strange choice, however it doesn’t seem out of place on the Switch, the controls and port of the game feel tight and work well, the only real issues being due to the original limitations of the game such as those mentioned above.
Devil May Cry 2 is a bit of an oddity, it feels very barebones and sparse when set against the current gaming landscape, albeit enjoyable in a superficial way. I have no nostalgia for the series and after a few hours with the game, I feel like I’ve kind of taken from it all that I can. If you are a fan of the series or maybe fancy re-visiting this (supposedly weaker) entry in the franchise with the added extras of the portability that the Switch brings along with the advantage of a super-smooth framerate, it’s definitely worth a look. For others, much like the recent Metal Wolf Chaos XD, these are games that are definitely showing their age in terms of game design and how much you’ll get out of that depends on your nostalgia for the game involved.
Devil May Cry 2 is available on the Nintendo eShop now.