When current generation of console came out about 16 months ago, many people were excited including yours truly. Tons of people were excited to see what the new powerful consoles could bring to the table. One aspect of the industry that few anticipated to happen was remastered games from previous generations. The purpose of publishers releasing remastered games was to let anybody who missed the games in the past to experience them this generation. Obviously, consumers retaliated by saying that it is all for cash grab. Even though I echoed the sentiment, recent releases such as Tomb Raider Definitive Edition and The Last of Us: Remastered were made even better than its previous reincarnation. I thought those were just flukes, but then come along DmC: Devil May Cry Definitive Edition.
First time I booted the game, I was already thinking that I'm gonna play this edition of game, that I beat two years ago on a PC, for a few hours then never come back to it. Boy, was I wrong? I spent the weekend after its release beating the core game and also the Vergil's Downfall DLC.
Like I mentioned above, I beat the vanilla DMC back in 2013 on a pretty strong PC. So, when I played the game I honestly thought I was going to be disappointed with the graphics of the game. But, the opposite happened. I was blown away by the quality of the graphics and what Ninja Theory was able to pull out. Limbo and underworld settings of the game never looked better on my tv. Now before I proved myself wrong here, I need to mention that I actually did not boot up the PC version again for comparison; I loved what I saw.
Ninja Theory also did not disappoint in the audio department. The sound of Dante's guns, especially the shotgun, was so satisfying I actually press Y for no reason whenever I can. Ambient sounds of limbo also helped to make my experience playing the game using a surround sound headset even better. Quality of the voice works was already praised back when it came out in 2013. In Definitive Edition everything is preserved, except a few throwaway lines that was cut out for the sake of the game.
The gameplay which is the most important aspect for a hack and slash style of game like this is also much improved in Definitive Edition, thanks to the frame rate bumps all the way to the PC's gold standard 60 fps. Button presses instantly registered on screen without any lags that naked eyes can see. The difference between previous iteration of DMC and the Definitive Edition brought up the topic that I mentioned above regarding remastered games. If 75% of all remastered games run silky smooth like this, I will buy all of them on day one. Smooth frame rate is the biggest advantage of PC gaming, providing the said PC has good specs. Yes, we are talking about games that already came out years ago and most likely are available a lot cheaper in previous generation of consoles, but it's a lot better than developers trying to patch the shit out of the games to make it better.
The Definitive Edition also includes all DLC's that ever came out for DMC. It was a lot of fun to be able to play as old-looking Dante and Vergil from the get go without having to unlock them or watch youtube videos. Ninja Theory did not stop at that in order to beef up the game. Other gameplay enhancements include rebalancing and retuning based on players feedback. They also added new cutscenes which I can only imagine were cut off for 2013 edition.
All in all, if you like DMC series or hack and slash genre and in dire need of a fix, DMC Definitive Edition is the answer. I cannot recommend it enough. I am actually thinking of playing the PS4 version when it comes down in price later this summer. Talking about price, Definitive Edition is $40 in stores, which is a breath of fresh air, even though $30 would be a better price for just one game. But then again, the Vergil's Downfall is actually pretty good even though it's only 90 minutes long in my playthrough.
I write this review one day after Sony Santa Monica announced the God of War III Remastered. I still remember how excited I was to play that game that I bought it at midnight when it came out in 2010. Santa Monica Studio promises 1080p and 60 fps for GOW III and I cannot be more excited about the game.
TW
@magpie4life