DMC stories have generally taken place in a vacuum, which in turn gives them very little weight. 4 was somewhat better about this, but I do think that this game has done the best job so far of actually placing the action in a believable setting. The plot itself is decent. It's a relatively standard take on the whole "antisocial antihero gains a conscience" version of the hero's journey and not particularly deep, but it's well executed. To everyone complaining about Dante being a jackass: that's kind of the whole point. The plot is all about his Character Development, and by the end of the game he's basically dropped the whole douchebag act.
Platforming
This is the first game in the series where the platforming has actually been anywhere close to enjoyable. Navigation around the levels is fast-paced and twitchy, and I honestly think this might be the better part of the game.
Combat
While the execution could be better, I love the idea behind the combat. The focus is as fast as ever, with the focus very much on mobility, positioning control, and flexibility. While you'd think this would draw attention to the lack of a lock-on feature, in practice it's usually not a problem to target the enemy you're looking for. Additionally, I'm a sucker for a well-executed parry mechanic.
Design
This is a minor thing, but I really appreciate the decision to include actual checkpoints in the game instead of forcing the player to finish each stage, boss fight included, in one sitting. Similarly, I like that each boss is given its own stage so that you can go back and replay them at any point without necessarily having to go through a full level beforehand. I'm not saying you should, though, since... well, I'll get to that in a moment.
Difficulty
More specifically, the lack of it. Not a lot to say here; it's simply way too easy. And that's not even getting into the whole Hard Levels, Easy Bosses thing.
A good boss fight tests your mastery of the game's mechanics; the boss fights here mostly consist of the standard formula of finding a weak point, wailing on it, and repeating ad nauseum with no concern to whether or not the player actually knows what they're doing. There's also not very many of them, which is disappointing, as the numerous and intense boss fights were easily the best parts of the classic games.
Credit where it's due, please.
Story
DMC stories have generally taken place in a vacuum, which in turn gives them very little weight. 4 was somewhat better about this, but I do think that this game has done the best job so far of actually placing the action in a believable setting. The plot itself is decent. It's a relatively standard take on the whole "antisocial antihero gains a conscience" version of the hero's journey and not particularly deep, but it's well executed. To everyone complaining about Dante being a jackass: that's kind of the whole point. The plot is all about his Character Development, and by the end of the game he's basically dropped the whole douchebag act.Platforming
This is the first game in the series where the platforming has actually been anywhere close to enjoyable. Navigation around the levels is fast-paced and twitchy, and I honestly think this might be the better part of the game.Combat
While the execution could be better, I love the idea behind the combat. The focus is as fast as ever, with the focus very much on mobility, positioning control, and flexibility. While you'd think this would draw attention to the lack of a lock-on feature, in practice it's usually not a problem to target the enemy you're looking for. Additionally, I'm a sucker for a well-executed parry mechanic.Design
This is a minor thing, but I really appreciate the decision to include actual checkpoints in the game instead of forcing the player to finish each stage, boss fight included, in one sitting. Similarly, I like that each boss is given its own stage so that you can go back and replay them at any point without necessarily having to go through a full level beforehand. I'm not saying you should, though, since... well, I'll get to that in a moment.Difficulty
More specifically, the lack of it. Not a lot to say here; it's simply way too easy. And that's not even getting into the whole Hard Levels, Easy Bosses thing. A good boss fight tests your mastery of the game's mechanics; the boss fights here mostly consist of the standard formula of finding a weak point, wailing on it, and repeating ad nauseum with no concern to whether or not the player actually knows what they're doing. There's also not very many of them, which is disappointing, as the numerous and intense boss fights were easily the best parts of the classic games.