DmC: Definitive Edition, Better the devil you know

While some may not like this ‘new’ trend for remastering old games on more powerful consoles (it’s been happening since the 16-bit era, people get over it already), there’s a lot to be said for being able to enjoy the best possible version of a great game. And while it might not have gone down too well with hardcore fans, DmC is just that a great game. Although Ninja Theory never troubled DMC3’s near-perfect combat, the studio still delivered an enjoyable action game that offered both an interesting look at what Dante might have been like before he became the show boating badass we all know and love, and some of the finest setpieces in the entire series.

It already looked pretty darn good on 360 but seeing the stylish action zip along at 60fps and upscaled to 1080p is glorious. Still, style was something even the haters would likely agree the game had going for it in the first place, so it’s the more significant changes to combat and gameplay that stand to be that much more important. If you don’t like nu-Dante, classic skins will allow you to replace him with something a little more familiar. Plus, the harsher combat grading of DMC3 is replicated by the new Hardcore more and taken further yet with insane new settings like Must Style (enemies can only be damaged while your style grade is S or greater), Turbo mode (a 20 per cent speed boost to really put your reactions to the test) and Gods Must Die, where enemies can also use Dante’s powered-up Devil Trigger mode for the ultimate challenge. While that last one is obviously a new skill level, it’s unclear whether the others are unique difficulties or simply modifiers for existing ones with SSS ranks across the board on Dante Must Die difficulty in the original, we’d love to have a crack at Hardcore Turbo Must Style DMD to see if we’ve still got it…

Improvements all sound good then, but it’s the timing of this announcement (and that of DMC4 Special Edition, due over the summer) that is currently most exciting. The most obvious reason to get both these games back into the spotlight is to promote an upcoming release and since DmC didn’t live up to Capcom’s expectations, this leads us to suspect that the publisher is gearing up to bring Dante back in-house and announce a ‘proper’ DMC 5 at E3 in June. Wishful thinking perhaps, but the worst case scenario here is that Xbox One gets a duo of excellent remastered action games to fill a clear gap in the catalogue. SSSplendid stuff.