For the most part, theDevil May Cryseries strikes a nice balance when it comes to game difficulty. I haven’t found any of them to be unfairly difficult, but for the most part they do present a decent challenge. There is one exception to this, which I’ll touch on, but for the most part the series is a treat for anyone looking for games that both make players feel powerful while still offering a sense of accomplishment for beating them.
AsI’m just covering the mainline games, I won’t be touching on the much-maligned Ninja TheoryDevil May Cryreboot. From my memory (though I haven’t touched it in years), that game was a bit easier than most of the mainlineDevil May Crygames, though it was still relatively average from a gameplay standpoint. As for the rest of theDevil May Cryseries, here’s how they stack up.
Devil May Cry 2 Is By Far The Easiest
DMC 2 Can Be Beaten By Spamming The Attack Button
Devil May Cry 2is largely considered both the easiest and worst game in the series. The blame for this doesn’t fully rest on the game’s developers, asDMC 2’s production was somewhat troubled. It went into development under a new team that had nothing to do with the first game beforeDevil May Cryeven came out, which caused some major discrepancies between the games, likeDevil May Cry 2’s heavier focus on guns, and Dante being more serious. The game ended up switching directors and had a rushed production cycle which hurt it overall.
The main problem withDevil May Cry 2’s difficulty is the relative weakness of its enemies.You are never really forced to figure out creative ways to defeat tougher enemies. Instead, you may mostly just shoot your way through levels with ease. Part ofDevil May Cry’s appeal is having to learn to use all the different tools and abilities you gain throughout the game to transform yourself into an efficient and stylish demon-killing machine. Unfortunately,Devil May Cry 2feels like a slog to get through because you’re basically just mashing the attack buttons.
Enemies in the game are also pretty slow and easy to avoid.You can pretty much stand in one spot, shooting them one by one, and you’ll only have to move occasionally to get out of the way of their attacks. YouTuberCrowbcathas a perfect compilation ofDevil May Cry 2gameplay that captures just how easy it is to stroll your way through this game without much difficulty. As Crowbcat notes, the final boss is at least more challenging than the rest of the game, but it’s too little too late by the time you’ve made it there.
Devil May Cry 4 Is Accessible On Purpose
DMC 4 Eases New Players In With Nero’s Devil Bringer
The relative ease ofDevil May Cry 4is why I recommend it as agood entry point to theDMCseries.Nero’s Devil Bringer makes it easier to maintain a solid combo, since it can pull weaker enemies towards you, or you towards larger ones. It also offers a variety of special attacks with just a click of a single button, which makes it easier to pull off some cool moves without knowing much about howDevil May Cry’s combat works.
By the time you get to Dante’s levels, you already have a firm grasp of how the game works and how to combat each of its enemies.Dante’s levels also backtrack through Nero’s, and pit him against the same bosses, so you’re basically just defeating enemies you’ve already beaten, just without the help of the Devil Bringer. This makes them slightly more difficult, but since you’ve already beaten them once, it isn’t so bad.
I’ve seen complaints about how Dante feels limited inDevil May Cry 4. He has fewer moves that he can do at once than inDevil May Cry 5, and whileDevil May Cry 3doesn’t let you swap between abilities on the fly (except in the Switch version), Dante still has more overall moves in it than inDMC 4. Though these limitations may be frustrating to some players,they also make it a bit easier to learn how to play DanteinDMC 4, because there are fewer moves you need to figure out.
Devil May Cry 5 Strikes The Perfect Balance
DMC 5 Is Good For New Players While Offering Veterans A Lot Of Tools To Play With
Devil May Cry 5immediately signals that it’s going to be a bit more difficult thanDMC 4by physically removing Nero’s Devil Bringer. While there is a narrative reason for this, it’s also a great way of telling players that they won’t be able to rely on it like they did in the previous game. Instead,Devil May Cry 5ramps up the difficulty while also providing interesting new tools for you to use. Nero gets a series of prosthetic arms with different abilities, and Dante has nearly double the number of moves as he did inDMC 4.
Devil May Cry 5is probably the best-balancedDevil May Crygame in terms of difficulty. As the newest game in the series, you don’t have to worry about any difficulties dealing with janky camera angles, as the presentation style has been completely smoothed out at this point. The game also offers several ways to prevent the game from being too difficult for newer players, like the new way to revive in the middle of a level. Instead of having to backtrack, you can lose a certain number of style points and Red Orbs to continue immediately from where you die.
There is also a practice mode inDevil May Cry 5that lets you figure out the best way to handle enemies in a safer environment. While the game itself is still challenging, having this dedicated space to learn the ropes keeps it manageable. While the game offers an auto-assist which can allow you to do combos with minimal input, relying on it can actually make the game more difficult.You’re better off learning in practice mode, then making your own decisions about how to best approach certain challenges in the game. It will also be more rewarding.
Devil May Cry 3 Can Be A Serious Challenge
Very Hard And Dante Must Die Modes Are Difficult To Beat In DMC 3
Difficulty is actually a very interesting subject when it comes toDevil May Cry 3. If you’ve only ever played the US version of the original game, it would be very tempting to putDMC 3at the top of the list. However,Devil May Cry 3: Special Editionbalances out the difficulties a bit. The original US version made its Easy mode equivalent to the Japanese version’s Hard mode, with the original US Hard mode being especially difficult.DMC 3: Special Editionreverts the difficulties to the Japanese version, while creating Very Hard mode to represent the US' original Hard.
Regardless of which version you’re playing,Devil May Cry 3is easily one of the most difficult games in the series, but never unfairly so. The game offers you a lot of tools for handling fights, and there’s always a way to figure out how to beat an enemy. It may just take you a few times to do it. I remember being overly reliant on the Trickster style the first time I played due to its better dodge, before learning that I’d need to switch styles before certain fights.
If you’replaying on the Nintendo Switch,Devil May Cry 3: Special Editionis a bit easier, because it allows you to cycle through styles on the flythe same way you can in laterDevil May Crygames. This flexibility allows you to adjust to the needs of a given fight in real time, instead of having to go back and change after dying. That said, I wouldn’t argue too much with anyone that still putsDevil May Cry 3at the top of their personal difficulty list.
Dante Must Die mode inDevil May Cry 3can be particularly challenging. When enemies in this mode see a certain number of their allies fall to your sword, they will activate their Devil Trigger (DT) mode. This means, if you aren’t carefully managing how you defeat enemies, you may suddenly be facing a room full of extra-powerful foes. This can be managed by getting multiple enemies low, and taking them all out at once before they can activate their DT. Still, this can be hard to keep track of in big crowds, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed.
Devil May Cry Remains The Hardest Game In The Series
The Base DMC Is Easier Than DMC 3, But Dante Must Die Is Harder
There are a few reasons I putDevil May Cryat the top of the list overDevil May Cry 3, one of them being the camera angles.Devil May Crywas originally meant to be a newResident Evilgame, and while it changed significantly over the course of its development, one aspect from the original series seemed to stay intact: its camera angles. Like oldResident Evilgames, the firstDMCoften has awkward fixed camera angles when you enter a room, making it slightly more difficult to string together stylish combos.
Devil May Cry’s Dante Must Die mode is also a little harder to manage thanDMC 3’s. Although managing Devil Trigger activations on enemies wasn’t exactly easy inDevil May Cry 3, there was at least a trick to it. In the original game’s Dante Must Die mode, enemies activate their DT after a certain amount of time passes, regardless of how many enemies you kill. This makes it slightly harder to plan out your attacks in a way that prevents any enemies from activating the ability. That said, the difference here largely comes down to preference.
I could see an argument forDevil May Cry 3’s Dante Must Die mode being more difficult, because there is the possibility that several enemies activate DT at the same time. In the first game, you can clear out as many weaker enemies as you like in hopes of preventing them all from using their Devil Trigger after the wait is up. If you aren’t managing enemies as carefully inDMC 3, then you can get overwhelmed. For me, I still prefer the controlDMC 3offers, which is why I findDevil May Cryto be the most difficult.
