Devil May Cry 5

Add it all together and Devil May Cry 5 is the genre's gold standard — the culmination of director Hideaki Itsuno's eleven years of accumulated craft, a stylish action game so deep, so polished, and so confident that it is widely regarded as the best the form has ever produced. It is demanding and unapologetically over-the-top, but for anyone who loves action games, it is close to essential.

The Peak of Stylish Action

What makes Devil May Cry 5 a landmark is how completely it perfects its genre rather than reinventing it. Every element pulls in the same direction: three radically different characters give it unmatched combat breadth, the SSS rank system turns fighting into expressive performance, the dynamic music rewards your skill in real time, the RE Engine makes it gorgeous and silky-smooth, and even the long-mocked story finally delivers a genuinely satisfying emotional payoff. It is not a game with one great idea but a game where every system is honed to a razor's edge and made to reinforce the others, and that total polish is what elevates it above its peers.

The recognition matches the achievement. It won The Game Awards 2019 prize for Best Action Game, earned the series' highest-ever critical scores including a 9.5 from IGN, and went on to become the best-selling entry in the franchise's history at nearly ten million copies. Capcom's continued support with the Special Edition and playable Vergil only deepened its standing. This is a game that took a beloved but dormant series and delivered the definitive version of everything it had ever been, and the genre has a new high-water mark because of it.

Who Should Buy It

This is for anyone who loves action games and wants the genre at its absolute peak. If the idea of mastering three distinct combat systems, chasing a perfect stylish rank, and expressing yourself through endlessly creative combos sounds thrilling rather than intimidating, Devil May Cry 5 offers a ceiling of skill and satisfaction that almost nothing else can match. It is the natural pick for fans of character-action games like Bayonetta and Ninja Gaiden who want the deepest, most generous example of the form, and a worthy entry point for newcomers willing to climb its curve, since you can enjoy it casually on a first run and spend a thousand hours perfecting it after.

It is also, simply, one of the most purely exhilarating games ever made, the kind of title that makes you feel like an impossibly cool action hero with every well-executed fight. There is a specific joy here that few other games deliver — the moment a difficult encounter stops being a struggle and becomes a dance, when your hands finally catch up to your intentions and you pull off something genuinely beautiful. Chasing that feeling is the heart of the experience, and for the player it grips, it is close to addictive.

Who Should Skip It, and How to Start

The caveats are honest and rooted in the game's identity. Players who dislike rating systems should know the SSS framework is central to the entire experience and cannot be ignored, so the pursuit of style that defines the game may simply not appeal to you. Those seeking a slow, contemplative, narrative-driven experience will find the breakneck pace and brief cutscenes rushed, and newcomers should be prepared for a combat system that rewards real practice and will frustrate button-mashers in its early hours. For those it fits, the path is clear: on PS5 or Xbox Series, buy the Special Edition for playable Vergil, Turbo Mode, and ray tracing; on PC or last-gen consoles, the excellent base game is the way in. Start on a normal difficulty to learn each character, do not be discouraged by low ranks early on, and let the combat slowly open up — and once it clicks, climb into the Bloody Palace and discover why this game owns so many players' hands for years. That deep, expressive mastery is the whole point, and it is exactly the experience this final score is built to honor.