Capcom is walking a very fine line with Devil May Cry V

The existence of Devil May Cry V has been an open secret for some time now (thanks in part to various leaks, and teasing tweets from the director and actors) but this E3 event is the first official look we've had at the game. Considering Capcom were hoping to bounce back from the luke-warm reception the previous reboot had gotten, everybody was expecting a back-to-formula DMC with Dante in the lead (or at least, sharing the spotlight with DMC4s Nero) complete with pizza, crap jokes and heavy metal soundtrack.

Then the trailer happened, and it was immediately obvious Capcom had other ideas. Rather than just try and appeal to hard-core DMC fans, they're also trying to appeal to the new fans they picked up with the previous title. The visuals are grittier, the music has a more electronic feel, the setting has switched from gothic to contemporary, and Nero was placed front-and-center as the main subject of the trailer, looking, and acting, similarly to Reboot-Dante.

Their allusions don't stop there. In one of the few clips of gameplay we see Nero fire a wire at an enemy to drag them closer, mirroring the Ophion Whip from the previous entry. Even the stunt at the beginning, where Nero manoeuvrers around his camper-van in slow motion while objects are tossed around inside begs comparison to the opening of DmC:DMC, where Dante leaps about the inside of his trailer in slow motion, while floating belongings protect his modesty. While the switch back to the original timeline is one aimed at re-capturing the original fans, it's clear that Capcom aims to welcome its new fans into the fold with this game.

It's an incredibly bold move, and one that so far seems to have paid off. Long time DMC fans are ecstatic to see the return of the original timeline and characters, and while many of the reboot fans have expressed disappointment at not getting a sequel to their preferred entry, the pushback is far less pronounced than when the reboot was first announced. It is possible that this huge gamble that Capcom have played may pay off for them.

Of course, these are still early days. The game is not set to release until early next year, and the trailer is only a fleeting glimpse at the full game. It has been stated that Dante will be playable and, unless he has undergone a significant overhaul, is unlikely to be as beginner-friendly as Nero, to say nothing of the as-yet-unknown third playable character who boasts a “radically different play style” (oh god, I just had a Sonic '06 vibe just from typing that...). It could be that, outside the few areas shown in the trailer, the game retains a more traditional DMC setting and feel, and if so, will this harm the game's reception with its newer fans? It is simply too soon to know.

Either way, Capcom have a perilous task ahead of them, uniting these two separate groups of fans. Judging by their progress so far, however, they seem to have stuck the balance just right.

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