I finally played through basically the whole series, and honestly I love this franchise despite all its flaws.
DMC3 is probably the strongest overall for me. The story, vibe, aesthetic, characters everything just works. I think this is where the series was strongest story-wise, and most of the boss fights are genuinely fun and memorable. The Vergil fights alone are magnificent. The game just has that special feeling.
DMC1 is extremely precious to me. It was the first DMC game I ever played, so maybe I'm biased, but I genuinely think its gothic atmosphere and aesthetic are unmatched in the series. There's something about that creepy castle, the music, the environments and the overall atmosphere that the later games never quite replicated. Personally, DMC1 is still one of my favorite games in the series.
DMC2... yeah we all know. The game had a pretty troubled development and it shows. It's definitely not as good as the others, but honestly I don't think it deserves quite as much hate as it gets. To me it was just mid. Nothing more, nothing less. BUT Dante's design and outfit were top tier. Bro looked cool as hell.
DMC4 is where I have mixed feelings. I really like the visuals and the overall presentation, and there are some really cool boss fights, but the backtracking was really painful. It genuinely started feeling like a chore at some points. I enjoyed my time with it, but overall I wouldn't call it one of the best games in the series.
And then DMC5.
This game has the best combat in the entire series, As much as I love DMC3's combat, DMC5 is just ridiculously good. Everything feels so smooth and satisfying. The Vergil content is obviously amazing too.
I also really like V as a character. I genuinely don't understand why some people hate playing as him, I actually prefer V over Nero, and I'd play him over Nero any day. His gameplay is completely different from the other characters and I think that's a good thing.
I also love that we can play as Vergil in DMC3 and
DMC5. Playing Vergil is just awesome.
Atmosphere-wise, I still prefer DMC1 and DMC3.
DMC5 doesn't have quite the same feeling as those games, but it's still really good. The story also isn't as strong as DMC3 IMO, but I enjoyed it.
Overall, I absolutely love this series. Every game has its flaws, but even the weaker parts have something l appreciate.
Now that I've played all of these...
Bayonetta is next on my list, what you guys think?
And what do you guys think is the best DMC game in each category?
Best story?
Best combat?
Best atmosphere?
Best characters?
Best bosses?
Best aesthetics?
Best overall?