Devil May Cry HD Collection

Description

Devil May Cry HD Collection contains Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2, and Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening – Special Edition. The first game follows Dante to Mallet Island, where he investigates the attempted return of the demon emperor Mundus with the mysterious Trish. Devil May Cry 2 sends Dante and Lucia into a more urban environment to oppose industrialist Arius, while Devil May Cry 3 takes place earlier in Dante’s life and centres on his rivalry with his twin brother Vergil as a demonic tower rises through the city. Together, the games trace the series’ early development from a gothic action-adventure derived from an abandoned Resident Evil project into a faster and more technically elaborate combat series.

The combat gameplay across the titles combines swords and other close-range weapons with firearms, allowing attacks to be linked while keeping enemies suspended or preventing the action from slowing. Repeating the same moves lowers the style rating, while varied combinations, evasive movement, taunts, weapon changes, and avoiding damage increase rankings from basic grades to the higher S and SSS levels. Devil Trigger temporarily transforms Dante, improving his speed, strength, and recovery, while collected Red Orbs purchase abilities and items. The first game balances combat with puzzles, backtracking, fixed camera angles, and the enclosed architecture of Mallet Island. The second game adds larger environments and a second campaign starring Lucia, but its weak enemies, powerful firearms, sparse stages, and reduced challenge make it considerably less engaging. The third substantially expands the system with multiple melee weapons, firearms, combat styles, extensive move sets, and a playable Vergil campaign in the Special Edition, making it the deepest and most replayable game in the collection.

The PS4 release is largely a direct port of the earlier PlayStation 3 remaster, increasing output from 720p60 to 1080p60. It adds a convenient option to return to the collection’s game-selection menu without closing the application, and Devil May Cry 3 presents more of its cinematics across the full screen. However, the original textures, geometry, interfaces, and assets receive little additional work, with numerous menus and video sequences remaining in low-resolution 4:3 presentation. There is no dedicated PS4 Pro enhancement or 4K option, while fixed camera transitions and early PlayStation 2 design conventions can make exploration and combat awkward. Nonetheless this remains a convenient and solid way to play the series and the strength of the individual titles still remains, despite their occasionally dated feel. Overall, however, the lack of quality of life upgrades makes it a disappointing missed opportunity.