I first stepped into the Devil May Cry series a bit accidentally back around 2005 or 2006, just a short time after the release of Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening. After finding it at my local GameStop, drawn in by the charming smirk of the red leather trenchcoat-wearing demon slayer I'd come to know as Dante, I brought Devil May Cry 3 back home and instantly became enamored with its fast-paced gameplay, its action-packed, cinematic cutscenes, and its willing commitment to go completely over-the-top.

In the years since I was first introduced to the series through DMC3, I've worked my way through the majority of the Devil May Cry series (even the series' black sheep, Devil May Cry 2) and come to develop a soft spot for the series as my favorite character-action franchise. While I've enjoyed God of War (especially its most recent installment) and loved the heck out of the Bayonetta gamesDevil May Cry's epic action, sarcastic characters, and its borderline-cheesy-metal-rock soundtrack have always led me coming back to the series, which is all the more reason why I can't wait to see its first modern incarnation with Devil May Cry 5 this coming March.

2019

[pullquote]"Devil May Cry's epic action, sarcastic characters, and its borderline-cheesy-metal-rock soundtrack...are all the more reason why I can't wait to see its first modern incarnation with Devil May Cry 5."[/pullquote]

Of course, Devil May Cry 5 not only sees the series' return on current generation consoles and PC, but also brings back with it the established "mainline" canon of the Devil May Cry series after the divisive entry that was Ninja Theory's DmC: Devil May Cry in 2013. With that said, and before we get into DMC5 itself, I'm just going to take the opportunity here to deliver My Own Take that I didn't really mind DmC all that much and enjoyed what it brought to the franchise, aside from the "emo Dante" that we saw from that installment.

However, with DmC now over five years behind us, Capcom is taking back the reigns again with Devil May Cry 5 and returning players back to the established storyline of Dante and Nero, and also introducing a few new faces like the game's mysterious third playable character, V, and Nero's new partner Nico, who I'm already completely in love with after getting a glimpse of her badass personality from the game's reveal trailer back at E3 2018.

[pullquote]"Devil May Cry 5 introduces a few new faces like V, and Nero's new partner Nico, who I'm already completely in love with after getting a glimpse of her badass personality."[/pullquote]

Even without coming from the most unexpected of places at Microsoft's E3 2018 press conference, the reveal of Devil May Cry 5 was by far one of my favorite surprises from E3 2018, and knowing that it would be releasing within less than a year was truly the icing on the cake. It's been quite some time since we last had a proper installment of the series in 2008's Devil May Cry 4, and while I have some remorse for the fact that it seems like we won't be getting a continuation of Ninja Theory's take on the franchise, I'm still happy nonetheless to catch up with Dante, Nero, and the rest of the cast after a decade away.

But aside from the fact that we'll get the chance to get reacquainted with some familiar faces from the franchise's past, most of all I'm looking forward to seeing how modern hardware (and changes in combat design) will potentially let Devil May Cry 5 run wild like never before. In a decade that has seen many combat-oriented games and franchises moving closer to the deliberate methods of Dark Souls--a combat style that I have a love-hate relationship with--knowing that I'll have the chance to chain together combos and weave quickly between enemies in a more arcade-like setting is far more my style.

Devil May Cry 5

[pullquote]"I'm still happy nonetheless to catch up with Dante, Nero, and the rest of the cast after a decade away."[/pullquote]

As much as I can appreciate the challenge that comes from the Soulslike mentality towards combat, seeing Devil May Cry 5 makes me excited that I'll be able to return to more of my wheelhouse of fast, reflexive combat that rewards thinking on your feet and trying to keep up combos for as long as possible, rather than playing defensively. Having gotten the chance to play a bit of Devil May Cry 5 briefly at New York Comic Con last fall, so far Devil May Cry 5 not only looks to be pushing the buttons that I am excited for as far as gameplay and combat, but also visually and tonally.

With DMC5 running on the RE Engine that debuted with Resident Evil VII: biohazard, the Devil May Cry series' amped-up visuals and character designs look like they'll be better than ever before. The initial trailers for the game had me excited at the possibilities that the series' signature cinematic cutscenes would get even crazier, and that DMC5 will have bigger, more badass demon enemies to fight and slay, in all their grimey, haunting glory.

Devil May Cry 5

[pullquote]"With DMC5 running on the RE Engine, the Devil May Cry series' amped-up visuals and character designs look like they'll be better than ever before."[/pullquote]

Ever since I first racked up combos and fought massive bosses with Dante in DMC3, I've always held a soft spot for the Devil May Cry series over the years, and knowing that the next mainline installment is less than two months away continues to have me excited to see what's next for the series. Fast-paced character-action games are some of my favorites around, and seeing the return of Devil May Cry is easily one of my most anticipated events for the beginning of 2019.

It's been too long, Dante and company. Glad to have you back.

Devil May Cry 5 will release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 8, 2019. If you have yet to pre-order the game yet, you can do that now over on Amazon and start getting your demon-ass-slaying skills ready before March.