5/5 ★ – CrippledAvenger_02's review of Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening – Special Edition.

DmC 3 is hard as fuck. It demands a relentless, aggressive play-style and multitasking but remains consistently exciting and rewarding throughout. The boss fights for example, the games pride and joy, feel absolutely un-winnable in a first play through. However, the more you take a crack at it, the easier the fight becomes. DmC 3 has no problem taking you to the cleaners but it rewards an intelligent player that takes the time to learn Dante’s skill set and patterns. Of course there are plenty of weapons and combos at your disposal here, most of which are unlocked as you progress through the story. The variety ensures that the hack ‘n’ slashing remains fun, with plenty of different approaches for the various enemy types. This was to be expected though. DmC 3 is considered one of the best action games ever made for a reason. What I didn’t expect however, was how engaging the story turned out to be. It isn’t the most in-depth character driven piece you’ll find, at least in a post-Uncharted world, but the pacing and visually exciting direction of the cutscenes more than make up for it. It really does feel like something cool happens in EVERY scene. Add in the charismatic heroes and villains (Lady, my beloved) and you’ve got an action game that feels like an interactive shounen anime (the biggest compliment I can give it!) New players might be turned off by the high difficulty and occasional back-tracking in the level design, but it’s a game that plays fair (word of advice: select the “Gold” difficulty straight out) and provides an adrenaline rush like no other. The Switch port plays like a DREAM.