DmC has low entry level for new users, says Capcom

By Dave Cook

DmC: Devil May Cry is a reboot and therefore it has a tricky job of convincing long-time fans to return and to get a new wave of players through the door. How does one achieve such a tricky balance? Capcom believes the key is to make the barrier for entry low, but to retain a solid challenge. The publisher has discussed its approach in a new interview.

Speaking with OXM, combat designer Rahni Tucker said of the series challenging appeal, “When I looked at videos of pro-players playing the old DmCs, they’re always in the air, they’re always juggling enemies around, and doing stuff that most of us look at and think ‘I have no idea how that works’.

“We wanted to take that magic the pro-players could create and give more casual players a bit of that feeling. A bit extra hang-time, more aerial moves, the launch button is a single press without a lock-on.”

To be fair, we’ve played DmC at preview stage and while the essential fundamentals of Dante’s skill-set are easy to follow, stringing together mind-crushing combos that hit the top SSS rank is a different challenge altogether. It gets insanely tough to reach those high ranks once you factor in all of Dante’s weapons and varying enemy types.

DmC veterans will scoff at the idea of an accessible game in the series but make no mistake, this is still a difficult game once you flip the difficulty up and face tougher enemies.

Regardless, game director at Capco Hideaki Itsuno stated that he felt this balance was needed, as he felt DmC’s combat put many players off the franchise, “As the series has gone we’ve seen new users die out, as it took longer to get into it. When it came time to make DMC 4, with the new hero and new moves, new techniques and skills, not many new fans entered the series.

“But with this new DmC, you can take the techniques built up during the old series, and the bar to entry for new users is very low. Both old and new fans will be able to enjoy the game, and I’m very proud of them.”

Have you tried the DmC demo? What do you make of the combat? Let us know below ahead of the game’s January 15th launch.