Devil May Cry 5 (and other DMC games)

If you want more: RE Engine, Capcom games, monster-slaying shenanigans
Notable difference: Faster paced, melee combat, higher power fantasy
Availability: Windows (Steam Deck OK), Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5

Resident Evil’s survival horror rests on the vulnerabilities of your characters. Little else communicates that better than the opening of Resident Evil 4. But if finishing Resident Evil 4 has you in the mood for a more epic power fantasy, one in which you can cut loose and stylishly dig into some nasty creatures, Devil May Cry 5 might make for a dramatically satisfying change of pace. It also runs on the RE Engine that powers the recent Resident Evil games. But that’s not the only connection between the two.

Kicking off another longtime Capcom franchise, the first Devil May Cry entered development originally as the first attempt at a follow-up to Resident Evil 3. That original concept was remarkably different from what Resident Evil 4 would eventually end up being, but many of those ideas and aesthetic goals would live on in 2001’s first Devil May Cry for PS2.

Aside from the controversial and mostly unloved second game, you can’t go wrong with any of the Devil May Cry chapters. Opinions diverge on the quality of 4, as well as the controversial 2013 reboot simply titled DmC (which you should play, because it’s a solid and entertaining action game with a bone-crushing soundtrack). But if you just want a safe bet, Devil May Cry 5 has been universally well-received by most series fans, and it’s so quintessentially Devil May Cry, while still being quite inventive and expansive on its own, that it’s kind of a Greatest Hits of that series.

It’s surprising how fresh Resident Evil 4 remains, even after so many years and multiple ports and re-releases., Its influence is so vast, its progeny so numerous, that the real question is: What are ya buying, stranger?