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Flashy demon slaying on the go - Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat Quick First Impressions

4K View2023-07-10

Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat

7.8

ActionRPGDark FantasyHack And Slash

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PLAY IT OR SKIP IT?

Play it if you’re interested in Devil May Cry or are looking for a mobile game with awesome graphics. Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat doesn’t feel like a watered-down version of the classic Capcom franchise; it’s a solid new entry to the series. There’s tons of fan service here, but the game isn’t bogged down with lore, so if you’ve never played a Devil May Cry game before, this is a good place to start. I’m a longtime fan of the franchise, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well this title measured up to the mainline games.

TIME PLAYED

I played about five hours of Peak of Combat, which gave me lots of time to check out the story mode, upgrade my characters, and check out the game’s gacha mechanics. Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat is already packed with content, and there weren’t any paywalls or roadblocks to get in the way of my fun.

WHAT’S AWESOME

• Fun story and cutscenes. Peak of Combat’s narrative is pretty simple, but it successfully captures the playful charm of Devil May Cry. The hack-and-slash gameplay is interspersed with short cutscenes featuring character banter or goofy moments, like Dante getting hit with a $16,000 drink bill. These scenes kept the game from feeling like an endless string of demon fights and left me more invested in the game.

• Fantastic visuals. Visually, Peak of Combat is on par with most Devil May Cry games on PC and console. While the cutscenes look especially great, I was also impressed by the animations during combat. Every character has fun and flashy movesets, complete with over-the-top special moves. Even though I was staring at a tiny screen, there were times when I almost forgot that I was playing a mobile game.

• Solid combat. Going in, I wasn’t sure that Devil May Cry would work on a phone, but Peak of Combat delivers a simplified yet satisfying approximation of the core Devil May Cry experience. Once I got through the opening, I was able to build a team of three characters and switch between them on the fly. I had a ton of fun juggling enemies in the air or finishing off foes with a special move. While Peak of Combat doesn’t have a taunt button, it does have some fun new features, like QTE counterattacks and tag team attacks. There’s plenty of depth to the combat, but it still feels manageable on mobile.

• Deep weapon system. Peak of Combat’s gacha system let me pull for weapons and characters, but every time I unlocked a weapon, it felt like I was adding a new character to my roster! Each weapon has its own moveset, so equipping Dante with a different sword completely changed the way he played. Upgrading weapons gave me access to new and more powerful attacks. While I couldn’t change my weapon during battle, I could build a party featuring multiple versions of the same character, each with a different weapon. Battling demons with three different versions of Dante is my idea of a good time!

WHAT NEEDS IMPROVING

• Occasional translation issues. I had no issues with the voiced cutscenes in Peak of Combat, but the unvoiced dialogue is riddled with issues. Not only were there tons of grammatical errors, but several sentences seemed to be missing words or punctuation. It seems like the translation is a work-in-progress, and I’m optimistic that the devs will clean up the messier dialogue in the future.

• Awkward jumping and movement. I didn’t have any trouble hacking my way through demons, but Peak of Combat’s controls felt pretty clunky outside of battle. This wasn’t a big deal when I was running from one place to another, but it could be pretty frustrating when I had to do some light platforming or dodge enemy attacks while I ran down a hallway. These moments don’t happen all that often, but the controls could still use some refining.

Review written by TapTap editor @Ndi

💬 Are you ready to rock some enemies in Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat, or do you need a break from demon slaying? Tell us more in the comments!