Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat’s stellar action outweighs its gacha frustrations

Forgive me if this isn’t the most professional introduction, but I can’t help it: Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat is freaking awesome!!

Developed by NebulaJoy and supervised by the Japanese DMC team, DevilMay Cry: Peak of Combat is the first time the series has delved into the mobile realm with a completely original title. It returns fans to the life of a Devil May Cry 3-aged Dante, which somehow includes Nero and Vergil. I won’t question those timeline shenanigans because a mobile cash grab is the last place that I’m looking to find canonically coherent plotlines for any series.

When I fired it up, I expected a watered-down Devil May Cry replica. That was true in some ways. My attack combos are simplified, certain techniques aren’t present, and characters lack the depth they have in mainline games. However, what it lacks in depth, it makes up for in plenty of other ways that take the series to fresh territory. I can’t help but gush about it off the bat when something surprises me this much so early in a year, even if I recognize its problems.

Yes, it’s a gacha game

It’s important to set expectations right out the gate: Yes, Peak of Combat is a gacha game built to get money out of players through microtransactions. Upon starting it, it felt like I was getting a full-on Devil May Cry game in the palm of my hands. I did to an extent, but as with any gatcha game,the “full experience” isn’t entirely free.

Players start with Dante, Lady, and Nero as free characters. Each comes equipped with their standard starting weapons like Dante’s Rebellion and Nero’s motorcycle-like sword, Red Queen. Like in the mainline games, there are other characters, outfits, fighting styles, and weapons to be unlocked such as Royal Guard and, of