DmC Devil May Cry was the bold new direction for Devil May Cry that developer Ninja Theory created back in 2013. Despite its critical success, fans decried its mere existence because it wasn’t exactly what they thought they wanted. The internal team within Capcom recently stated that they were “proud” of that game, even if some of their earlier statements seemed to put Ninja Theory’s reboot down a peg. Regardless, even though they are implementing some of what they learned with DmC, Devil May Cry 5 will still be faithful to the spirit of the first four games.
In a recent interview with VG24/7, producer Matt Walker discussed DmC at length. He mainly expressed the thoughts from Game Director Hideaki Itsuno, who also worked with Ninja Theory on DmC. Walker described how Itsuno felt about working on the game and what he’s learned.
“Itsuno-san himself has explicitly stated that in his mind, DmC is just as important as any of the other titles in the series, and he’s just as proud of it,” he said. “That game had an amazing world all its own, that could only have been produced by the amazing artists and imaginations at Ninja Theory.”
Saying that you’re proud of a critically acclaimed game you worked on shouldn’t have to be said. Although, it isn’t as odd once put in context of Devil May Cry 5‘s announcement. During Microsoft’s E3 2018 press briefing, many of Capcom’s statements seemed to shrug off DmC or at least not give it its proper respect. It seemed to bow to annoyed fans and cater to that crowd. This interview gives both games their due without throwing either under the bus.
Walker also vaguely described that the team had learned from Ninja Theory by helping them make DmC. The British studio demonstrated their ability to make a beautiful world while Capcom exercised their combat expertise. He said he hopes Ninja Theory learned from the collaboration just like they did. And while they’re taking some of that knowledge into Devil May Cry 5 and trying to make it the “peak of action games,” they are ultimately making a true sequel to Devil May Cry 4.
“As mentioned previously, Itsuno-san has learned from all of our experience on all of the DMC games, including DmC,” he explained. “That being said, as a sequel to DMC4, I think you can expect DMC5 to expand more on the combat philosophies established in DMC1–4.”
