Devil May Cry HD Collection consists of three PlayStation 2 games — DMC 1, DMC 2 and DMC 3 Special Edition. The remasters were first released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March 2012, and are now available on PS4, Xbox and PC.
The visuals have not undergone any major improvements as this is just a port of the original HD collection. Some parts, such as menus, are presented in their original 4:3 aspect ratio while others, such as the pre-rendered cutscenes, are a blurry mess. However, the games themselves look clean. If you want to replay the first three games and have not touched the HD remasters, this is probably a good time to do so.
While this may be the good way to play the original trilogy, playing through DMC 1 and 2 is nothing but a chore. You will spend most of your time dealing with the awful camera, frustrating level and encounter design as well as the annoying targeting system. You will get needlessly lost in the levels because certain things we take for granted in modern games are expectedly absent. The combat is serviceable at best, and both games have their own unique issues such as infuriating platforming sequences, unnecessary backtracking and the lack of weapon variety. They are simply not worth playing.
Devil May Cry 3 fairs a lot better than its predecessors. Almost everything is improved, especially the combat mechanics as they are more responsive, and have a better flow. It finally feels satisfying to combo your moves together, while constantly swapping weapons as you prevent enemies from even coming close to landing a hit. The overall design and structure is more palatable, and if you are used to playing modern action/hack and slash games; you should not have a problem adjusting to it. It also features some unbelievably ridiculous and over the top cutscenes, which were a constant source of entertainment. This isn’t to say DMC 3 does not show its PS2 roots, it has just aged better than the previous two.
Devil May Cry HD Collection is riddled with frustrations. While some of these games, especially the original, were highly influential and are considered by many as landmark titles; they are simply not fun or engaging in 2018. DMC 3 is the only game I can recommend from this collection. Otherwise, there are only annoyances to be found with the dated ideas and execution.
