My assumption going into this from playing various Platinum games (and just PS2 games in general) was that it would be a level-based, on-rails affair. Shocked and astounded to see that it holds close to its Resident Evil roots, with persistent and freely-navigable spaces. The player-driven engagement with secret missions and some of the weapon pickups make this game feel really alive and exploratory in a way I have never felt from its descendants. The voice acting is charming and cute, and the plotting is impressively spare.

The combat is pretty impressive in how flexible and dynamic it is, but I tapped out during the first Mundus fight, whose circular arena and Dante-always-points-towards-Mundus attack restrictions make for disproportionate frustration. Still, really really charmed by this and could see myself doing a more involved playthrough. On to DMC3!