About 95% fan service. There are a lot of options here, but I'm skeptical if many of them are useful. The best tools just seemed to be the ones that keep the punching bag enemies close by, as they have a bad habit of bouncing away every second hit. There's real some effort put into making the characters play differently, but V feels a bit antithetical and doesn't gel as well with the character-focused camera.

The environments ended up being a big sticking point. If you're lucky, you're playing a level set in an anonymous, vacant, chunked up cityscape or tunnel that's more invisible wall than interactable terrain. If you're not doing that, you're playing through what looks like a devil's ribcage or colon. I get it's hard to care about what's happening in these games, but it would have been nice to feel like I'm somewhere rather than nowhere in particular.

Nero seems like the protagonist, as the plot effects his health and emotions the most. He also actually interacts with the supporting cast, but no, this is game is about legacy. It's Dante vs Virgil, with the series once again trying to live up to and recreate its finest moment. "How many times have we fought?" says Virgil at one point. I've lost count myself, but rest assured there are a couple more in this one, and then it ends at a point that would be more interesting to play through and develop than the entire game that preceded it.

It's baffling and underwhelming, even to me, someone who's mostly ambivalent to the series.

A convoluted, morbid, schizophrenic story about a doomed test rat trying murder its human handler and finding friendship and appreciation for life along the way. I don't know how the developers decided to merge this story with this gameplay design, but I'm guessing it was early on because the rhythm mechanics are integrated into the story, even though it's a little tough to discern what it's all about most of the time.

I dig this game because it provides a sense of control that's not really like anything else I've played. Most rhythm platformers are so linear they might as well be conventional rhythm games, but this one's gracious enough to give you a refreshing selection of movement options that are all useful and even behave differently depending on what resources you've expended. Due to the rhythmic nature of the hazards, being able to suspend movement or move slowly can be just as important---it's surprisingly robust and instinctual.

The design of the stages feel loose and open, which again, isn't what rhythm or even modern precision platformers usually go for. This ends up complimenting the design; it allows for experimentation, optimization, and expression on the part of the player. No, the levels aren't not that complex and they aren't themed all that well, but moving around them on the beat is a consistently interesting and free-form endeavor.

It's a nice surprise because I was expecting the usual: a conventionally designed game with story or presentation quirks. It's a more pleasing inverse: a quirky and original design that probably could have been a true classic if it was presented in way that was as tight and original as the gameplay.