To sum it up - great core combat mechanics that are unfortunately designed around some of my least favorite content.
Nero is a neat new addition who I love mechanically, but his gameplay doesn't quite give you as much to play with as Dante, and yet the game chooses to design what feels like almost every aspect of the game around him specifically. Several enemies are extra defensive or hard to hit, forcing you to grapple or pull them, and there's multiple segments based around using his arm to solve puzzles or sling yourself across sections. These bizarre gimmicks are also paired with some truly unfun, pacebreaking enemies - Dante's half is also largely recycled from Nero's, which adds to the frustration.
Writing-wise, the story is fun, but feels like it struggles a little too much in balancing its parts. DMC3 was a simple, action-packed, explosive tale of a fight between two brothers, which knew when to be serious but kept the fun going, and what helped was that its foundation was very simple. DMC4 tells a more complex story, pushing Dante to the side for a narrative based around a new hero, but the narrative elements feel squandered and underutilized, and Nero feels a little redundant as a personality.
Despite everything, though, the game manages to stay fun in part due to improving upon DMC3's already near-perfect mechanics, and introduces some new functions for Dante that make him his most satisfying to play. Not a bad experience, but definitely a bumpy one.
Nero is a neat new addition who I love mechanically, but his gameplay doesn't quite give you as much to play with as Dante, and yet the game chooses to design what feels like almost every aspect of the game around him specifically. Several enemies are extra defensive or hard to hit, forcing you to grapple or pull them, and there's multiple segments based around using his arm to solve puzzles or sling yourself across sections. These bizarre gimmicks are also paired with some truly unfun, pacebreaking enemies - Dante's half is also largely recycled from Nero's, which adds to the frustration.
Writing-wise, the story is fun, but feels like it struggles a little too much in balancing its parts. DMC3 was a simple, action-packed, explosive tale of a fight between two brothers, which knew when to be serious but kept the fun going, and what helped was that its foundation was very simple. DMC4 tells a more complex story, pushing Dante to the side for a narrative based around a new hero, but the narrative elements feel squandered and underutilized, and Nero feels a little redundant as a personality.
Despite everything, though, the game manages to stay fun in part due to improving upon DMC3's already near-perfect mechanics, and introduces some new functions for Dante that make him his most satisfying to play. Not a bad experience, but definitely a bumpy one.