It's been a few years since the release of one of the best character action games in the past decade, Devil May Cry 5, and now it's finally here on Nintendo Switch 2 in the Devil Hunter Edition. The series has continually impressed gamers with its combination of style and combo-heavy gameplay that makes it challenging yet dazzling to play. Devil May Cry 5 is the best game in the series so far, thanks to its gorgeous visuals, smooth combat, and cool vibes. Even if the fragmented storytelling is a bit disjointed at times, I didn't mind thanks to the high-octane action that kept propelling me forward.

Devil May Cry 5's story is split into three perspectives as our protagonists, Dante, Nero, and V, face off against a new demon king who has emerged, named Urizen. Our series protagonist Dante and Nero from Devil May Cry 4 make a return, while V is a brand new character with a mysterious origin. While the story itself isn't exactly deep, I loved the interpersonal relationships between the three characters that ultimately converged into an emotionally charged ending.

The gameplay does the most talking in a Devil May Cry game, and it doesn't disappoint. It's fast, frenetic, and fun. All three characters have wildly different playstyles. Nero focuses on closing the gap between himself and enemies, emphasizing close-quarters combat. He's got a new mechanical arm, called the Devil Breaker, which can be used as a grappling hook to pull enemies in. He also has disposable Devil Breakers, which offer plenty of fun and creative ways to extend combos. For example, Punch Line lets him shoot his arm off, letting him detonate it near enemies or even ride it like a skateboard.

Dante is more of a jack-of-all-trades character, being able to switch between four different styles to keep the gameplay varied. Trickster grants him extra mobility to dodge attacks, while Gunslinger buffs up his guns. Swordmaster gives his melee attacks a heavy boost, and Royalguard is a defensive style that rewards parrying and dishing out punishing counterattacks. You can also switch between all four styles mid-fight, making Dante the hardest to learn, but the most versatile.

V has the most unique playstyle of the trio, with him keeping his distance while his pet familiars do most of the heavy lifting. There's Shadow the leopard, who attacks with close-range moves, and Griffon the bird, who shoots lightning from afar. When V's Devil Trigger gauge is full, he can summon Nightmare, a ginormous being with a mind of its own (literally), as it hulks around the battlefield smashing everything in its way autonomously. It seems like V can just stay out of trouble, but that's carefully balanced by the fact that the familiars actually can't kill any enemies. V has to move in and deal the killing blow, potentially putting him in a vulnerable spot. His playstyle takes a bit to get used to, but is ultimately incredibly fun once you get the hang of him.

Devil May Cry 5 is also as difficult as you want it to be. If you simply want to blast through the game and clear enemy arenas to experience the story, you can do so without too much trouble. However, for those who want to challenge themselves, you can experiment with your approach as well as choose different difficulty levels. You'll earn a combat rank every time you encounter enemies, and playing well boosts it up, but taking damage lowers it. Trying to reach the coveted SSS rank for each encounter and overall stages requires mastering all of the combat system's nuances.

One of the biggest inclusions to Devil May Cry 5 on Switch 2 is Vergil, Dante's brother. He was added as a playable character later on as paid DLC when the game was out on other platforms, but comes at no extra cost to the Devil Hunter Edition. Having another playable character on top of the existing three gives this game much more replayability. Vergil's playstyle requires more deliberate timing and patience, showing just how varied the combat is in this game.

Furthermore, updates like the wave-based Bloody Palace, Nero's joke weapons such as the Mega Man's Mega Buster, and bonus content including extra costumes are all baked into the Devil Hunter Edition too, sweetening this package. However, it's missing the Legendary Dark Knight mode from the Special Edition version of the game. This mode drastically bumps up the enemy count, allowing players to perform even flashier combos. It's a puzzling omission that makes the Devil Hunter Edition less than complete.

At the very least, Devil May Cry 5 runs incredibly well on Switch 2. In both handheld and docked mode, framerate is steady, and performance is excellent. However, the graphics are a bit muddy, especially the hair textures, which are too noticeably frizzy.

Still, the game is amazing all-around, with quite a lot of gameplay variety and replayability, accompanied by an electrifying and rocking soundtrack. If you've already played Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition on PC, PS5, or Xbox before, you won't experience anything new here in this Devil Hunter Edition. But if it's your first time on this rodeo or you want to take the game on the go, by all means, hop in and enjoy the ride.