Games
Sony
Microsoft
Nintendo
Other Platforms
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.
Devil May Cry

Universal acclaim
Based on 37 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 137 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game >
Game Info
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Genre(s): Action
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Release Date: October 17, 2001
Summary
In a large American metropolis, a man named Dante, a private investigator of the supernatural, is seeking revenge for the death of his mother and brother. The world is waiting, for Dante is no ordinary man, and with his father's sword in hand, he must enter the demon realm and avenge mankind. [Capcom]
Also On Metacritic
GAMES: Devil May Cry 2 Devil May Cry 3
Cheat Codes & Hints: Adrenaline Vault Cheat Code Central Game Revolution IGN
Also On The Web: Official Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
With the exception of a rather throwaway plot, absolutely no part of Devil May Cry escapes the realm of coolness superior. [Nov 2001, p.152]
Gaming Age
Incredible amounts of detail and animation fill Devil May Cry, and even some of the simplest effects (such as the humble lens flare) are put to jaw-dropping use. The frame rate is constant and solid 60 fps, with almost non-existent slowdown.
Read Full Review >Maxim Online
You don’t just kill creatures, you make them into abstract art by slicing, dicing, or machine gunning ’em to bits.
Read Full Review >Hot Games
Quite possibly the game of the year – if you liked "Onimusha," then Devil May Cry will definitely possess you.
Read Full Review >Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
Every bit of Devil May Cry's been carefully orchestrated, and the effort pays off - there's rarely a dull moment.
Core Magazine
The awe inspiring graphics, excellent music, intuitive gameplay, and replay value round out an excellent game that will rival "Metal Gear Solid 2" as game of the year.
Read Full Review >GamePro
An intense action/adventure game where technique is king and the challenge level is high. Throw in fantastic graphics and intuitive controls, and you’ve got one of this year’s strongest PS2 titles.
Read Full Review >Cheat Code Central
Perhaps the coolest evolution of the survival horror series yet, even besting "Onimusha Warlords," without breaking a sweat.
Game Chronicles
The graphics in DMC are some of the best yet for the PS2. The 3D environments are huge and designed with thousands of polygons, detailed textures, and lit with dynamic light sources that cast real-time shadows and light beams that stream in through windows.
Read Full Review >GameZone
Devil May Cry will have you asking yourself, "Could this game be more perfect?" And you'll quickly respond, "No, it couldn't."
Read Full Review >GamingTrend
There are huge staircases, statues and mystical spheres…oh wait, that last thing is not in a typical gothic-style castle. The game is well polished and I never saw a graphic I didn’t like in the whole game.
Read Full Review >Gamer.tv
Cutting edge in every department and packing a considerable challenge, if you own a PlayStation 2 you simply have to own Devil May Cry.
Read Full Review >IGN
A pure work of art, a stylish, heart-pumping, tour de force of action and pure arcade gameplay that gets better, deeper, and harder as the game progresses. It's an absolute must-have for the system.
Read Full Review >TotalPlayStation
The environments, the bosses, the combat, everything gels and meshes so perfectly, there isn't an action gamer out there that could call their library complete without this game. Not one.
Read Full Review >Gaming Maxx
Control wise, this setup is a major improvement over the stiff and cumbersome control scheme of RE series. Everything moves swiftly, smoothly, with dead on response to your button action.
Read Full Review >Cloudchaser
DMC’s lightning fast gameplay presents an experience that will make you play until your thumbs bleed.
Read Full Review >GamerWeb Sony
I don't say such things lightly, but this is easily one of the best games I've ever played. Everywhere I look, I find more things I want to praise about this title.
Read Full Review >Game Informer
The gameplay is a tour de force that feeds off of your skills and unleashes hundreds of intense battles. The graphics, while somewhat disturbing, are beautifully designed, becoming transparent when Dante veers behind an object.
Read Full Review >TotalGames.net
A groundbreaking title that takes the genre in a new and exciting direction. Capcom has once again managed to breathe life into a genre that had been stuck in something of a rut of late.
Read Full Review >GameSpy
The fastest, sexiest, loudest, and, like all things spawned from the bowels of hell, intensely addictive assault on your senses to hit the PS2 thus far.
Read Full Review >Game Revolution
With anti-aliased backgrounds (nerdspeak for smooth and seamless), cool shadows and weapon lighting effects, it puts last year's PS2 games to shame.
Read Full Review >GameSpot
Perhaps for the first time in the 3D action genre, Devil May Cry has successfully captured the twitch-based, relentlessly free-flowing gameplay style of so many classic 2D action games.
Read Full Review >Eurogamer
Perhaps not the deepest of games, revolving as it does around slaughtering demons and finding the appropriate key-substitute to open the next door, but it's certainly one of the most stylish and downright entertaining I've played in recent months.
Read Full Review >Electric Playground
Above all else, this game is spooky, stylish and most importantly, fun from beginning to end.
Read Full Review >GMR Magazine
Did you know DMC was going to be "Resident Evil 4," before it was spun off into its own series? Oh, you did? Nevermind, then. [Feb 2003, p.92]
Gamezilla!
If a 10-inch thick blade rammed through his heart has no effect on him, why should Sin Scissors' demon weapons affect him?
Read Full Review >Thunderbolt
Devil May Cry might be over six years old and arguably superseded by younger competitors, but if you want a classic, dependable and tough action-adventure with its finger firmly on the trigger then you can’t really go wrong with this awesome adventure.
Read Full Review >GameCritics
A wonderfully immersive adventure, radiating both the creativity and technical expertise of its experienced designers.
Read Full Review >GameShark
The perfect game for people who like the "Resident Evil" look and feel, but find the slow moving story and action to be a little boring and tedious.
Read Full Review >Electronic Gaming Monthly
Crazy-wack dialogue aside, DMC is absolutely electrifying. Savor every hardcore bite. [Dec 2001, p.240]
Next Generation Magazine
It is simply far too difficult...and this level of difficulty seems to exist entirely to keep you from beating it within a few hours. [Nov 2001, p.96]
G4 TV
Where sound does suffer is in the audio levels. There are times where dialog gets so drowned out by both the music and the sound effects you can't understand a single word a character's saying.
Read Full Review >Yahoo! Games
Imagine mixing Resident Evil with the Matrix's martial arts sequences, the gun battles from a great John Woo flick and the overall structure of a late 80s brawler.
Read Full Review >All Game Guide
While camera problems are nothing new, Devil May Cry's biggest flaw is that it ends too quickly. Thus, its biggest strength is also its biggest weakness: the fast-paced nature of the game makes it easier to finish.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 137 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
ThrdSonofSparda gave it a10:
The brilliance of the Sony's PS2 game engine is superbly displayed in this one of a kinda Action game. Forget what those so-called "hard core," gamers would rate this (go play your FPS since thinking is to hard for you), true fans still have it sitting on their shelves and don't consider it a casual game. Where else can you find a wise cracking protagonist who can talk trash with the best of the bosses, hack and slash with killer style, has one hell of a family lineage, and still finds time to save the world. This game has amazing graphics to boot, a wonderful story that is not @ all convoluted but straight forward, wicked secret challenges, gr8 fights and oh and did I mention he eats pizza too? Get off your bum and go get this game. That's an order!!!
seung p gave it an8:
This game is great. It really made way for stylish hack-n-slash action games to follow, in my opinion. However, I have some issues with its difficulty selection. It's way too hard on normal difficulty, and way too easy on easy automatic mode. They should have balanced out difficulty modes more gradually because the first few missions are very hard for someone who is new. If that makes the player give up and go down to easy automatic mode, it will be too easy and ruin the experience. Dante is a likable character. However his personality seems to change drastically from every release of sequel, probably because the development team changed frequently. I feel like its makers butchered this series by releasing 2 bad games (2 and 4) and not being smart about preserving Dante's personality. Dante in this game is not like anything you'll see in other DMC games. He is depicted as an outcast who longs for parental reminisces in a post-modern world that also has gothic elements and mythical monsters. As an unique setting as it is, it blends well with the style the game strives for, and the product is a masterpiece that reinvented its genre in early 2000's. There are other issues in the game as well, however. Camera can vary from being an annoyance to the main source of frustration, depending on the player. Dante's motifs are also very generic so it makes the tidbits of story the game contains even more shallow. Cutscenes are sometimes cool, but other times silly and even embarassing from time to time as Dante shows off or makes comments that would have been left unsaid. Overall, however, it is a great action game, and 8 is a high rating that I believe it deserves.
Adam W. gave it an8:
Awesome game, but very low replay value. The cut scenes and Dante's quips are both quite funny and bad ass. Definitely worth a rental. The worst thing about it is that the game can be quite hard for the casual gamer.
Titanium Dragon gave it a10:
Possibly the best game ever made. This game is simply amazing; great control, great graphics, great gameplay, and the perfect difficulty level. It was a work of genius and everyone who owns a PS2 should own it.
DanteVSKratos P. gave it a10:
Devil May Cry 1: 3 word sums it up This Game Rock's GamePlay: Street Fighter (Best Game Play Ever) Theme: Castlevania or RE (Gothic Casttle Sweet) Sound: Realistic Sound Track: Great Music sets mood the game Story Line: Better than any other name one Action game Name one Action Game that combines fanstasy& Great game Play yeah you say God of War I agree that bad A** game but Devil May Cry came frist and but to me Devil May Cry : Best Action Gothic Game God of War: Best Action Medieval Game These two Games are both best of best stop Hating on either one games both are best of best period. To me this two neck to neck for me no one like one better than other but Devil May Cry came frist remember that!
Mithyus gave it a10:
The starting kick for a great innovation in the action genre - purely brilliant.
David B. gave it a10:
I love this game and it gets funnier every time you beat it. Yeah it gets easier, but the bosses get harder and that is waht makes it fun.
