With Devil May Cry 5, Capcom shows once again that it's the master of Switch 2 ports right now
What a year, what a run!
Capcom is on a generational run right now, something that was evident even back when Monster Hunter Wilds came out, let alone Resident Evil Requiem or Pragmata. It can't seem to release a bad game, but it seems it's not just new releases that are showcasing its strengths at the moment.
This week, it's adding another excellent port to its ever-expanding Switch 2 lineup, in the form of Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition, a complete collection of Devil May Cry 5 with its various additional content slices, costumes and customisation options. It's one heck of a package, and it gets ahead even further by coming in at just £34.99 in the UK and $39.99. Some early deals are bringing that down further if you're a quick buyer, too.
That's a compelling price (or perhaps it's more that it would just be quite frustrating to charge more for a game that's now pretty old), but the clincher for Capcom is that the game performs really well. I've had access to it for a few days now, and while I can't claim to have played through the entire story again, I've tested enough to be really impressed by the port.
Not having checked out much about it pre-release, I wasn't sure what to expect in performance terms, but there's no way around the fact that this sort of hack-and-slash classic is really only to be played at 60fps or better. Dropping down below that would immediately compromise the action, so the good news is that Capcom has managed to bring 60fps to both docked and portable play.
This means that whether you're on a train or your sofa you can play it without it feeling like a major compromise compared to the versions that have been out on other platforms for years. Plus, while the visual downgrade can't really be argued with compared to the PS5 version, for instance, it's still not as harsh as I worried it might be.
In fact, the comparison I couldn't stop making in my head was to Bayonetta 3, which I played on the original Switch when it came out in 2022. Putting art styles and direction aside, when you put the visual fidelity of that game, even with the newer boost mode making it sharper, it looks terrible compared to this version of DMC 5.
That shows how far we've come in terms of power, and really makes me curious to see what could be cooked up for Bayonetta 4, but also for the next Devil May Cry game, getting back to Capcom. It's already demonstrated a commitment to Switch 2 releases that still feel great to play, even if they're not as pretty as on other consoles or PC.
So, when this series eventually gets the blockbuster new entry that it surely deserves at this point, I'd say we're highly likely to get a great port on Switch 2 at release. Whether that game can also manage 60fps will be potentially more curious, but on this evidence it looks like Capcom knows what it has to do to make a genuinely compelling portable version.
