#to escape from hell back in dmc2

[teatitty]

Before the Nightmare is a great prequel novel to DMC5 because it very effortlessly destroys me about Vergil all over again just by casually saying these two things:

That Mundus found Vergil first before Dante, and so Vergil had been fighting Mundus’ forces for literal years by himself (also lmao @ Mundus basically going “OH SHIT OH FUCK THEY’RE GONNA HUNT ME DOWN AND KILL ME QUICK I GOTTA DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS AAAAA” great plan you had here fuckface)

And that Vergil would have killed Mundus if not for his previous fight with Dante

[prototypelq]

DMC Questions Anon here!

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Now onto the actual question:

How would you rank the 5 games in the Devil May Cry series? (By story)

Separately, if you want, how would you rank extended material? (The DMC1 Novel, The DMC3 Mangas, The Anime, The DMC2 Novel, Deadly Fortune, Before the Nightmare, and Visions of V, all of which can be found (along with other stuff) here: https://originaldmc.github.io/DivinityStatue/Downloads.html)

If you wish, how would you rank all of it together in one big list?

Hi, Dear DMC anon!

Oooh, that can be a rather loaded and tricky question actually! DMC story is excusively all about the characters, but the thing about them is that they are NOT forward with their emotions at all, and much of their motivations and reasons have to be guessed/theorised. Another obstacle here for me is that the only DMC game I`ve played is 5 (for reasons, I'm unable to purchase any game right now, and frankly, 5 is the only one I`m interested in playing), so I know the story from a mix of youtube lore masters, wiki and fanfiction. This ranking is very much affected by my history with the fandom, so it may differ greatly from other fans. I will also include a small summary of what I consider to be the story of said game, and is ultimatively what I was ranking.

My ranking of DMC games (+ anime) goes:

DMC1

Dante meets Trish, fights and kills Vergil, is betrayed and later saved by Trish, fights and wins over Mundus with the power of Sparda

The Drama of this game is literally the foundation of the series, and I believe it fully deserves the #1 place on this list. This game has: arguably te Endgame villain of the series, the third and the darkest moment of the twins`s conflict and trauma. This was the perfect start point for the series and a great foundation for it. It also gets a bonus from me for the Nelo Angelo theme which features church organ sounds and I love that.

DMC5

(be prepared for lots of Vergils) Vergil is alive after escaping from Hell, he follows the only familiar power call of the Yamato, which leads him to cut off Vergil Son`s arm. Vergil comes back to his destroyed family home, looks at the family portrait, and decided to cut out his pain, which backfires significantly. Soul part of Vergil decides he cannot defeat Ass Vergil, so he goes to Vergil`s Brother for help with dealing the Ass Vergil, also requesting help from Vergil`s Newly One-Armed Son to deal with this. Ass Vergil summons, or uses the opportunity presented by a demonic blood tree to gain power and sits on his ass a lot. Vergil`s Brother goes to fight Ass Vergil, but underestimates him, which results in: Rebellion being destroyed by Ass Vergil; the ladies fading into the background of the story along with dreams of fans; Vergil`s Son is forever traumatized by the word ‘deadweight’, even more so than the loss of a limb; Dante ded. Vergil`s Son takes a break for a month, Vergil`s Soul tries out homeless lifestyle for the time. Vergil`s Son comes back with cool metal arms, wanders around and bonds a little with Vergil`s Soul. Vergil`s Soul finds the Legendary Vergil`s Father Sword, then finds Vergil`s Brother who, as it turns out, is not actually ded, but was somehow mistaken by the blood tree for Vergil, so it was actually able to revive Vergil`s Brother. Vergil`s Soul apologises to Vergil`s Brother by almost stabbing Vergil`s Brother with Legendary Vergil`s Father Sword. Vergil`s Brother is hurting and troubled by the possibility of Vergil`s Son being even more hurt, so he runs off to face the Ass Vergil again, and ignores Vergil Soul`s attempt at reaching out. Vergil`s soul is told by Vergil`s Mother Clone that ‘she is not his mommy’. Vergil`s Son tries to take out Ass Vergil himself, but fails and is saved by Vergil`s Brother, who used Vergil`s recommended method of demonic powering up of stabbing himself with cool swords. Vergil` Brother fights Ass Vergil, succeeds but Ass Vergil escapes. All Vergils chase Ass Vergil again, this time Vergil`s Brother finally beats him down. Vergil`s Soul is rapidly fading and Vergil`s Son saves him, which gives Vergil`s Soul some closure with his trauma. Vergil`s Brother does not want to handle any more Vergil-killing weight and lets Vergil`s Soul pretend to finish Ass Vergil off, but everyone is tricked by him and actual V e r g i l emerges. Vergil`s Brother is sick with Vergil`s behavior and runs straight into the fight. Vergil beats him away, challenges Vergil`s Brother to a duel in good health, and leaves Vergil`s Son behind with a ‘thank you’. Vergil`s Son is confused, Vergil`s Brother is enraged and this results in Vergil`s Son learning he is Vergil`s Son. After the revelation Vergil`s Brother beats Vergil`s Emotional Support Demon Pets and duels Vergil to the death. The duel is interrupted by Vergil`s Son who wants his family to stop fighting, and stops them from fighting by fighting Vergil instead. Vergil concedes the fight to Vergil`s Son, Vergil`s Brother notices Vergil playing nice, sees the opportunity to bond and Vergil`s go on a Hell vacation together, leaving Vergil`s Son to defend humans from demons.

The story of 5 is the best possible ending the series realistically could have gotten: Nero becomes more assured of himself and gets a Big piece of his lineage and identity he was missing; Vergil gets Dante back (for Nelo Angelo) by killing him; the main plot (and even some of the bosses, including King Cerberus, my beloved) of the game is copypasted 3 which WORKS because 3 is the first game in plot order, so it all circles back around, twins feel their deep need to recconnect with each other and have a repeat of The Fall together. 5 is very weirdly structured, has an overly long lead up (FIVE ASS VERGIL FIGHTS,Carl, F I V E) to its main hook, and it would not work in any other game. These characters have their own backstories, been throught a lot, and had their arcs already, which lets 5 be so weird and convoluded, and Work because the ending is everything the fans dreamed about, and it is how the story of twins was supposed to end from the start. 5 is a masterpiece in ending a game series and it`s great.

Also the entire game can be summed up by sony in a 5 minute trailer, which shows off all the amazing action and fun gameplay plus the emotinal core of the story, which was ultimately what inflicted me with the chronic and incurable DMC brainrot, and sold me the game. Also 5 has the best OST of the series.

DMC3

Dante learns Vergil is alive and kicking, kicking his ass a lot actually, Vergil gives Dante a very painful but essential for his continued survival power boost, Dante befriends Lady, teams up with Vergil for a fight, then they have epic final duel which Vergil secretly concedes and Dante wins, but Vergil falls into Hell deliberately, cutting his saving hand and leaving Dante alone and Dante names his agency after the incident

3 portrayes the conflict of brothers perfectly. If in 5 their relationship is at a point where both are too hurt by each other to see what they deeply, truly want (to recconect), and the only option left for them is to hate each other, in 3 we get to see exactly why the twins are so divided. 3 shows that both truly care for each other, even if seeing Vergils version of caring requires actual freaking scientific research, but their trauma and ambition drove them so much apart that they cannot reconcile anymore, and it is the point where their relationship gets shattered. The tragedy of twins is perfectly encapsulated in 3, and I imagine many fans will rank this game higher than I did for that reason. And, of course, I can`t rank 3 without mentioning Devils Never Cry - that song is a banger and is a beloved anthem of the series.

DMC Anime

Dante gets closure with his childhood trauma while on a job to protect a child from demons and bonds with her. He battles a huge demon, but is incapacitated during the fight, Patty gives Dante a moral support speech and he wins the fight. Patty leaves to live with her mother and anime ends with Dante missing her.

I really love the main story of the anime, and a huge Patty Propaganda Enjoyer. I lover her very much, and the closure she (unknowingly) gives Dante is very meaningful for him. This Dante is openly at his lowest point, and he really needed some connection in that moment (even if Pattys methods are unconventional). Her presense alone is certainly not enough to help him overcome the trauma, but it is a start. Another thing I love about the anime is the casual setting and small stakes episodes, DMC could use some more of that. Music bonus this time goes to Future in My Hands, which is a song that basically gets it own episode, and is, as far as I know, the only diegetic song in the series, which means that Dante himself actually listens to it and likes it. Also I enjoye the credits song I'll Be Your Home, which, yeah, DMC needed some chill female vocals song.

DMC4

Dante learns about Nero, together they fight cultists, then find and restore the Yamato, Dante gives Nero space to let him overcome his teen angst issues, but helps out when needed. Dante heavily implies they are family, but then immediately walks off into the sunset (probably to have a huge crisis)

Nero is a critical addition to twins story, however the overall story of the game is...not really interesting. Dante and Nero fight cultists, thats basically it. Other games or anime you can watch for the story, but in 4 the only standing out element is Nero. And he is an addition that was very needed, Nero is basically a happy ending at least one Sparda could have before DMC55 was a thing. 4 was quite an epilogue for the series, the thing I love about it is the hope it gives, which if wonderfully sung about in Shall Never Surrender. For all his trials, Dante always kept marching on, and after 4 he could have Nero at his side. Nero is the legacy of twins and he is the emboidiement of heart and hope of the series, and that is his greatest strenght. But, as I said, the crazy Fortunans plot is... not interesting, so I didn`t rank the game very high.

DMC2

Dante meets Lucia, battles demons with her, Lucia is revealed to be an artifisial demon, Dante goes on an expedition into Hell for a couple of years

I dont think this will be a surprise to anyone. The only interesting thing about 2 is Lucia, and while she is a nice character, she is not deep and not enough to carry an entire game by herself. Though I like her character and design, and wish she'd get back into DMC somehow. And the end where Dante kind of tricks Lucia into going to Hell alone is a nice detail.

As for other extended media, I am not very familiar with it. I read Before the Nightmare novel, but it didn't really do much for me (except Patty mention). I know people love Visions of V, but I cant say the same about myself. There were important bits about the twins childhood, some Eva, but otherwise surpsisingly little of Dante or the damaged relationship of the twins. Some panels were very nice though, and the imagery when Nero saved Vergil from Malphas got to me, as I never felt the impact of that moment in-game. But I also know that I have trouble feeling the same level of emotion, or even understanding whats going on in comics or manga, so this is just a me issue.

Thank you, Dear DMC anon, for the ask, it was a pleasure to write and I really appreciate you stirring up the fandom.

[breezeinmonochromenight]

Many thanks for your help and input with my Devil May Cry 5 questions. I have some follow up questions please if I may.

If Vergil has the Yamato, what’s keeping him from opening a portal back to the human world and leaving Dante in the Underworld? I believe Dante went into the Underworld back in DMC2, do you know how he escaped? Do you think he’d be able to get out if his brother abandoned him there?

No problem! (: Sorry my responses have been kind of slow. Life and stuff.

If Vergil has the Yamato, what’s keeping him from opening a portal back to the human world and leaving Dante in the Underworld?

I mean… the love for his sibling/twin? Lol. Not to mention the straight up arc nullification that would be for V/Ergil in DMC5.

I believe Dante went into the Underworld back in DMC2, do you know how he escaped?

It’s glossed over in DMC5: Before the Nightmare. Essentially Balrog has a shard of the Yamato, and the shard could still make portals despite being a single piece of the whole fractured sword. I believe Dante basically intuits that that’s how Balrog was making portals, including the one he escapes through, but it’s been a minute lol.

Do you think he’d be able to get out if his brother abandoned him there?

Highly likely. Yamato’s not the only way to create a portal to the underworld. There are things like the Hell gates that serve the same purpose.

[kaldea88]

DMC5 future DLC’s

Here is my answer to @thephantomporg84, since I got tagged and insulted(again!) in her anti/hate post, which I will just link here, because I don’t want to reblog this post and corrupt my blog with it: https://thephantomporg84.tumblr.com/post/184731212307/no-dlc-for-devil-may-cry-5

No future DMC5 content? DOUBT. Okabe-san mentioned in interviews before, that dependent on the demand, they plan on future DLC’s.

Even if Matt negates it rtn., its way too early to think about any DLC’s??? I mean we just got the game and Bloody Palace???

Since DMC3, Vergil becomes playable in Special Editions of the games(also story DLC in DmC-Reboot) and I highly doubt, that they won’t make him playable at some point in DMC5, too. Vergil sales and they know that.

We just have to wait. And EVEN(I personally don’t believe it!) if we won’t get any future DMC5 content... What does make you think, that I’m salty about it??? Because no playable Vergil??? Really??? I mean DMC5 is literally all about VERGIL? V, Urizen and even Griffon are part of Vergil’s personality(also stated from Dan Southworth in a live interview)? I already got my content! What is even your point on tagging me in your post and insulting me again?

As for the Dante and Vergil are stuck in hell part:

They uhm...have the YAMATO? They could come back anytime. Vergil escaped Hell with Yamato before, leaving greater holes and that’s how Dante was able to return from Hell after DMC2, too. (Hints/Facts in “Deadly Fortune” and “Before the Nightmare” novel, I won’t go on detail here.) Also we have literally those sequences here:

You can interpret them as you want, but they exist. As the possibilities of escaping hell exist.

[demonslayvr]

HEADCANON 112 / TIMELINE.   so after days of sitting on what the fuck my timeline is going to be i’ve finally come up with this  --  it’s a running timeline and will be added on and/or edited as i write more on certain NPCs or events that i might add between games or parts of the timeline. 

PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM WILLING TO WORK THINGS OUT OR CHANGE MY TIMELINE IF THINGS DON’T WORK SPECIFICALLY FOR YOU.  I’M HAPPY TO COMPROMISE ANY PART OF THIS TIMELINE TO WORK WITH ANY MUN WHO WRITES WITH ME.

>  born younger sibling to vergil and things go on as normal until the fire where the two get separated and presumes vergil dead.                       >  with him being a terrified and emotional mess of a kid at this point                         he didn’t  100%   follow eva’s instructions to begin with as he runs                         (   with rebellion in arms   )   straight to authorities and ends up                         having to ID her body later.  he lies in saying he knows her but                         breaks in days later in the middle of the night to steal her body                         and  bury her on the family’s grounds.   (  there was no real grave                         marker made due to dante wanting to leave red grave   but    dante                         knew 100% where it was pre dmc5.  i say  was  because with the                          qliphoth pretty much showing up in the backyard and the destruction                         of the house later  . .  the grave was   HUGELY  disturbed.  obviously.   )  >  tries to live on the street                      >  doesn’t last longer than two months before CPS finds                          and identifies him.  at this point he’s too tired to really run away                         and gets put into the foster system.  >  in the foster system and going from family to family.                     >  runs from some fosters due to figuring out that the only                         reason he was taken in was due to government checks                         and he given bare minimum care.  he’d jump back to the                         streets,  do a bit better due to his older age but end up                         back to an orphanage or in the foster system.                     >  ends up with   gavreel,  comfortable and starting to settle in                         on staying with the cast out angel and her family only to find her                         dead due to demon’s looking for  him  which starts to breed a deep                         guilt.  picks up what he can ;  mostly money and anything small or                         valuable before ending up back in the system.                     >  last foster with gaia  ;  follows devil may cry’s anime canon with how                         dante ended up on the coastal town morris island before gonyakzu                         appeared and massacred the town in trying to find dante himself                         and feast upon him. gaia and dante   --   now known as tony   --                           escape the town with blame on their backs.  dante knowing that                         gonyakzu was after him and the people dead are essentially are                         on his hands.  he parts with gaia with gaia after her death soon                         afterwards,  product of being injured at some point in the escape.   >  starts testosterone at age 15  -  16 under the table with money held tight after gavreel’s demise and him running along with earnings made with gaia’s bakery business and after a deal to take care of an annoying demon for the doctor.   >  finally starts mercenary work still under the alias of tony redgrave and frequents bobby’s cellar for jobs and actually makes a couple friends  -  meets nell goldstein

>  DMC novel  /  pre dmc3 novel canon events.  (  15 - 16  )                    >  diverges off here at this point between my blog canon and canon’s                         that will depend on the vergil i write with.   my blog canon   is that                         his past again rolls up to try and grasp at him which doesn’t entirely                         fly.  the bobby’s cellar massacre occurs and it   was not    gliver                         who caused it here,  it was a set of demons looking for dante  --                           all end up dead and dante leaves leaving the death of his friends                         behind him and holding ebony and ivory in hand from nell.  leaving                         tony dead where he lay and reclaiming dante as his name.                    >  with vergil’s that   do   have gliver as part of their canon and following                        novel timeline instead then,  sure,  i’ll follow your canon events.                          basically with vergil’s that follow the novel canon i follow that canon                        with them   only  where gilver showed up,  looked around and made                        a goddamn fucking mess >  literally nothing  /  taking mechanical,  what’s left of merc and / or demon work     from information brokers that are willing to hire his demon / investivatigve     services  (  16 -  18  )

>  pre devil may cry 3 manga’s events.  (  18 - 19  )                      >  gets top surgery at age 18 - 19 with with the use of a mixture of left over money and cash he’s saved from mercenary work  /  demon hunting  /  sex work    

>  devil may cry 3′s events  (   19  -  early 20s  )                     >  post dmc 3.  meets clementine,  dates her for a bit,  almost proposes                         to her,  ends in a mess.                      >   meets edmund lowell one year after clementine leaves,  has his child                         whom he names fortune before giving them away due to being unable                         to support them properly  /  feel like he could properly protect.                         (   not 100% canon but compliant with @strwberryglr​  )                     >  partial canon to timeline but only counts to marvel character                         interactions:   marvel vs capcom game events.  kinda all over.                          gag canon for fun. >  devil may cry 1′s events  >  episodes 1 - 12 of the devil may cry:  the animated series  /  anime >  devil may cry 4′s events                            >  POST GAME:  starts an emotional  /  mental health decline                                that pretty much has him pushing people away as his                                depression gets worse over time.  has a go at not caring a                                lot as his empathy tanks but still trying to keep humans out                                of harms and do his job which leads into dmc 2′s events                                and how he is as a character.  the novel completes his                                decline and almost shatters it many times over >  second DMC novel  /  pre dmc2 novel canon events.                            >  dante’s in the other dimension for 2 months  /  six months at                                home >  devil may cry 2′s events               >  dante’s stuck in hell 10 years real world time  /  5 years underworld time               >  returns and struggles to regain his footing in a world he’s not been in for                   ten whole years. >  devil may cry:  before the nightmare’s events                >  meets lucia again,  throws hands with balrog and receives him as                   a devil arm after breaking the fragment of the yamato.  >  devil may cry 5′s events                >   returns home from hell at some goddamn point with                       (   or without   )    vergil.

[nijiryuu]

@sevi007 This is the video I was talking about. I’ve also skimmed through the comments and copied some of them for you to read, many of them revolve around Dante being depressed though, but some are quite interesting. I’ve put these ones first. 

It turned out to be longer than I had intended though. Sorry about that. But sometimes the comments are more interesting than the video itself.

The interesting ones regarding as to why the change may have happened and theories:

Generic John Doe

Almost feels like an unnecessary change, but guess we'll see if it plays into DMC 5 in any manner.

Tony M.H.

I have a theory that the reason Nero knew Dante had escaped from Hell was because the religion itself. The entire religious cult of Fortuna was dedicated to Sparda. I wouldn't be surprised if they all knew about Dante and Virgil, and with DMC2 involving an entire city being destroyed and Dante being involved, it wouldn't surprise me that the church members with their resources would have known about Dante and his exploits during the incident, and Nero being a sort of "soldier" for the church would have surely heard talks about Dante and all that happened. It's like how in the real life military you'd know some soldiers by reputation without ever meeting them. Or how in other games such as Resident Evil, there were characters in the games story that knew the protagonists at times like Chris Redfield by reputation. In a nut shell, Sanctus knew what happened to Dante cause Sanctus is a Sparda-hoe, then Sanctus told someone and that someone told someone and boom, Nero knows Dante went to Hell to save the world.

blazen710420 blazen710420

maybe Nero knew that Dante came back from hell because of Intel from the order itself which is why Kyrie’s brother confirmed that he did

Victor Hugo Camargo Moraes

In my opinion, they put the DMC 2 before DMC 4 in the Timeline to insert the Novel DMC Vol. 2, because in the moment, this book isn't canon because it was desconsiderated when DMC 3 was released. 

XxIt'sTheFukingDevilxX

I would like them to Re-make DMC2, to try and make some sense of that timeline, so it can fit in the new chronology. Other than that, i think they should have just kept the timeline the way it was to begin with. But if they have an explanation for why, that would be useful.

Aczie042

I would love a DMC 2 remake. And I think they change the time line to correlate with Dante's age, in DMC2  Dante doesn't look older than DMC4 Dante. That my speculation.

Hal Jordan

I think the real reason why dmc2 was placed before dmc4 is because something must of happened during dmc5 that requires the timeline to be arranged in such an order. We will have to wait until we finish dmc5 to truly judge if this timeline arrangement was a good idea.

Kyle Lambert

Oh yeah, also Dante in DMC4 has a visible 5 ‘o-clock shadow in his design. And in 5, he has a much more visible beard. It wouldn’t make sense if he looked like he did in DMC4, then suddenly younger looking in 2, and then back to being older again in 5 unless if there was a massive time jump

The comments revolving around Dante being depressed:

557deadpoolvor 

Also people treat depression differently. And I even know people who always joke around and hang with friends but they're still depressed so I do disagree with your assessment.

Dbzsmootvor 

I agree with you on that. People can hide their depression. I mean I could see Dante trying not worry Trish and Lady.

some guy

at the end of the day, when there are no demons to kill, people to crack jokes to or pizza to eat, Dante is depressed because its what he lives for, he's crazy about it. there is a scene in the anime where he looks depressed drinking beer, like most people do. after all he "killed"  Vergil, and sees someone who seems like his mother but isn't. its a lot of serious stuff to handle. which i think he likes messing with Nero cause he does have more family

Jin the banana from the left

That's actually what majority of people with depression do. R. Williams for example, an actor that played so many comedic characters and was always so funny and calm (no outbursts) - he killed himself and people were so surprised, they always are. "Depression is the happiest person in the room"

Decorrian Ninjaku

To me in my own opinion that quote Nero said still don't explain how Dante escaped hell. I think a remake of DMC2 would be a perfect example on how Dante embraced his bloodline and how he escaped hell moving forward with DMC 4.

Synthra Officialvor 

TBH I see the depression argument. He was pretty depressed in the anime. Being depressed doesn't mean your sad 24/7. You have good days and bad days. Hell, he actually cries in the end credits of the anime when he's alone. 

(Actually Dante didn’t cry; he only looked sad. I’ve watched the ending multiple times because I loved it so much)

Random Dude777

Sometimes the most light hearted funny people tend to be the most depressed. A good sense of humor is a way to cope

Cabolt44

Also Dante was super depressed during DMC TAS, you see the outro where he's just alone and isolated. If that doesn't scream 'early signs of depression' then I don't know what does. 

Vlad Santana

I do feel that Dante was depressed in the anime. The thing is, unless you watch credits when you watch anime you would never figure that out. During the credits of the anime you see Dante drinking alone, a common sign of depression, while soft music plays. I recognize that DMC 2 was made before  Dante’s character was fully developed, but him being depressed during those events do make some sense to me.

Again, I’m sorry that the post turned out to be this long ^^;

[adaru32]

Devil May Cry Vergil Fan Theories/Headcanons I (Adaru32) Agree With And Seem Plausible:

Thought I’d continue this with my 2nd favourite Devil May Cry character. Credit goes to the fans that have came up with these (I was thinking of listing them all but I’m assuming there are a lot of other fans out there, that are too many to list, that have thought of these same theories/headcanons). Will reblog whenever updated: - For some other Vergil headcanons/theories, you can check out this other post I made. - Vergil's reason for more power is because he wants to see if he can take on Sparda (His own father), if Sparda is still alive.

- After the events of DMC1, if Vergil is still alive, he became the new King of Hell, which is why Dante in DMC2 decides to "go all the way to Hell". If not Vergil, then Sparda, if he is still alive as well. We do hear Dante coming back on his motorcycle in the epilogue, but it is a mystery on what he did “all the way in Hell” after defeating Argosax.

- After the events of DMC4, if Vergil is alive, he escaped from being contained somewhere secret in Agnus' lab. The summoning of the Hell gates was probably not only done with Yamato, but by using Vergil as well, hence why some of the demons summoned (Angelos, Gladiuses, etc.) sort of represent Vergil in his Nelo Angelo form. We even witness in the DMC4 novels (Which are about 50-70 percent canon with the series) and Last Judgement Pachinko game (Which has additional story and dialogue content that should’ve been added in the original DMC4 game and/or Special Edition) that Nero had a glimpse of someone (Possibly Vergil, or Yamato himself) speaking to him, asking him about having more power, meaning that Vergil’s presence is nearby.

[entergamingxp]

DualShockers’ Favorite Games of 2019 — Logan’s Top 10

December 25, 2019 2:00 PM EST

While 2019 didn’t have one, major standout game, it ended up being one of my favorite years in recent memory based on my own personal tastes.

As 2019 comes to a close, DualShockers and our staff are reflecting on this year’s batch of games and what were their personal highlights within the last year. Unlike the official Game of the Year 2019 awards for DualShockers, there are little-to-no-rules on our individual Top 10 posts. For instance, any game — not just 2019 releases — can be considered.

I kind of fell out of love with gaming to a certain degree this year. Believe me, I still spent countless hundreds of hours over the course of 2019 playing a variety of different games, but unlike past years, I didn’t feel an inherent obligation to try and get my hands on every hot new release. While you might be questioning my gamer status because I say this, I feel like stepping back a bit and not feeling a responsibility to play every major release was really healthy for me. Not to mention, I actually got physically healthier as a result of limiting my time playing games because I focused a lot of my newfound free time on activities like going to the gym. I feel better here at the end of 2019 from a physical standpoint than I have in quite a while, which is nice.

I also just had a really difficult 2019 when it came to my personal life. As a result, spending my free time playing games was something I didn’t always want to do. I mentioned this in my Sekiro review earlier in the year, but I had some health issues in the early portion of 2019 that dragged on up until a few months ago. Even though I didn’t let on much about it to close friends, the whole situation really stressed me out quite a lot and took up a lot of my headspace.

With all of this being said though, I really just want to express love and gratitude to our team here at DualShockers and to our community who follows the site. Even in the midst of a variety of personal hardships, our staff really helped pick me up this year when I was down, whether they knew that or not. I’m forever grateful for the crew we have at DualShockers and to you–yes, you–if you’re reading this. Running a website is actually a pretty hard gig but I feel continually #blessed because of who I have the pleasure of working alongside here. I’ll never take that for granted.

Anyway, of the games that I did spend time with in 2019, here are my ten favorites. Merry Christmas to you all and best wishes in 2020.

10. League of Legends

If 2018 was the year I fell in love with League of Legends, 2019 was the year in which I was exposed to the dark side of the ever-popular MOBA. Elo hell, toxicity within the in-game chat, and players running it down mid seemed to be present constantly when I was playing. To be honest, I have no idea how I’m still playing the game after such a terrible year in solo queue.

Despite all of this, I played over 900 games of League in 2019 and it was my most-played game of the year by a mile. Heck, it’s hands-down the most-played game of my entire life at this point as well and I don’t really see myself stopping moving into next year. I didn’t want to put League of Legends very high on my list this year since it has become such a staple of my gaming diet at this point, but with how much I still play it on a weekly basis, I needed to at least mention it. Hopefully, 2020 will prove to be a more positive experience for me with League. And, uhh, I should also probably stop playing it as much, too.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for League of Legends.

9. Halo 2 Anniversary

For some reason, myself and fellow DualShockers writer Michael Ruiz decided about a year ago that we wanted to replay all of the Halo games before Infinite releases next year. We’ve still got quite a bit of ground to cover before late 2020 (we’re about halfway through Halo 3 right now), but we did end up playing through the entirety of Halo 2 Anniversary, and it was some of the most fun I had this year.

When The Master Chief Collection released back in 2014, I actually never ended up playing through the remastered version of Halo 2 for one reason or another. In hindsight, I’m actually glad that I waited because it allowed me to revisit the second Halo entry with an Xbox One X and a 4K TV, two things that I didn’t own five years ago. 343 Industries really did a great job of bringing this classic to the present day and my experience was made all the better because I played through the whole campaign with one of my good pals. I’m really looking forward to finishing our playthrough of the series in the coming months.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

8. Devil May Cry 5

I’ve been wanting to play the Devil May Cry series for years at this point. In the lead up to Devil May Cry 5, I told myself that I would play through every other entry (yes, even DMC2) before diving into this year’s release. Once Devil May Cry 5 launched back in March though, I threw all of those plans out the window and just decided to jump into the latest entry in the series. All in all, I’m really glad I did this.

Devil May Cry 5 is one of the more enjoyable games that I played this entire year, which says a lot considering that I probably didn’t get the most out of the story like others surely did. While it definitely has a fair number of problems by my own estimation, the combat is unrivaled and never gets stale at almost any point throughout the entirety of the experience. Plus, hacking demons up as Dante while screamo music plays in the background is just a joy in every sense of the word. I haven’t spent much time dwelling on Devil May Cry 5 since I saw it through to completion, but I definitely loved my time with it in the moment.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Devil May Cry 5.

7. Gears 5

Following an outing that I didn’t care for all that much with Gears of War 4, I was shocked by how much I loved Gears 5. I said this in my review of the game earlier this year, but The Coalition really blew me away with the strides they took in this entry in the long-running shooter series. All of the new elements such as the open-world style areas, the addition of Escape mode, and the other minor refinements seen throughout Gears 5 made it my favorite installment in the saga since Gears of War 2. Not to mention, I also think it’s the best first-party game Microsoft has released this entire generation.

If there’s one thing about Gears 5 that I’m saddened by, it’s that I haven’t played the game more this year. Obviously, I’ve spent my free time on other games rather than playing Gears 5, so that’s my own fault. Still, I think about returning to Gears 5 very often and I might end up diving back in over the holidays.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Gears 5.

6. Apex Legends

I ended up bouncing off of Apex Legends pretty hard only a few months after it released, but I also cannot deny how much pure enjoyment I got out of it when it stealth launched. In a time where I didn’t see myself playing battle royale games much anymore, Apex Legends spiced up the genre in inventive, fun ways that brought me and my group of battle royale friends back together.

I also have to credit Respawn for creating such a polished, tight experience and continuing to push this relatively young subgenre forward. The idea of playing as characters with different abilities sounded a bit odd to me at first, but Respawn proved with Apex Legends that this scheme can work in the battle royale space. Not to mention, I think Apex is just flat out the best shooter of the year in terms of controls. I might not play it too often anymore, but Apex Legends is very good and I’m so glad that it exists.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Apex Legends.

5. Death Stranding

Death Stranding is such a weird game. On one hand, I love many aspects of it such as the world, the story, and the characters. On the other, I think the gameplay is incredibly one-note and the full experience could’ve been tightened up so much. Hideo Kojima was essentially given a blank check from Sony to make this game, but he also was in dire need of an editor. Death Stranding just drags on for far too long at certain points.

Despite my complaints though, Death Stranding could very well be the most memorable gaming experience I had all year long. It’s a grind to get through, but it’s unlike anything else in the gaming space right now and tells a really touching (albeit insane and confusing) story. The Metal Gear saga is still Kojima’s magnum opus, but I liked the famed director’s follow-up despite its flaws. I cannot wait to see what he and his team decide to create next.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Death Stranding.

4. Judgment

Judgment is the most slept-on game of the year, and this is coming from someone who isn’t a longtime Yakuza fan. Judgment ended up being my first foray into Ryu Ga Gotoku’s world of Yakuza and I loved every minute of it. The journey of the game’s main character Takayuki Yagami and his cohorts in the city of Kamurocho is filled with laughs, drama, and boss fights with people named Ass Catchem.

Pound for pound, I don’t think I had more pure enjoyment with any game this year more than I did with Judgment. The game is filled to the brim with content and just when you start to get burnt out with what it’s throwing at you, something new and exciting shows up. Play Judgment — I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Judgment.

3. Resident Evil 2

I love Resident Evil; it might very well be my favorite franchise in all of gaming. As such, it shouldn’t come as a shock whatsoever that I adored the remake of Resident Evil 2. Capcom masterfully took the story and main beats of the original, adapted it for the RE Engine, and created a final product that felt like a great mix of RE2 and RE4. In the process, they also turned Mr. X into likely the most popular character in any video game this year. I love that bowler hat-wearing monster.

Resident Evil 2 is probably the best video game remake ever made and it might be the best RE game to boot. A few years back, it felt like Resident Evil as a whole was nearly a dead franchise, so to see it come back with such a vengeance has warmed my cold, dead gamer heart. I absolutely cannot wait to see what Capcom does with Resident Evil 3 next year.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Resident Evil 2.

2. Return of the Obra Dinn

Yes, Return of the Obra Dinn did release last year, but I didn’t get a chance to play it until January of this year. It’s a true shame that I didn’t get around to it in 2018, either, because I really think it was in dire need of some Game of the Year consideration.

Regardless, better late than never, I did get around to playing Obra Dinn and it enraptured me more than any other game did in 2019. From the opening moments that I climbed aboard the remains of the good ship Obra Dinn, I was mesmerized; not just from the game’s wonderful art style, but from the mystery surrounding this eerie tale. What happened to this ship’s crew? How did everyone aboard it disappear? And how exactly am I going to tie all of these threads together?

I played Return of the Obra Dinn in one fell swoop and didn’t turn it off until I had seen it through to its conclusion. In my old man age of 25 years, it takes a lot for me to stay up until around 3am solely to keep playing a game, but I just couldn’t put Return of the Obra Dinn down. It’s not just one of my favorite games that I played this year, it’s one of the most unique experiences that I have ever had with a video game and I cannot recommend it enough.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Return of the Obra Dinn.

1. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is far and away my favorite game of the year, which shouldn’t be a shock whatsoever if you’ve talked to me at any point since I first played Bloodborne back in 2017. I was a late convert to the Church of FromSoftware, but now, the developer is likely my favorite in the entire world.

Sekiro has a lot in common with the Souls games that came before it, but also feels like such an evolution and advancement of all of the ideas at the root of the genre. The gameplay, specifically, is what makes Sekiro stand out to me so much in this year’s crowded slate of releases. FromSoftware created a system of combat mechanics that make sense at a baseline level right out of the gate, but takes hours upon hours to fully learn all of the intricacies. The boss fights, which I specifically think are the best of any FromSoftware game ever made, continue to throw new things at you throughout the entirety of the experience. You’re always learning new things in Sekiro and then are quickly asked to take everything that you have learned and apply them within the context of a new challenge.

I know Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice might not be for everyone, and that’s perfectly fine. It’s a very hard game and not everyone may want to spend their gaming time screaming at their televisions. If you stick it out though and learn the ins and outs of what Sekiro tries to teach you, you’ll have an experience that is unmatched compared to anything else that released in 2019.

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Check out the rest of the DualShockers staff Top 10 lists and our official Game of the Year Awards:

December 23: DualShockers Game of the Year Awards 2019 December 25: Lou Contaldi, Editor-in-Chief // Logan Moore, Managing Editor December 26: Tomas Franzese, News Editor // Ryan Meitzler, Features Editor  December 27: Mike Long, Community Manager // Scott White, Staff Writer December 28: Chris Compendio, Contributor // Mario Rivera, Video Manager December 29: Scott Meaney, Community Director // Allisa James, Senior Staff Writer // Ben Bayliss, Senior Staff Writer December 30: Cameron Hawkins, Staff Writer // David Gill, Senior Staff Writer // Portia Lightfoot, Contributor December 31: Iyane Agossah, Senior Staff Writer // Michael Ruiz, Senior Staff Writer // Rachael Fiddis, Contributor January 1: Ricky Frech, Senior Staff Writer // Tanner Pierce, Staff Writer

December 25, 2019 2:00 PM EST

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