The demo has two different stages for you to try out. The first offers a level straight from the game but with a time constraint of only 10 minutes. This seems unfair as you would prefer to lollygag around the level as you please exploring every nook and cranny, but that option is whisked swiftly out the door. You feel compelled to race against the clock to see just how far you can get, and that is actually a pretty substantial distance. The game takes you through a trashed cityscape full of old buildings and, of course, demons. All of these enemies retain that certain Capcom flair to them, as they are all horribly deformed and possess blades in the most awkward of places. While it isn’t crucial that you defeat all of the enemies in the level to proceed, you can’t help but stop and put a smackdown on these creeps despite the ticking clock in the corner.

If you manage to press on far enough though you are treated to a jarring change in landscape as you are suddenly treated to a snowy expansive mountain landscape where you now are charged with defeating some ice demons with exceptionally raised difficulties. After this area though, it manages to flip the book again and thrust you into a flaming village immediately after you pass through the first door into the snowy castle-like structure.

This is where you encounter the boss battle of the demo, but by now you will probably only have a minute or so left, meaning you’ll be fighting for your life when the screen cuts to black. Don’t fret too much though, as you can play through the snowy section and the flaming village in the second demo option. You are unconstrained by any time limit here, but you will only face off against the ice baddies and the flaming boss before the game bids you adieu.

This was an interesting choice, as the game literally gives you the same scenario in both demo options, just with different constraints set on them. This just leaves you salivating for more though, which is probably the desired result anyway. The game itself is absolutely stunning, as Dante and Nero have that nice next-gen polish on them, along with all the enemies and environments that you will encounter.

From what the demo shows this should be an excellent outing for the Devil May Cry series. Most curious to see will be how exactly Nero fits into this whole saga. Hopefully on Feb 5th all the answers will be revealed, be sure to come back for the full review when the day comes.

Note: The images used in this article are not taken from the demo