Now that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Devil May Cry 5 have been out for a bit, we’ve had plenty of time to digest and enjoy what both of these incredible games have to offer. And while both of them are obviously different, they have numerous similarities. From the action combat, to some over-the-top bosses, and intense difficulty, these two games have quite a lot in common. Most importantly, though, both of them feature a protagonist with a prosthetic arm. Those pesky bad guys just love chopping the heroes’ arms off.
If you’re in the position to only get one, we’ve got a breakdown of which one is more worthwhile, depending on what you’re into. For the record, both are incredible games, so it’s not as cut and dry to select which one is better. But not to worry — we’re here to help.
Battle of the Prosthetics: Devil May Cry 5 vs. Sekiro
On one hand (literally) you have Devil May Cry 5 — a ridiculous action packed game that pits you against some of the most bad-ass demons and monsters in recent memory. Seriously, this game will keep a smile on your face throughout, as you murder everything in your path. The sheer variety alone will keep you on your toes, and when you combine that with a ton of humor and a deep upgrade system, you’re bound to fall in love with DMC5. Oh and there’s Dethcore for all you metal fans out there.
On the other hand, Sekiro offers a much more serious experience when compared to DMC5. The combat is arguably more in-depth, and it focuses on stealth in addition to in-your-face action. You’ll find that Sekiro is a bit more grounded than DMC5, but not by much. There are various monsters and creatures that are based in reality but then feature a wild twist to make them more terrifying or engaging to fight. Along with that, Sekiro is generally regarded to be the more difficult of the two, at least when it comes to just getting through the game.
Now that you have some context as to what you’ll be getting with these two titles, let’s break down some qualities that you might be into for each.
Accessibility
When it comes to accessibility, you’ll probably have an easier time jumping into Devil May Cry 5, as its combat is pretty easy to understand. That isn’t a knock against it because it’s still challenging in its own right. But something about mastering the art of deflecting and increasing an enemy’s posture bar in Sekiro is daunting and it will take a while to finally feel like you understand it. Devil May Cry 5 will have you attacking enemies and lowering their health, so its quite traditional in that regard.
You also might like the emphasis on style points in DMC5, too, and if you can master it, it can be immensely satisfying. You’re motivated to experiment with different attacks, alternating between all of the moves in your arsenal to keep your combo going. This is where the game becomes complex, so if you’re looking for a tough challenge to overcome, delving into perfecting the combo system might be for you. Or you can simply run through and bash any demon in your way without worrying too much about your combo. The combat system is quite forgiving, so if you’re new to action games, choosing this over Sekiro is advised.
In Sekiro, attacking enemies is way more complicated because they will, more often than not, block your moves. That’s where the deflecting system comes into play and you pretty much have to master it to get by. That’s one of the biggest issues with it: It requires a lot of you just to get through the game. Normally, that amount of effort is restricted to earning all of the trophies in a game or completing the most difficult challenges. But in Sekiro, you need to be an expert just to see it through the end. That’s a massive disadvantage.
To throw a little bit of data at you, around 5% of players have completed Sekiro (ending dependent), while 23.5% of players have completed Devil May Cry 5 (difficulty dependent),according to trophy percentages on the PSN. That’s a staggering difference, with a much larger percentage of Devil May Cry 5 owners completing the game.
That being said, you might find the combat in Sekiro to be more fulfilling, precisely because of its complexity. Once you finally learn how deflecting works and when to use certain moves, you’ll probably feel a sense of satisfaction that you might not get out Devil May Cry 5. In fact, the moves require such precision and are so dependent on skill that many have compared Sekiro to a fighting game, which speaks volumes about the level of depth within the combat.
Tones and Themes
Aside from just gameplay, the two are quite different tonally. Sekiro is quite heavy-feeling, with a serious tone and not many moments that go beyond that. That’s okay and it’s expected from developer From Software, but it can feel sort of gloomy at times. When contrasted against the upbeat and lighthearted tone of Devil May Cry 5, it’s a noticeable difference.
If you’ve seen the trailers, you’ll know that you have a variety of ridiculous weapons at your disposal in Devil May Cry 5, which are in line with the game’s silly tone. You can even dual-wield a cut-in-half motorcycle, if that says anything about how wild it is. There are some serious moments, most notably towards the end during cutscenes between the main characters, but for the most part, you’ll encounter silly and cheesy dialogue that matches the off-the-wall nature of the rest of the game.
There isn’t much dialogue in Sekiro, although, there is more than in the Souls games. Because of this, much of the focus is on gameplay instead of narrative, so if you prioritize a game’s story, this might not be for you. Again, Sekiro does a better job of keeping you informed and helping you understand the character motivations when compared to other FromSoftware games, but it’s way different than Devil May Cry 5. I can almost picture the story of DMC5 in a high-budget summer action movie.
On the surface, there is seemingly more variety in Devil May Cry 5, as well. You get to play as three characters that all have unique move-sets and weapons, along with a ton of diverse enemies and locations to explore. This is true, but there is lots of variety in Sekiro, as well. At first, things seem fairly normal and there isn’t much in the realm of the unexpected. But after about a third of the game, things open up and there is a lot of diversity in the enemies and settings.
One particular section towards the end is insanely beautiful and looks nothing like any of the areas in the rest of the game. And there are numerous ways to take out different enemies, plus dozens of skills to unlock. Overall, you’ll probably experience much more variety in DMC5, though.
Both games control fairly well and include a sense of fluidity that makes each of them feel good to play. You might have an easier time moving around in Sekiro, and it feels insanely good to zip around with your grappling hook. But you won’t have much trouble controlling either game. I will say that there are arguably too many button combinations in DMC5, so in that sense, Sekiro might be easier to grasp, in terms of the relatively simple, yet difficult to master, controls.
To sum things up, you’ll likely feel more rewarded when overcoming challenges in Sekiro, simply because the combat is so hard to master. This will definitely scare some players away, though, so DMC5 might be your best bet if difficulty is a concern. In terms of story, neither game really shines in that aspect, but it’s probably easier to wrap your head around what’s going on in DMC5 since Sekiro is still cryptic.
As for controls, they both have their little quirks, so it really comes down to tackling the many button combos in DMC5 versus coming to grips with when to deflect and block in Sekiro, which is a tough challenge. The controls themselves are easier to understand in Sekiro from my experience.
Hopefully this helps any that are on the fence about purchase one or the other. Both are incredible and should be played, but since they’re so different, it’s understandable that one prosthetic arm game might speak to you more than the other.
Let us know your thoughts! Which prosthetic arm game is your favorite?
