It would be inaccurate to describe Nero’s new metal arm as the star of Devil May Cry 5’s E3 trailer – that honour goes to his sass-tastic companion, Nico. But now we’ve seen it in action, it’s clear the Devil Breaker will have far-reaching implications for the way the game plays.
Rather than having a weapon you occasionally swap out for access to different abilities, each arm is a brittle tool that will be quickly jettisoned, detonated, or broken – and replaced just as easily.
Each Devil Breaker is a cartridge in a magazine and can be treated as such. The standard Overture arm, for instance, can be used to fire blasts of electricity from your palm – but is far more powerful when charged and fired as a single-use attack. If you’re caught in a risky skirmish, meanwhile, you can Break Away, severing and detonating that arm in the face of whichever demon is grappling with it.
Even if you wanted to, you’re unlikely to be able to preserve any one Devil Breaker for long – the arms Nico makes for you are fragile and shatter if you take a hit while using them. Mastering combat in Devil May Cry 5 is about knowing when to use an arm sparingly and when to dispose of it in dramatic fashion.
Thankfully, Devil Breakers are not in short supply – you can find them in the streets, nooks, and alleys of the London-like Red Grave City, although enemies in the area can crush them underfoot.
All of this information is gleaned from an over-the-shoulder video of DMC 5’s Gamescom demo. Watch it in full above to see the Devil Breakers in action. We’ll likely know much more by the time Devil May Cry 5 comes to the PC in the spring.