A collection that does not deserve its classics

My reaction to Devil May Cry HD Collection is simple: these games deserved much better. There is a difference between making important games available and giving them a collection worthy of their reputation. This package does not meet the standard I want from that second responsibility. I found the treatment so disappointing that my final score is 1/10.

That is a score for the collection as a PC product, not a claim that the original Devil May Cry or Devil May Cry 3 suddenly became terrible games. Those are separate judgments. In fact, my respect for the material is a large part of why I am so critical of what was built around it.

The names on the menu are not enough

Putting Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2 and Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition together creates an obvious selling point. There is history here, there are memorable characters, and there is an important part of the action genre's development. A compilation can make that history easier to discover, which is a worthwhile goal.

The problem is assuming that the quality of the source material automatically proves the quality of the package. It does not. A rerelease needs its own assessment. Presentation, consistency, practical use and the feeling of care around the games all matter when a collection asks players to choose this version.

I do not think the package earns the affection people already have for its strongest entries. Too much of its appeal depends on the player doing that work in advance. I want to feel that the collection understands why these games matter and has treated their return as something worth doing properly.

What I expect from an HD collection

An HD label should create a clear sense of purpose. I am not demanding that every rerelease become a ground-up remake, and I do not want the original art direction replaced simply because newer technology exists. I want the modern presentation to feel coherent and respectful of the experience it is selling.

For me, this collection falls far short of that feeling. The experience keeps reminding me that bringing a game forward is more complicated than placing it inside a newer wrapper. The surrounding treatment has to support the material, and I do not think it consistently does that here.

I am deliberately not attaching invented benchmarks, crash counts or hardware-specific failures to that criticism. My judgment is about how disappointing the complete PC package feels. I can be strongly dissatisfied with its treatment without pretending I conducted a technical test that I did not perform.

A bad collection can contain a great game

This is the distinction I most want to preserve. Devil May Cry 3 can still be a landmark, and the original Devil May Cry can still deserve recognition, while HD Collection receives a very low score. The collection is responsible for the experience it presents. It cannot borrow a perfect evaluation from the best game inside it.

There is also an unevenness built into the selection itself. These are not three identical achievements, and pretending that the package is automatically essential because it contains three familiar titles avoids the actual question of what the player receives. Quantity does not remove the need for care.

I come away wishing the series had received a more thoughtful presentation of this part of its history. The opportunity was obvious. The audience's affection was already there. That should have been a reason to take the work seriously, rather than a reason to assume the collection would be enough on name alone.

Final verdict

Devil May Cry HD Collection is an extremely disappointing treatment of games that deserved better. The historical importance of the originals does not excuse the quality of the package around them. I can admire the strongest games in the selection and still reject this collection as the way I want to experience them on PC. For the collection itself, my score is 1/10.

Final score: 1/10.

Reviewed on PC by Andrew Louis. No review key or complimentary access was provided.