

Enemies trapped behind the sluggish camera could throw a party and you’d never know. It gets worse during combat in cramped spaces. A sudden shift in camera can wrongfoot you and send Nero right-angling off wrong-ways. Some areas have fixed camera angles, some don't. The camera was a problem in 2008, and is just as jarring now. Level design harks back to Devil May Cry 1, so expect lots of laborious switch-pulling, backtracking and unwelcome platforming and puzzle interludes, including one particularly annoying puzzle that has you punching a giant die to move a statue around. A port town, a jungle and a handful of gloomy castles provide meagre scenic variety, and by modern standards seem sparse and flatly textured. Don't expect any visual upgrades beyond the slicker framerate and a move to 1080p. It's a good job fighting is still fun, because the rest of the package hasn't aged well. It's tricky, but a great high-level technique if you can master it. You can rev the handle like a motorbike to imbue it with power, which is a time consuming process, until you buy an upgrade that instantly charges the blade with a well-timed press of the left trigger. Nero's sword has some unusual capabilities that can be improved this way. Shrines let you spend proud souls to unlock new powers, like double jumps, or charge attacks.


Enemies drop globby soul orbs when they die, which you hoover into your chest and keep until you find a shrine.
