Devil May Cry HD Collection

Update 7/4/2022: Tested Devil May Cry HD Collection with the updated Proton GE 7-24. It does run and also gets rid of all pre-rendered cutscenes that don't work including the menu cutscenes. It does not fix them, just gets rid of them entirely so you do not have to skip them. If the cutscenes won't work anyways, this will save a little more time.

Updated recommended build with Proton GE 7-24

As someone who loves to relive the classics and play games from the beginning, Devil May Cry HD Collection was first on my list to play on my Steam Deck after my initial testing of how powerful the deck could be. DMC HD is the remastered collection of the first three Devil May Cry games, all released on the PS2 initially. With the first game helmed by Hideki Kamiya, known for his studio Platinumgames and franchises like Bayonetta, this game created a new genre and quickly became a major success for Capcom and Kamiya.

Luckily, these games are older ones, which means optimization for the best playthrough is relatively easy. With full controller support, DMC HD immediately recognizes the Steam Deck controller without needing to fine-tune keybindings, though it does not show Steam Deck controller icons when playing. In-game settings don’t really need to be touched with either, though my resolution defaulted to 1920x1080, so I changed that to the native 1280x800. DMC 1 ran with a solid 60 FPS for almost the entire game, with minor slowdowns when coming out of real-time cutscenes. DMC 2 and 3 did experience some slowdowns throughout the game, primarily DMC 3, but otherwise maintained 60 FPS through all the important parts like the fighting and boss battles. And with battery usually staying below 10W, there wasn’t much to complain about with performance.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of issues that may inhibit your experience with the game. In all 3 games, pre-rendered cutscenes do not work. You may hear the audio, but it will be a black screen. You can just hit the start button and it’ll skip and go right back to the game, but you will miss out on the cutscenes. I did attempt to fix this with different proton versions, but none worked with Proton Experimental doing the same as base proton and GE stopping the game from loading. This could be a big deal to some, which is totally understandable. My alternative was to watch the cutscenes on YouTube after I had skipped them. There’s not many to skip in DMC 1, but DMC 2 and 3 have a chunk more with 3 being the bulk.

Should you try Devil May Cry HD Collection on Steam Deck?

While Steam says this game’s deck support is unknown, I would say this could be marked playable. Other than the cutscenes and minor slowdowns in DMC 2 and 3, the game is in a very playable state with a solid 60 FPS throughout the game, low battery usage, and automatic recognizing of the controller. If you do not mind the cutscene issue, this is a very solid way to playthrough the classic DMC games. Also, just a heads up, DMC 3 kicked my ass in certain parts, but I think that was because I am terrible at the game.

Need some help understanding how we got to our score? Check out our Guide to Steam Deck HQ.

Our review is based on the PC version of this game.

If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety game reviews and news that are sure to help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got your back!