When comparing Nex Machina vs Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition, the Slant community recommends Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition for most people. In the question“What are the hardest/most difficult games for PS4?” Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition is ranked 15th while Nex Machina is ranked 22nd. The most important reason people chose Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition is:
You'll immediately notice how nice it feels to attack the enemies with each slash, strike and shot having an impact behind it. Enemies will flinch, get thrown back and get suspended mid-air from your attacks, making it feel like you're always the dominant force. It's especially amusing seeing an enemy flail about and slamming it into the ground with your demonic arm. Some of the stylistic elements add fun as well. The prime example is Nero's greatsword the Red Queen, which is equipped with a motorcycle-like gear shift. You can use the gear shift mid-combo to add a flame effect to your sword. This increases your damage and the range of your combos and also looks very nice. It's especially awesome to see your character ascend in a whirlwind of flames.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Responsive controls
Since you only have a short window to dodge hazardous laser beams on the field and maneuver your character around swarms of enemies, it's great that the controls are tight and accurate. You can pull off dodges and risky swerves to save a human NPC with ease as long as you master the angles and timing. With a challenging game like this, you don't need to worry about input lag getting in the way of more aggressive playstyles.
Pro Great synthwave soundtrack
Complimenting Nex Machina's speedy, chaotic gameplay, the soundtrack matches the sci-fi setting with hard-hitting, energetic synths and modulations. The electronic beats are catchy and fun to listen to while blasting through the game's metallic levels and robotic enemies. The tracks fit into the idea of what it would have been like to play any retro sci-fi game without the musical constraints on games in the 80s and 90s.
Pro Boss battles truly test your skills
At the end of each level are difficult boss fights that crank out bullets and beams in all directions that you have to dodge while dealing damage at the same time. The bosses are all different in design, such as a giant ape that lumbers around the field and throws obstacles at you, to a more stationary tower that bombards you with other enemies that you're forced to prioritize instead. Each boss is a comprehensive test of the skills you've learned up to that point, encouraging you to make the best use of your power-ups and dodge timings.
Pro Difficult yet rewarding gameplay
Nex Machina's bullet hell gameplay is fast-paced and challenging, with dozens of robotic enemies rushing at you while you use every skill at your disposal to survive and increase your score. Not only do you have to avoid enemies, but you also have to use your ability to dodge hazards on the field such as laser beams.
There are also optional human NPCs to save who are usually taking damage by waves of enemies. Clearing the surrounding robots while dodging any nearby lasers to save these humans will award you with extra points to your score, so it's worth it to go after them whenever you can.
As you defeat enemies, they'll sometimes drop power-up items, such as shields that will absorb damage that would normally kill you, and tools to increase the range of your bullets.
Clearing a level with no deaths earns you a nice score boost at the end, encouraging you to run through the game as best as you can. It takes a lot of precision to dodge lasers while killing the enemies that come at you from all directions, but pulling it off is a rewarding, addicting experience.
Pro Fun combat
You'll immediately notice how nice it feels to attack the enemies with each slash, strike and shot having an impact behind it. Enemies will flinch, get thrown back and get suspended mid-air from your attacks, making it feel like you're always the dominant force. It's especially amusing seeing an enemy flail about and slamming it into the ground with your demonic arm.
Some of the stylistic elements add fun as well. The prime example is Nero's greatsword the Red Queen, which is equipped with a motorcycle-like gear shift. You can use the gear shift mid-combo to add a flame effect to your sword. This increases your damage and the range of your combos and also looks very nice. It's especially awesome to see your character ascend in a whirlwind of flames.
Pro Great soundtrack
Most of the battle music has the lyrical styling of progressive rock while mixing in dark electronica guitar riffs. It matches the rhythm and speed of the battles really well, spurring on your combos and devastating attacks.
The exploration sections and cutscenes have an entirely different style of music. It ranges from divine vocals accompanied with organ music to eerie pieces with harp and piano sounds creating a bone-chilling ambience.
Pro Highest level of combat depth in any hack and slash game
An open-ended cancelling system (Jump Cancelling) stacked with individual character mechanics (Dante styles and style/weapon switching, Nero ACT and parries, Vergil being Vergil, Lady and Trish are the weakest in terms of combo-ability of the 5 but you can still style with them) and system physics create a combat masterpiece that rewards practice and creativity.
Pro There's a bunch of stuff to do even after beating the game
You can replay the game on higher difficulties, try to find all the hidden missions or collect all the upgrades. You can even try to get the max style rank on all the missions. Doing any of these will award you extra collectibles or unlock new modes.
There's also the The Bloody Palace, which is an arena consisting of 101 levels. Each level contains enemies and bosses found within the main game. The first few levels are quite easy, but each level becomes increasingly more difficult. Only the most skilled players can reach the end, giving you another goal to strive for.
Cons
Con The game is very short
Your first playthrough will only take about an hour or two, which may not be worth it. There are plenty of new paths and secrets hidden across the levels, so a completionist playthrough will take about five or six hours.
Con Deaths can be too punishing at times
In Nex Machina, you'll die after a single hit from an enemy, causing you to drop one of your power-ups, like your ability to dash three times in a row or increased weapon spread. You'll then have to return to the spot where you died to collect the power-up that you dropped. If you lose all of your lives, you're forced to use a continue, leaving you with only power-up. It'a a punishing system that makes you work harder with fewer tools after continuous deaths.
Con Occasional difficulty spikes
Upon reaching the first boss you'll encounter the first difficulty spike. The boss attacks a lot faster and stronger than the enemies leading up to it. Messing up means you'll die in a couple of seconds, which can be really frustrating. Especially because you have to switch gears so suddenly and adapt to a new playstyle, where the enemy stands on equal footing.
Con Recycled stage designs and lack of character-specific bosses
Capcom basically just slapped on the 3 new characters (Lady, Trish, and Vergil) and they suffer the same problems that Dante does, and that's lack of bosses designed specifically for their toolset. They run through the same bosses and levels instead of getting unique missions.