It’s been a week since DmC’s release, and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. The series reboot (on console) received a Metacritic score of 86 for its badass gameplay and brave new take on Dante. What can we expect from the continuation of the series under the stewardship of UK studio Ninja Theory?
Spoiler alert for those who haven’t played all the way through the game yet. If you didn’t, check out our comprehensive walkthrough on this awesome new title. If you did, well, kudos to you. Read on and let us know what YOU would like to see in DmC 2 in the comments section below this post.
1) Mundus isn’t really dead, but he no longer really matters
After defeating Mundus in Mission 19, Dante slashes him across the belly and he explodes. The cool thing with wild fiction is that you can always pull demons back out of your magic hat. Anyway, in DmC 2 it would be cool to see Mundus still around, but in a weakened state. Having lost his authority among demon-kind, he’s seen early on in the game, wringing his hands as he reports to another demon: the new villain who’s taken charge to enslave humanity again.
The old cycle of games didn’t stop at Mundus, so there’s no reason we couldn’t see something like this. And in DmC, it’s revealed that Mundus came to power 9,000 years ago through his own power and initiative, not birthright. There’s room for the next kingpin.
Let’s see Mundus present a boss battle, trying to get even, in DmC 2. After that, maybe some emphatic evidence that, this time, he really is eradicated for good?
2) Kat becomes instrumental
Not just in the storyline, but in the gameplay. It’s clear at the end of DmC that Kat is sticking with Dante and his plan of leaving humanity be. Once the crap hits the fan once again (we have to have a game, right?), think of how cool it would be to have a few buttons reserved for commands directed towards Kat as she escorts you in the real world. I’m talking the kind of stuff we saw with Medli (the bird-girl) in The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker, or what we’re sure to enjoy in BioShock Infinite.
In DmC, Kat reveals three abilities in all. The first is to appear in Limbo even as she walks the real world. She chalks this up to being a medium, or psychic. Secondly, she makes the Hunter (the first boss) vulnerable by throwing some kind of Molotov cocktail at it. Maybe one of the triggers in DmC 2 could invoke Kat’s help, and she could use similar items to destroy enemy shields before Dante moves in. Thirdly, she can create rifts. This is probably her most important ability, and could be used creatively for some awesome two-world levels in which Dante switches back and forth between Limbo and reality.
3) About my twin brother…
Well, that storyline really took a turn at Mission 20, right? We thought it was pretty ungracefully handled, with the two brothers taking to battle before having any deep discussion as to what “ruling” the humans would actually entail. Besides, we humans might not be the best at taking care of ourselves and each other. Vergil for president (the bowler hat gets veep status).
But seriously, we’ll be seeing more of Vergil in the upcoming DLC, “Vergil’s Downfall,” out in early 2013 for $9. Here Capcom promises “the untold story of Dante’s twin brother,” though who knows when it takes place relative to the events of DmC. Our guess? Vergil has been in the loop about his nephilim descent for much longer than Dante. This might be his attempt at defeating Mundus, before he even knew he had a brother.
Either way, what DmC 2 does with Vergil—whether they make of him an ally or a foe—is probably the biggest plot point Ninja Theory has on its hands. We suppose it all depends on the greater evil that arises; for all his dreams of grandeur, we can’t doubt that Vergil wants the demon world dealt with.
4) “Dante must die”
Humans—Kat aside—are given absolutely no voice in DmC, even though they’re what’s at stake. Let’s see human factions crop up in the post-Limbo world of DmC 2. If Dante’s identity gets uncovered, some of these factions might vilify him, while others would see him for the protection he provides. Oh, and expect lots of demons in human form worming their ways through these political ranks to push their own agenda.
5) Sparda Unchained
We’re saving the best for last. In the first half of DmC, Dante learns of his origins: he’s the son of an angel (Eva) and a demon (Sparda) who betrayed his brother (Mundus) as they set about to destroy the heavens. Once Mundus had regained the upper hand, he punished Eva with death and Sparda with “a more brutal fate: endless punishment and pain.” In the cutscene we see a graffitied Sparda bound by chains.
We’d like to sunder those. Seriously, let’s have DmC 2 send us to the bowels of hell and master some new weapon in order to break those chains apart and free Sparda. What happens next? Is Sparda a powerful new ally or a broken soul? How does his full demon’s blood lead him to act? It’s a lot to answer, but undoing Mundus’ punishment would make for an awesome act to the next DmC.
