Famitsu Interview Reveals how V Operates in Devil May Cry 5

The latest marketing materials, including the most recent trailer for Devil May Cry 5 have been focusing on V, the mysterious third playable character. As we know, V operates in combat through various demon familiar-like characters, therefore much of his gameplay appears to be indirect in a manner of speaking. A recent interview from Famitsu has been translated, which goes into much finer detail about how V works, clarifying what his abilities are and what that means for the Devil May Cry fans. The interview was translated by Platinum Paragon over at the DMC5Info Twitter account:

Here is the translation for the newest Famitsu interview for Devil May Cry 5. Anything written in purple was highlighted text in the original Famitsu article. pic.twitter.com/UycV4zQADT

— DMC5Info (@DMC5Info) December 20, 2018

As we know from before, V has three different demons he can summon. There’s Griffon, who can actually speak and communicate with V directly, then Shadow and Nightmare, who are more monstrous (but can still communicate through Griffon). These demons have different properties in combat, most notably Nightmare who is not controlled by the player unless they opt to ride on him. Choosing to ride on Nightmare is a risk, as his slow movement likely locks him into a small area when manually controlled.

What may stand out the most out of this information (as it pertains more to the story than the gameplay mechanics), is that V’s natural state is actually white hair and (mostly) tattoo-free skin. When we see him snap his fingers to turn his hair white in the trailer, there’s also a black mist of sorts that seems to escape his body. You can see some of his tattoos vanish as well, and that blackness is actually a sign of those demons possessing him. So when he summons Nightmare, which uses the Devil Trigger meter, that causes a peek at V’s natural looks.

V’s demons also aren’t capable of killing enemies. While V relies on his demons for most of combat, it’s actually up to him to deliver finishing blows. Enemies will enter a kill state after taking enough damage, and V must use his cane to finish the fight. He can also charge his Devil Trigger meter by reading his book, and the closer he stands to his demons when he’s reading, the faster the meter fills.