You've just finished Devil May Cry 5 on Hell and Hell mode. Your fingers are cramped, your SSS rank is glowing, and your brain is buzzing with that specific adrenaline high only Dante and Nero can provide. Then comes the inevitable crash. You look at your library and realize everything else feels... slow. Heavy. Boring.
Finding games similar to dmc is a bit of a nightmare because the "Character Action" genre is surprisingly small. It's not just about hitting things with a sword. It’s about the "Stylish" part—the ability to juggle an enemy in the air for twenty seconds while swapping through four different weapons without touching the ground.
Most games get the "action" part right, but they miss the "character." They give you a dodge roll and a light attack and call it a day. But if you’re looking for that specific Capcom magic, or something that finally pushes the genre forward in 2026, you have to look in some very specific places.
The King is Dead, Long Live Ninja Gaiden 4
Honestly, for the longest time, the conversation about the best hack-and-slash games was just a two-way street between Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden. Then Ninja Gaiden went quiet for over a decade. But with the release of Ninja Gaiden 4 late last year (and the Two Masters DLC dropping right now in early 2026), the rivalry is officially back on.
This isn't a DMC clone. It's more of a brutal mirror image. Where Dante is about expression and flair, Ryu Hayabusa is about efficiency and lethal precision. If you mess up a combo in DMC, you lose your style rank. If you mess up in Ninja Gaiden 4, you lose your head.
The new game, co-developed by Team Ninja and PlatinumGames, introduces Yakumo alongside Ryu. It’s the fastest the series has ever been. It runs at a buttery 120 FPS on PS5 and Xbox Series X, which is basically mandatory when you're trying to parry an off-screen projectile while Izuna Dropping a werewolf. It’s definitely one of the top games similar to dmc if you want a challenge that actually respects your skill level.
Bayonetta 4 and the Platinum Problem
We have to talk about the Umbra Witch. Bayonetta is the DNA cousin of DMC. Hideki Kamiya created both, after all. While the fourth entry has been teased since the 2022/2023 era, we're finally seeing real movement on Bayonetta 4 here in 2026.
The "Witch Time" mechanic—slowing down time with a perfect dodge—is still the gold standard for defensive play. It’s the opposite of DMC’s proactive "Royal Guard." In Bayonetta, you wait for the enemy to blink, then you punish them with a giant demonic high heel.
Some fans argue that the newer entries lost some of the tight, technical focus of the first game in favor of "Demon Slave" kaiju battles. It’s a valid gripe. If you want the purest technical experience, go back to Bayonetta 1 or 2. If you want the spectacle, the newer ones have you covered.
Why Stylish Action is Moving to Indie Devs
Since the big studios take forever to release these games, indie developers have stepped in to fill the gap. Have you heard of Ultrakill? It’s technically a first-person shooter, but it’s more of a DMC game than half the stuff on the PlayStation Store.
- It has a style meter (D to P).
- You can parry your own shotgun pellets to make them explode.
- You heal by literal blood contact.
- Juggling enemies in the air is actually a viable strategy.
It’s fast. It’s ugly in a charming PS1 sort of way. It’s also incredibly deep. If you haven't played it because "I don't like shooters," you're missing out on the best Dante simulator currently on PC.
The "Soulslike" Encroachment
There’s this weird thing happening where every action game wants to be Dark Souls. This is the biggest hurdle when searching for games similar to dmc. You see a trailer with a cool sword, buy it, and realize your character moves like they're chest-deep in molasses and you have a "stamina bar."
Stellar Blade is the perfect example of this middle ground. It looks like DMC. Eve has the outfits and the flashy moves. But the combat is built on a foundation of parrying and waiting for your "turn," much like Sekiro.
"Stellar Blade isn't trying to be DMC5. It's trying to be a more technical, defensive dance. If you go in trying to mash combos, you're going to have a bad time."
That's the general consensus from the community. It’s a great game, don't get me wrong. The haptics on the PS5 controller make every parry feel like a physical impact. But it’s not "Stylish Action" in the way Dante fans crave. You can't just cancel animations into a taunt.
Looking Back to Move Forward
Sometimes the best games similar to dmc are just the ones people forgot about. If you've played DMC5 to death, have you gone back to Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance?
Raiden’s "Blade Mode" where you manually aim your cuts is still one of the coolest mechanics ever put in a game. It’s short—you can beat it in a Saturday—but the boss fights are legendary. It’s one of the few games that matches DMC’s "over-the-top" energy without feeling like a cheap knockoff.
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Then there's Astral Chain on the Switch. You control two characters at once—yourself and a "Legion" tied to you by a chain. It sounds clunky. It feels amazing once it clicks. You can wrap the chain around enemies to trip them or use the Legion as a literal projectile. It’s weird, experimental, and 100% PlatinumGames.
Is FFXVI Secretly a DMC Game?
When Square Enix announced that Ryota Suzuki, the combat designer for Devil May Cry 5, was working on Final Fantasy XVI, the community lost its mind.
And yeah, it shows. Clive has a "Stinger." He has a "Highside." He can air-juggle small enemies for days. But it’s an RPG at heart. Most of the complexity is moved to cooldown management rather than complex button inputs.
If you want the visuals of DMC but want a 50-hour story about killing gods, FFXVI is your best bet. Just don't expect the depth of Dante’s quadruple weapon switching. It’s a "lite" version of the genre, but it’s polished to a mirror finish.
Actionable Next Steps for the DMC Fan
If you're staring at your desktop wondering what to download next, here is the hierarchy of what you should actually play based on what you liked about DMC:
- For the sheer speed and difficulty: Ninja Gaiden 4 (or the Master Collection if you're on a budget). It will humble you.
- For the technical combo-chasing: Ultrakill. Don't let the "FPS" tag scare you off; it's a character action game in disguise.
- For the stylish "vibe" and parries: Stellar Blade. It's less free-form but incredibly satisfying once you learn the rhythm.
- For the absolute weirdness: Astral Chain. It’s the most unique take on the genre in the last decade.
The reality is that games similar to dmc are rare because making them is incredibly hard. You have to balance hundreds of animations, frame-perfect cancels, and a "cool factor" that most developers just can't replicate. While we wait for whatever Capcom does next with the Sparda lineage, these titles are the only ones that truly understand the thrill of the SSS rank.
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Check your platform's store for the Ninja Gaiden 4 demo—it's the closest you'll get to that Dante-level flow state this year.