He’s weird. There is just no other way to put it. When you first boot up the game and realize you aren't playing as a silver-haired demon hunter with a massive sword or a punk kid with a mechanical arm, it’s a bit of a shock. You’re this skinny, tattooed guy in sandals who reads poetry while a giant bird and a panther do all the dirty work. Devil May Cry 5 V is a massive risk. Capcom basically took a franchise built on "frame-perfect" melee combat and shoved a puppet master into the middle of it. It shouldn't work. Honestly, for the first hour, it feels like it doesn't work. But then you realize what Director Hideaki Itsuno was actually doing.
Most people play DMC for the rush of being the aggressor. You're Dante. You're in their face. With V, you are the director of a chaotic, gothic play. You’re fragile. If a stray Scudo Angelo breathes on you too hard, your health bar vanishes. It changes the entire "character action" genre on its head because your position on the screen doesn't represent where the damage is happening.
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The Weird Mechanics of Managing Griffon and Shadow
Playing as V is basically like playing a real-time strategy game with a third-person camera. You have Shadow, the panther, who handles your "melee" attacks (the Y button on Xbox or Triangle on PlayStation). Then you have Griffon, the talkative bird, who handles your ranged "gun" attacks (X or Square).
Here is the kicker: you have to position yourself to stay safe while simultaneously managing the physical location of your summons. It’s a lot. If Shadow gets hit too much, he retreats into a "stalemate" core and you lose your ability to attack. You're left standing there with a book, looking like a goth kid lost at a heavy metal concert.
V is the only character in the game who cannot actually kill enemies himself—well, mostly. He has to "Checkmate" them. Once Griffon and Shadow have beaten an enemy into a purple, glowing state of exhaustion, V has to teleport in and finish the job with his cane. This creates a rhythmic loop. You hang back, you read your book to charge up your Devil Trigger gauge (which is a hilarious mechanic, by the way), and then you zip in for the kill. It’s less about "button mashing" and more about "orchestrating."
Managing the Devil Trigger and Nightmare
When things get truly desperate, you drop the big guy. Nightmare.
Nightmare is V's "super" move, but he functions as an autonomous tank. When he crashes through a ceiling or falls from the sky like a meteor, the game’s AI takes over. He’s huge. He’s slow. He’s devastating. While Nightmare is active, your other summons—Griffon and Shadow—become invincible. This is your breathing room. If you’ve played on Dante Must Die difficulty, you know that Nightmare isn't just a damage dealer; he's a tactical reset button.
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Expert players don't just let Nightmare wander around. If you spend some DT gauge, you can actually mount Nightmare (using the Promotion skill). Now you're literally steering a giant laser-beaming colossus. It feels totally different from Dante’s Sin Devil Trigger. It’s slower, sure, but the sheer weight of it makes the combat in Devil May Cry 5 V feel grounded in a way the other characters don't.
Why V Had to Exist for the Story to Work
Let’s be real about the plot for a second. We knew something was up with V the moment he showed up. He knows too much. He’s too fragile. He has a weird obsession with Vergil.
Without spoiling the 2019 masterpiece for the three people who haven't finished it: V represents the humanity of the series' greatest villain. In previous games, Vergil was always this monolithic wall of power and "motivation." By splitting Vergil into two entities—the demon Urizen and the human V—Capcom finally gave us a look at what the "other half" of the Sparda bloodline looks like when it's stripped of its god-like power.
V is literally falling apart. His skin is crumbling. His tattoos are the only thing keeping his summons bound to him. This vulnerability is reflected in the gameplay. When you play as Dante, you feel like a god. When you play as V, you feel like a man trying to survive a nightmare. That narrative resonance is something many action games miss. They make the character a powerhouse in the cutscene and a powerhouse in the gameplay. V is a dying man in the cutscene, and in the gameplay, he plays like someone who needs help to fight.
The Learning Curve and Why People Bounce Off Him
I’ve seen a lot of "V is boring" or "V is just button mashing" comments on Reddit and various gaming forums. I get it. If you play on Human or Devil Hunter (Easy/Normal), you can basically win by mashing X and Y at the same time while V stands in a corner.
But try that on Bloody Palace stage 90. You will die in seconds.
The depth of V comes from "Negative Edge" inputs. This is a fighting game term where an attack happens when you release a button rather than when you press it. Griffon’s lightning attacks can be "charged" while you are simultaneously using Shadow to perform a combo. This requires a weird kind of finger independence that most gamers don't use outside of high-level fighting games or playing the piano.
You’re trying to:
- Hold X to charge Griffon’s Round Robin.
- Tap Y in a specific rhythm to make Shadow do a Skewer.
- Hold the RB/R1 shoulder button to lock on.
- Move the left stick to dodge.
- Press the taunt button to keep your Style Rank from dropping.
It is mentally taxing. It’s also why V’s style rank sueleally jumps to SSS faster than Nero’s. The game rewards you for having both summons active and attacking different targets. It’s a literal multitasking simulator.
V's Place in the DMC Legacy
Is he better than Vergil? No. Is he as versatile as Dante? Of course not. But Devil May Cry 5 V serves as a necessary palate cleanser. DMC5 is a long game. If you were just playing as Nero for 20 missions, the combat might start to feel repetitive, even with the different Devil Breakers. V breaks up the pacing. He forces you to slow down and think about the arena.
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He’s also a visual treat. The way he moves—leaning on his cane, occasionally stumbling, his hair turning white when he uses his powers—is some of the best character animation Capcom has ever done. It’s subtle. It’s expressive. It tells you who he is without him saying a word.
Critics like Kat Bailey and sites like Polygon pointed out at launch that V was the biggest "love it or hate it" element of the game. Years later, the consensus has shifted toward appreciation. He’s a bridge between the old-school difficulty of the series and a new, more experimental way of thinking about what an action game can be.
Practical Tips for Mastering V
If you're struggling to make V feel "cool," you're probably playing him too safely. You need to get into the thick of it.
- Read the Book Constantly: Don't just do it when you're far away. Read while Shadow is attacking. It builds Devil Trigger, and DT is your lifeblood. It keeps your summons alive and lets you summon Nightmare to bail you out.
- Abuse the "Side Dodge": V’s dodge is Shadow turning into a literal puddle on the floor. It has incredibly generous "i-frames" (invincibility frames). It’s actually one of the best dodges in the game.
- The Cane Teleport: Don't wait for the enemy to be "red" to use the cane. You can use the "Gambit" move to zip toward an enemy instantly. It’s V’s best movement tool.
- Auto-Attack is a Trap: There is a setting to let the AI control the summons. Don't use it. It kills your style rank and makes the character feel unresponsive. Learn the rhythm yourself.
V is a character that rewards patience and a bit of a "theatrical" mindset. You aren't just trying to kill the demons; you're trying to make it look like a coordinated execution. Once that clicks, the game becomes something entirely different. It stops being a brawler and starts being a dance.
To truly get the most out of your next playthrough, try remapping your controller. A common "pro" tip is to move Griffon’s attack to a shoulder button (like L1 or LB). This allows you to hold the charge for his lightning bolts while still having your thumb free to mash Shadow’s melee attacks and jump. It’s a game-changer for his fluidity. Go back into the Void (the practice mode), turn on the infinite DT, and just practice keeping both summons attacking at once without looking at them. That’s the "Aha!" moment. Once you stop looking at the bird and the cat and start looking at V’s position, you’ve mastered the character.