25 essential video games every gamer should know

21. Devil May Cry

This Capcom franchise debuted on the PlayStation 2 and was one of the first games to introduce Stylish Gaming, where your score is dependent on how cool you look while playing. The main character, Dante, who is half-human and half-demon, has become an iconic character over the course of multiple games.

The action-style gameplay was still fairly new when Devil May Cry debuted, but now similar button-mashing fighting systems are used in almost every game of the genre, from Kingdom Hearts to Assassin’s Creed.

The music is a combination of heavy rock and Gothic opera,  which only intensifies the mood of the game. The story might not be the most compelling, and the dialogue can produce some groans at how overdone it is. When taken all together, though, it all adds more to the fun.

The game doesn’t take itself too seriously and really lets the players focus on cool fight scenes and leveling up Dante with new moves. Dante also has a demon form he can transform into that allows him to fly and unleash even more powerful attacks. The camera angles can get a little annoying, especially when trying to complete environmental puzzles or when fighting an enemy, but the franchise has learned from its mistakes and improved in every game since.