The plot follows returning protagonists Nero and Dante as they are hired by a mysterious stranger named V to stop the Demon King Urizen.

The game received positive reviews from critics, who praised the gameplay, specifically the variety of techniques the three characters bring, as well as the handling of the narrative.

An expanded version called Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition[b] was released for Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 in November 2020, featuring the addition of Vergil as a playable character.

Like previous games, this title has a Bloody Palace mode where players can face multiple types of demons in a single area.

Dante plays like his Devil May Cry 4 persona as he can change between four styles to create new techniques or parry enemy attacks.

These include Griffon, an eagle that uses ranged lightning-based attacks; Shadow, a panther that forms blades, spikes, and portals out of its body; and Nightmare, a large and powerful golem.

V enters a Devil Trigger-like state, which turns his hair white, to summon Nightmare, which uses a combination of melee attacks and explosive laser beams.

Nero offers the stranger food when he suddenly rips off his demonic Devil Bringer arm, which transforms into the Yamato sword.

[18] Trish learns from V that Urizen is the demon-side of Dante's brother Vergil, who used Yamato's power to separate his demon and human halves - the latter manifesting as V, whose body is rapidly breaking down.

[19][20] Realizing Yamato has the capability of separating humanity and the devil, Dante questions whether his Rebellion also has a hidden potential, believing both legacy weapons have incredible powers on their own.

[30] Nero settles his emotions in a phone call to Kyrie and resolves not to let his father and uncle die, fully awakening his demonic powers and regrowing his arm.

The game was being developed by Capcom Dev Studio 1 and many staff members worked on the Dragon's Dogma and the Devil May Cry series.

[52] Other members of the staff previously worked in the reboot game DmC: Devil May Cry, but the Osaka team was more willing to make a sequel to the fourth installment of the main series.

As a result, he aimed to make this sequel far more enjoyable with a budget that would allow more content and thus appeal to a larger audience, including Devil May Cry 4 players.

[55] A big influence on Itsuno and the game was a movie where three robots combined into one giant bot and overcame their foe, moving him to tears.

In April 2019, Capcom's Matt Walker claimed Vergil would not be a playable character in the game, leaving "a bitter taste" in fans mouths.

[60] Art director Koki Kinoshita stated that thanks to the new technology provided by the engine, the character designs of the returning ones involved slight alterations to their Devil May Cry 4 appearances in order to fit their personalities.

The game's climactic event, where Nero awakens his demonic powers and stops the struggle between Dante and Vergil, is meant to give the story a deeper form.

[74] Kota Suzuki, Yoshiya Terayama, Hiromitsu Maeba, Steven McNair, John R. Graham, Casey Edwards, Cody Matthew Johnson and Jeff Rona composed the game's soundtrack.

[77] Nero's battle themes are "Devil Trigger" and its final boss remix, "Silver Bullet," both performed by Ali Edwards.

[76] The final trailer presented the game's ending theme "Legacy," composed by Kota Suzuki and sung by Ali Edwards.

[94] Vergil's new battle theme, titled "Bury the Light", was composed by Casey Edwards with vocals performed by Victor Borba.

They noted that while the reboot by Ninja Theory was enjoyable, Devil May Cry 5 remained true to the series' core when it came to gameplay mechanics and the handling of the characters.

The reviewer liked how newcomers can easily learn how to score the stylish system in a short time, noting they must also understand the enemies' tactics to beat them and the bosses.

[116] GameSpot appreciated the depth Capcom offered players, most notably the change in Nero's gameplay to allow different styles of Devil Breaker techniques.

[110] Destructoid enjoyed the multiple types of enemies and boss fights and noted Capcom had responded to criticism of Devil May Cry 4 by providing the player with more stages.

[8] GamesRadar enjoyed the great variety each of the three playable characters possess in combat while retaining their own style—this, despite Dante playing similarly to his Devil May Cry 4 persona.

[114] While liking how integral the narrative became in the gameplay mechanics, GamesRadar felt newcomers might not understand the game's full plot and that the ending was rushed.

[118] At its launch, the PlayStation 4 version of the game released in western countries included the use of a lens flare which reduced the visibility of brief nudity.

[119] In April 2019, Push Square reported the lens flare had been removed in the game's North American version, yet remained in Europe.