That depends on what you consider a valid reason.
Spoiler: Here's mine on why DmC was a bad Devil May Cry game, and a mediocre action game
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- 30 FPS limit: Combat feels slow and sluggish when compared to predecessors (DMC3 and 4) or competitors (Metal Gear Rising, Bayonetta, Ninja Gaiden Sigma). Not to mention the slowdown on combo finishers causing the flow of combat to come to a stop, instead of jumping to the next target.
- Bad enemy (combat) design: When 90% of the enemies can be roflstomped with the demon dodge buff + axe combo alone, and the remaining 10% are immune to the axe because of a gimmick that can be bypassed by Devil Trigger, that's not good, or challenging.
- No lock on: In a game where you're gonna have to be constantly jumping and dashing, the inability to keep track of what the character is seeing is fatal, let alone that you can't pick your targets, rather swing in the general direction of one and hope the game assumes which one you were aiming for.
- Levels are empty outside of combat segments: The amount of wide hallways with not even so much as a breakable object in them is far greater than the few memorable combats throughout the campaign.
- Forced platforming sections: Combine this with a lackluster camera control, and you get plenty of levels where you're almost making the jump, but never quite getting it.
- Terrible color scheme: I legit can't play this game for longer than an hour before I have to take a break. The absurd contrast between orange and blue, while giving the game some impact, is also stressful on the eyes and drowns out the action. Lillith's club is the worst offender.
- QTEs: While not as bad as "Press X to not die", there's several segments where the only way forward is by doing glorified interaction segments (like in the car mission with Kat and Vergil) or get sent back to the last continue.
- Keyboard and mouse controls: DMC4 only used keyboard, and plays far better in comparison. I had to remap the controls to only use the keyboard, but having to hold down the demon/angel buttons means I will be hitting a key input limit eventually and the game simply won't accept my inputs.
- Story is unoriginal: It's basically They Live! but without the charm.
- Takes itself way too seriously: Devil May Cry has always been campy, cringy fun you can't help but snicker at. Trading snarky-one liners for typical brodude insults, the lack of a taunt button, or overall any fun cutscenes or missions keeps the mood always on the low. The only boss fight that was entertaining was Bob Barbas'.
Spoiler: And why DmC Dante is a bad character
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- Unlikable personality: While classic Dante is arrogant and cocky, his tone is always playful and jovial. Contrast DmC Dante, where everything he says is mean-spirited, kind of like an angry 13-year old arguing with you on Xbox Live, and has about as much depth and vocabulary.
- Unappealing story: He's basically an abused dog that lashes out at anything and anyone. The whole "work alone, trust issues" line isn't cool or badass when said by a scrawny-looking chav. Contrast the original Dante that had a similarly tragic backstory, is a confirmed alcoholic, but can still crack one-liners and smile goofily while taunting the 20' tall god-statue.
- U-turns because of a girl: Dante goes from not caring one bit about Vergil or Kat to "WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE HER" over the span of two missions. Whatever character development people might think there is, happens way too abruptly to be considered any good. Kinda like how Belkar roleplayed some backstory for some XP. Contrast Dante in DMC3, where over the lenght of the game, he goes from devil-may-care only in it for the fun to actually caring about his remaining family.
Oh yes, and in case you were wondering just how badly DmC did in the long run, Ninja Theory had to sell Dante's model to people who make dental health videos.
This is not a joke.