There’s no doubt that Dante’s Inferno is one hell of a game! Who wouldn’t play a game knowing that it would be filled with lust, betrayal, gluttony, violence, greed and a few more sins packed in there somewhere? We know we would. And although hell is no place for a man, it sure makes an amazing setting for a video game. Dante’s Inferno was teased to us way back in August last year and after playing through the demo we just couldn’t wait to descend into all the possible circles of hell.
The game shares its opening level with the demo. It starts off with crusader Dante fighting against a bunch of prisoners, one of whom eventually stabs him in the back. When Death condemns his soul to hell for all eternity (and attempts to claim his soul), Dante resists, “killing” Death himself and acquiring his scythe. Dante then proceeds towards the Gates of Hell to recover the soul of his true love, Beatrice. What follows is one man’s journey through the many depths of hell, and we delve deeper and deeper into the nine circles of hell, as envisioned by Dante Alighieri.
Each circle of hell has an onslaught of its characteristic demons or baddies that you come up against, plus the usual barrage of tiny minions and other creatures. Dante equips himself with Death’s scythe which is a very effective tool in the destruction of the hundreds of abominations that hell throws at him. During the course of the game Dante earns souls from the creatures that he slaughters in hell, and from fountains. The fountains also give health and mana, in addition to things like pieces of silver. The souls can be used to purchase additional moves and combos as well as upgrades to the health bar, the mana bar and the redemption bar. You can only purchase abilities and moves of a certain Holy or Unholy level once that level has been unlocked. In order to do this you must punish or absolve creatures in hell. There are also several equipable relics which are used to modify Dante’s abilities. They make his attacks stronger, help him take less damage, and so on. Dante also has magic abilities which he can unleash on his enemies. Some are so drastic that they involve killing himself just a little bit, so as to do damage to nearby creatures.
Scattered around the circles of hell are certain well known personalities, which Dante can choose to punish for their worldly crimes and sins, or absolve. Each action earns souls, but if you choose to absolve a certain person then a mini-game appears in which you must press the corresponding controller buttons to capture “sins” within a time limit. The first such person you come across in hell is Pontius Pilate, the one who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. We also find several other such people for their atrocious crimes towards themselves, humanity and the Lord.
If hell seems too harsh a prospect for you, then you can choose to play through its circles on the easiest difficulty setting. But if you are strong of heart and want to throw down the gauntlet to all of hell’s minions, go on and choose a more hellish difficulty. You won’t regret it. Playing on easy is fun and all, but you’ll just be running through the game mindlessly. The game’s more difficult settings are extremely tough, and with these settings the game might be too hellish even for a very experienced player. Which is why Dante’s Inferno lets you change difficulty at any time during gameplay, in case you need to get past a really tough segment. A good feature we say.
The combat system in the game is lackluster to say the least. Although Dante’s scythe moves and cross attacks are upgradeable, you always feel like there’s something missing when it comes to the moves in the game. You end up doing basically the same maneuvers over and over again, and there isn’t another level to Dante’s moves and abilities. There is a redemption meter, which when ready and activated, makes Dante move much quicker, string more attacks together, and go through enemies faster, if need be. But apart from that, the moves in Dante’s Inferno are unimpressive. Attacks against many of the bosses too are unflattering, and most of the time cross attacks are the only way to do damage to them. The game isn’t as fast-paced as it should be, leading to a lot of mindless button-bashing.
Game graphics never once feel like they get in your way and at the same time the graphics don’t let you down on this amazing journey in hell. Crisp, clear and consistent fully describes the Dante’s Inferno graphics. There are many cut-scenes intermittent between play, and the graphics in these too don’t, for a single second, lack. But where the game downright shocks in terms of graphics is in the four or so cinematic cut-scenes. These cut-scenes are so realistic, that it’s absolutely indescribable in words. You have to see them to believe them. They actually make you wonder whether you’re looking at a game or at some kind of high-definition video. There shouldn’t be even an inkling of doubt about the graphics and the game graphics in Dante’s Inferno get a hearty 9.5 out of 10.
Dante’s Inferno has some of the most spectacular and well thought of environments you’ll ever see. Entire levels may be seen as one huge environment, even if this is not how it seems at first glance. After all, the goal was to recreate hell, which is supposed to be vast, mysterious and punishing. Having such amazing environments in any game is a huge plus, although most players will probably not notice the intricacies of the game’s environments. But however awesome the game environments may be, sadly you’ll never be able to explore all you can see. You are mostly confined to certain sections such as trails which lead to somewhere, or small arena-like clearings where you battle various types of creatures. Environments get 8.2 out of 10, just for the fact that you can’t explore most of it.
It must be noted that for all its flaws and shortcomings, Dante’s Inferno does have great sound. Play the game in surround and you’ve got a whole lot more immersive an experience. The sound in Dante’s Inferno deserves its 9.3 rating out of 10. Overall the gameplay in Dante’s Inferno is fairly good. It does get repetitive though, as sometimes you end up button-bashing more than tackling each enemy. Countering enemy moves seems good in the beginning, but gets really uneventful and it’s better to just throw attack after attack at your enemies. Gameplay should sit at 7.5 out of 10. Nothing needs to be said about the story in Dante’s Inferno. Approved by Dante Alighieri himself, it throws you into a world, a setting that most wouldn’t even dream of dreaming about. The poet Virgil is always there to shed some light on the circles, show you the path ahead, and answer Dante’s queries. Game story gets 8.5 out of 10.
The game actually has a great replay value, and playing on higher difficulty settings should make for an interesting challenge. You’ll probably learn a bit more about the hell you are in, the second time around, collecting more souls for better upgrades to Dante’s powers and magic. After you complete the game on any difficulty, you unlock a new mode called The Gates of Hell Arena, where you fight wave after wave of enemies to see how long you can survive. There is a countdown timer, which gets incremented if you survive a wave. For replay value, Dante’s Inferno gets 7.5 out of 10.
The Final Word: Dante’s Inferno might share many similarities with Sony’s God of War franchise, but the game has an extra facet in that it is based in hell. The truth is that the gameplay doesn’t really wow us. The fact that you can take control of huge creatures from hell, albeit for a short time and in a hugely limited manner, is an added bonus. Giant fire-breathing monsters, mini-games within mini-games, hellish moves and combos, beasts that you will never see anywhere else, and some absolutely blood-curdling screams and moans, are all just part of what makes Dante’s Inferno the hell of a game that it is!
Graphics: 9.5/10.
Environments: 8.2/10.
Gameplay: 7.5/10.
Sound: 9.3/10.
Story: 8.5/10.
Replay Value: 7.5/10.
Overall (not an average): 8.5/10.