VIDEO GAME REVIEW: Dante’s Inferno

Last Updated on July 26, 2021

Published by: EA Games
Developed by: Visceral Games
Release Date: February 10, 2009
Available on: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

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INTRO: Journey with me as we take a trip to hell together, videogame style. I know the idea of battling through hell in a videogame isn’t very novel but this one loosely bases itself on one of literature’s greatest tales, that of 13th century italian poet Dante Alghieri. You’re Dante and it is your task to travel through the various circles of hell in order to find your true love Beatrice. Of course you are a tortured soul and you have to face your own demons alongside the real ones. So, is it any good? Let’s get to hell and find out!!

GAMEPLAY:

I’ve got tot tell you, I was really looking forward to this game in the months leading up to its release. I thought that it looked badass and was going to be a lot of fun. Then, the game came out and reviewers seem to be ripping the crap out of it. See, the main criticism to be leveled against this game is that it borrows heavily from other games. I will not dispute that point- above all others, this is an attempt for EA to make their own version of God of War.  This is definitely the truth and although the game doesn’t play as well as the old PS2 gem, it’s still a lot of fun.

Here’s how the game works. You’ve got Death’s Scythe and Beatrice’s Cross, which you use as a ranged weapon to keep enemies at arm’s length. You mix up your intensity and perform long combos and slice up your foes. You also get a lot of magic to use at your disposal. You can choose a path of “Holy” or “Unholy” and level up that way. The story doesn’t differ that much depending on which you choose, and I thought that the Holy powers were much more rewarding at higher levels. The only real pain in the ass here is that you have to absolve enemies and various historical figures of their sins (Judas, anyone?) in order to do it.  This isn’t so bad in theory but when you’re fighting hordes and need to level up you have to mash your button to save the baddie’s soul and the other guys are hacking away at you. That said, it’s not the only way to level up.

The aforementioned magic attacks are done by holding a shoulder button and pressing a face button and they work well and vary in their use, from blast range attacks to lightning strikes and so on, there’s some really cool stuff to be seen here. You can also go into Redemption mode where you go crazy on guys without taking much damage. This comes when you build your combo meter for long enough.  Let me tell you this- I am a simple gamer and I loved killing everything on screen and repeating it. I loved doing it in God of War and I loved doing it in Dante’s Inferno. Everything about it is satisfying and upgrades are awesome. If there’s a gripe it’s that you have to finish each combo you start and that Redemption mode feels tacked on, but that didn’t stop my enjoyment.

The atmosphere of Dante’s Inferno really helped add to my enjoyment of the game too. You really are descending into hell and the game is just drenched in detail. I felt as though a lot of work was put into the nightmarish surroundings of despair and that really anchored me in for the long haul. Each level of hell carries its own design and I thought they looked awesome. Everything feels alive and everything is coated in its own brand of misery.

The boss fights can really get annoying at times because they are frustrating. The patterns are predictable more often than not, but they get really lethal after awhile and it can really piss you off to have to wait ten minutes for the tricky part and then simply get killed right away by really strong attacks. Don’t get me wrong- I thought the bosses were amazing and really cool looking but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t get tired of battling them over and over again ad nauseum.

My biggest gripe about this otherwise fun game is that the puzzles really, really, really suck. They’re not difficult and usually involve pushing around a big heavy block until you can get to where you need to go. There was more than one time in this game when I thought I had everything right and would spend 30 minutes wondering why Dante wouldn’t jump onto the ledge, only to have it work when I pushed the block I needed slightly to the left. That drove me absolutely nuts because I don’t have that much patience. You need to have something to break up the hack and slash but the pacing of these sections is terrible too, coming out of nowhere and slowing things to an absolute crawl.
Gameplay: 8.5/10

GRAPHICS:

The level design and character design for the bosses is amazing, rich and detailed but doesn’t seem to look exactly current-gen. The enemies and Dante look good too, but the enemies are repeated often. This game certainly isn’t ugly but doesn’t break any barriers.

Graphics: 6.5/10

AUDIO:

I thought the soundtrack in this game was fitting and well done, orchestral stuff rather than generic rock that just keeps you involved. The voice acting is top notch too, although some of the bosses sound goofy.

Audio: 8/10

FINAL VERDICT:

On one side of the coin, this isn’t a terribly original game. Haters can say that this is a God of War clone that loosely bases itself on the literature of its namesake. Those haters wouldn’t be wrong but if they let that stop them from playing the game then they’ve really missed the boat. I had a blast playing this game. Sure, the camera is fixed and the puzzles are weak sauce but dammit, this was a trip to videogame hell that I enjoyed enduring!

Final Score: 8/10

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