Dante's Inferno - Ps3 review

Let’s get something out of the way from the start. Dante’s Inferno is an adult game. Based loosely on Dante Alighieri’s epic The Devine Comedy the game charts Dante’s journey into hell. So not exactly Viva Piñata then. The imagery in the game is, as you may expect in a depiction of hell, in turns grotesque and disturbing throughout. The first circle, Lust, is full of phallic imagery and culminates in a battle against a naked female demon dispensing mutant babies from her nipples; so, really, not for kids. Why then did Visceral think their adult audience would accept light weight unoriginal gameplay? The gameplay is traditional hack ‘n’ slash platforming fare which requires you to battle through waves of demons and lost souls as you chase after Beatrice, you’re beloved, who has fallen foul of Lucifer’s trickery. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been seen before; Dante’s cobbles together the climbing and rope swinging of Prince of Persia, puzzles and block moving from the simplest parts of Uncharted and combat not a million miles from Beyonetta or Arkham Asylum. The thing is imitating the best bits from some great games loses the originality that helped make those other games great.

The combat requires a balance between physical, spiritual and magic attacks to be most effective and the platforming sections often require some skilled timing in jumps and some lateral thinking in the puzzles but there’s nothing here that will really test the grey matter. As you vanquish the demons of hell and punish or absolve the lost souls you find along the way you earn xp which unlocks further attacks and upgrades and collect souls which act as currency for purchasing said upgrades. This adds some tactical depth to the combat as you can choose which whether to add an extra move or improve your health or magic abilities. Aside from these upgrades you can equip relics that you find along the way which can be changed on the fly and again have tactical advantages depending on the situation. All too often though, you find yourself bashing repeatedly on O (or B on Xbox). Need to open a door? Mash O. Absolving a soul? Mash O. Restoring health or mana, searching for relics, solving puzzles? Mash O! The least they could have done is change the button for some things!

While the gameplay is strictly linear and your viewpoint hampered by a fixed camera the different circles of hell all appear to stretch on forever in vast and unforgiving landscapes. Each circle has its own unique character and is beautifully realised as are the character models and animations. In a way it’s a shame there is so little opportunity to explore or even stop to take a look around but the linear nature if progression through the game only helps keep a sense of urgency in your quest.

In the end Dante’s Inferno is a game that you will take from what you put into it. I found myself enjoying every moment, even the latter half which feels cheap and rushed in comparison to the grandeur of the first circles, because I expected hell and was given nothing less. In looking back I could criticise so much of the game for not being “as good as ...” but in the end the experience was greater than the sum of its parts.

7/10