These days if you were to mention the divine comedy, the majority of youths would think of something with Will Ferrell in it. There is also an assumption that an epic poem kicks off with a line like "there once was a man from Nantucket". With that in mind, one might consider developer Visceral Games quite brave for creating this hell-fest, based on the first part of possibly the most epic of epic poems, The Divine Comedy by Italian poet Dante Alighieri. This third-person hack 'n slasher may blatantly borrow gameplay mechanics and styles from other renowned franchises, but the final result is a ghastly yet enthralling vision of one man's quest through the depths of Hell.
It's not often that game developers use classic literature as a starting point for inspiration, but Alighieri's poem seems suited perfectly to the task. The tale follows our man Dante from the Crusades in the middle east back to his home city of Florence where he discovers that his beloved Beatrice has been slain and her soul dragged off to Hell by Lucifer himself; the result of a pact which was broken when Dante couldn't keep his hands off of one of the female prisoners during the Crusades. Knowing that it was his infidelity which led to Beatrice's death and subsequent seduction, Dante packs his things and heads for the gates of Hell to reclaim her soul.
Through a blend of some pretty standard CG cut scenes and some superb traditional animation, the stage is set for the long and fearsome battle against the forces of the underworld. Special mention really must be made of the simplistic yet arresting art direction for the animated scenes, because they convey the dark and foreboding atmosphere of the subject matter with an elegance which fancy computer graphics would struggle to achieve. In stark contrast, the CG cut scenes sit uncomfortably as a transition between the animated clips and the in-game engine itself. The character models and textures used in the cut scenes are of much higher quality than the gameplay engine allows, so there is a somewhat jarring shift for the viewer when changing between the two. It's not a huge problem, but when the traditional animation elements are as good as they are here, you have to wonder why they didn't just carry that through for all the storytelling requirements.
The story itself pushes on at a breakneck pace, at least for the first couple of hours. Dante comes across as the ultimate aggressor, unrelenting in his quest to find his lost love, and this smouldering intensity works a treat to move the story onwards and to keep it gripping and dramatic. So often we find protagonists who are sort of in the wrong place in the wrong time, unlikely heroes who have to make do with their unexpected circumstances, so it's refreshing to take the role of someone like Dante, a man so obsessed with the quest at hand that he rages through Hell with unbridled fury. Caverns filled with the groaning undead are torn asunder as he swirls through them with his deadly scythe, a weapon which Dante wrestles from the hands of Death himself early in the game. Watching the slaughter which ensues may lead one to think it would be complicated affair, with lashing combination attacks alternating with blasts of holy power which emanate from Dante's Holy Cross, but once you take the reigns it becomes a simple and streamlined affair. In the time honoured tradition of third-person action extravaganza's, controls are simplified almost to the point of button-bashing, but with enough depth to keep things entertaining. Combinations of scythe attacks and holy cross powers are expanded upon as Dante's skills improve, using souls as currency with which to unlock new abilities.
The soul collection system forms the basis of the simplified morality system which is at play throughout the game. Unlike similar concepts in more ambitious titles, where moral choices may effect the outcome of the entire game, in Dante's Inferno your choices primarily define the unlock/upgrade path you will follow as Dante becomes stronger. You are often given the choice to either punish or absolve the creatures you battle in hell, scoring 'Unholy' points for punishments and 'Holy' points for absolution's, and these soul points are then used to select new combo attacks and special powers. The general idea is that unholy actions lead to more powerful scythe attacks, while holy actions develop the power of the holy cross attacks. There are more diverse powers to unlock within that framework, so it's not as simple as it sounds, but that's the basic premise. As a strategy it works out best to specialise in either holy or unholy upgrades, lest Dante be left floundering towards the end of his quest as a jack of all trades but master of none. Some special characters trigger a mini-game if you choose to absolve them for their sins, involving a stream of orbs (representing souls) which need to be collected using the four face buttons on the controller, netting you a fair amount of bonus souls. It's a fun diversion, but perhaps not in line with the dark tone of the rest of the game.
Sometimes your choice whether to punish or absolve a fallen soul might come down to more than just a bid for more soul points, because from time to time Dante comes across special characters who appeared in the original text, who will plead their case in the hope of absolution. Here, in the heat of the moment, I sometimes found myself making an actual moral decision based on my own feelings towards the individual, not just because I needed another 1000 unholy points to level-up. This gives the story a somewhat more personal feel, an almost emotional connection to the game world and it's unfortunate inhabitants. And unfortunate they surely are. Among the souls Dante comes face to face with are some of the most depraved and downright disturbing meanies I've had to deal with in a game. There is a part of me that thinks perhaps Visceral Games was going for the shock dollar with some of the creatures on display here, but regardless of their motives, you may find yourself in need of a bath after playing for a few hours. If not a priest. The all too obvious first example which comes to mind has to be the decayed, limping bodies of aborted babies, with long curved blades for arms, and a disconcertingly vacant look in their eyes. Their shrieks and cries coming from the next room will sometimes be enough to make you seriously reconsider playing at night. Elsewhere you will do the terrifying tango with all manner of swollen, rotten, oozing satanic servants, all determined to add Dante to the hordes of Hell.
Boss characters are for the most part equally grotesque. Watching swarms of unborn undead babies being strewn forth from a giant Cleopatra's festering nipples should be enough to give even the most jaded of games a little something to think about. Third-person action of this sort is often defined by the massive boss encounters, and Dante's Inferno stacks up well for the first half of the game in that respect. The creatures are honestly quite immense, and the whole experience of fighting them is a sensory overload. At first the battles seem impossible, but as with most oversized boss fights, it's just a matter of finding the weak spot, getting the timing right, and staying focused. Be prepared for a good few cheap kills during some of these encounters, which lead to some frustration as the battles can go on for a very long time if your timing isn't perfect. The reward is largely worth it, though, with some of the most brutally violent executions you've seen in a while. In fact, brutal violence is something of a running theme throughout Dante's Inferno, and it actually becomes a little abrasive later on. I can only take so much in-your-face brutality without yearning for a change of pace, but the violence in this depiction of Hell is unrelenting.
It's not just the brutality of the battles which can become overwhelming, but the dark tone of the game itself can start to weigh on you as Dante slogs through yet another vast circle of Hell. Maybe I'm starting to go soft, but there were times where I would have really appreciated a break from the sombre and evil atmosphere. From beginning to end it's a bit like playing through a Cradle of Filth music video. But nastier. The wicked ambiance carries through from the eerie menu screens to the background music, to the wails and groans of the fallen souls being punished in the distance wherever you go. Sound direction goes a long way to create this bleak dystopia, and while it may be unsettling, it sure does a brilliant job of it. The orchestral score is discordant yet beautiful, putting the player on edge all of the time, especially when combined with the omnipresent screams of the damned. Voice work is not as strong, purely because it feels a bit unnatural, but the actors all do well to sound dramatic and intense.
Visceral Games has done a commendable job of creating a vision of Hell which not only sounds the part, but is visually striking too. Considering the size of many of the levels, it's impressive how much detail there is to be found. Look closely at some of the stonework, and you will see writhing souls carved into the masonry. Flaming torches flicker and swirl in the wind, the Judge of the Damned can be seen flinging doomed souls into the abyss far in the background, unfortunate creatures impaled on spikes line your path, it's all quite stirring when you look at it on a macro level. Unfortunately not all visual aspects stand up to such close study, with some instances of bland texturing and a muddy colour palette, but then again, this is Hell we're talking about, not the McDonalds Party Palace. Dante himself has been carefully constructed and animated when you see him in the CG cut scenes, with a crimson tapestry sewn into his flesh, but he loses much of the detail for the gameplay itself, with an especially below average skin texture. There is also an abundance of nakedness throughout the game, but the game engine struggles with the nuances of the naked female body. On the subject of nakedness, did I mention you don't want your children playing this game? Not just for the constant supply of naked breasts abound, but for the level of violence, the disturbing sounds of damnation, it's really just not fit for minors.
There is good reason why I mentioned earlier that Dante's adventure thrusts you onwards at great pace "at least for the first couple of hours"... It is an unfortunate truth that the momentum just isn't sustained for the full 10 or so hours it takes to defeat the forces of darkness. After two hours of gaming I was convinced that this was the most absorbing action game I've ever experienced, and I couldn't imagine it getting any better then this. I was utterly captivated. But that feeling slipped away as time went on, and by the halfway mark the setting and the aggressive nature of the gameplay had started to lose the initial shine. It seems that Visceral Games knew they were on to a good thing here, but instead of innovating to keep things fresh, they just piled on more and more of the same. The enemies which are introduced in the first hour or so are engrossing and challenging, but by a few hours later the excitement starts to dry up. The level design manages to keep things going smoothly, but it's not enough to maintain the pace for as long as it needs to. Once you get to the trials set towards the end of the adventure, sort of arena-based battles in the same vein as the trials in Darksiders, it becomes more of a hassle than a gripping gameplay experience. It would have been far less of a drag had they rather divided the trials up and spread them throughout the game.
The fixed camera is another gripe, but it's a far less troublesome one. Most of the time the camera doesn't cause problems, but there are times when it would have been nice to be able to swing the view around to see more of the environment. It's actually quite a clever device, because it means that the developer can show you only what they want you to see at that time, and I imagine it saves rendering unnecessary artifacts and slowing everything down. Sometimes it even works to dramatic effect, with the camera strafing slightly to reveal some monstrosity in the distance as Dante moves along his path.
A lack of multiplayer gaming is a somewhat bigger issue. This sort of game probably wouldn't work well for competitive multiplayer, but there is definitely opportunity here for some gripping co-op action. A DLC reveal trailer featured on the disc points out that there will be some form of multiplayer functionality added in the future, but for now it's a one-man show.
They say that first impressions are all-important, and in that respect Dante's Inferno is a success. From the moment Dante rips through the gates of Hell, it's a wickedly fast paced and aggressive experience which will leave you breathless. That is, until it all becomes a little stale a few hours later. It's a sad state of affairs, because there is much potential here. The overall impression is that of a good idea which ran out of steam. I still thoroughly enjoyed the setting, it's good to see a developer taking risks by really going to town with the themes of Hell, and the action is truly engaging while it holds your attention. I've specifically chosen not to harp on about the fact that so much of Dante's Inferno's play mechanic is so obviously inspired (or copied, depending on who you ask) from the God of War series and other similar titles, simply because I think it's more fair to judge this game as an individual article. Is it as good as some of the titles from which it draws inspiration? Probably not. But this is a wickedly enthralling adventure which had me spellbound with its brutal combat and inventive enemies, and I recommend it to any action gamer who isn't afraid of the dark side.
Pros:
- Brilliantly created vision of Hell
- Simplistic character development puts focus on action
Cons:
- Adventure loses momentum well before the end
- Not as good as the games it emulates
Rating: 
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