Dante's Inferno

The early 2010s were some of the heaviest years for the hack and slash genre. Some of the best releases in this game style were released back then, such as Bayonetta and the first Darksiders, games that even now are still pretty relevant. But Not all of them became big franchises but were still impressive. Dante's Inferno is one of those, a game developed by Visceral Games and published by EA that surprised everyone. So, even though no sequels were ever released for this title, it's still a pretty interesting one so let's talk about it

About the game

Despite the game's title, it's not directly based on Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. It's rather a different interpretation based on the classic with plenty of liberties taken.

Set in 1191, In this game, you play as Dante, a knight that's coming back home after three years of combat in The Crusades. In fulfilling his duty he's had to do some things he's not proud of, but at least he's now coming back home with his beloved Beatrice. While doing so he's stabbed by one of his enemies, but Dante won't rest, even in death.

He facesñ Death itself and defeats it, getting himself its mythical scythe, and returns home to find that his wife dead and his home destroyed. He'll now embark on an adventure to the depths of the underworld to save her from the demoniac hands that kidnapped her, even facing the Devil itself.

A different Hack and Slash

There are plenty of games in this genre, and more are released every year. It's a pretty popular style of the game pretty much any action fan can enjoy. However, since there are so many, it's important to innovate, be original to stand out from the rest. And that's part of the problem with this game, while it isn't bad at all it does not innovate.

The Darksiders series is a perfect example of innovation in this genre, adding so much depth to it. The exploration and puzzles are more interesting and overall better developed. And that's probably what's left out in Dante's Inferno.

Review

Dante's Inferno is an excellent title that fails to innovate and survive in the ever-changing gaming industry. The fights are exciting and the whole idea is pretty interesting, but the story goes pretty much downhill after an excellent start. Even though it's published by EA, a pretty mainstream company it's not a very commercial game. It is, overall an interesting idea, it's a shame that the game didn't end up living up to the expectations it raises

• Graphics and Visuals: The game presents an interesting contest, using a different art style from what you'd expect coming from publisher EA. Raw and violent scenes are filling this game. Nice-looking graphics in most presentations of the title.

• Gameplay: The game covers up all the basics of a good hack and slash title, upgrades, abilities, easy controls and nice movements. It's a nice idea to include the difficulty levels since the hardest ones are insane. It's pretty rewarding to finish the game in the toughest difficulties.

• Sound: The soundtrack could be much better, but it's still good enough. But still, it doesn't really stand out from the crowd. It certainly is no Devil May Cry.