Visceral Games visionary of the classic poem “The Divine Comedy” by Dante Alighieri, which foretells the author’s vision of hell is absolutely grotesque and demented. If you think you know what hell looks like then think again. I can assure you this is one of the few video games that will make your skin crawl and leave you feeling squeamish.

Players take the role of the protagonist Dante, who upon returning home finds his beloved Beatrice murdered with a sword plunged into her lower abdomen. With Lucifer in full possession of her soul she is dragged into the depths of hell. Dante descends himself into hell to rescue Beatrice and ultimately redeem himself, as he realizes that he’s paying for his sins and facing his demons.

Visceral Games have played the common factors of the poem and made it into a game which overall sets the basis for levels. As stated in the poem there are nine circles of hell which are named: limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery. Each of them has a distinct environment and demons within them. Sometimes this is not the case as other enemies from distinct circles cross over in levels.

Many see the game as God of War, in more or less every way, shape and form. The reason for this is because the level designer, who worked on the God of War franchise, joined Visceral Games development team for Dante’s Inferno. There’s no denying that Dante’s Inferno uses God of War as a strong foundation, however it makes up for unoriginality in other areas.

Take the cross for instance it’s a great weapon for spamming attacks with and keeping enemies at bay. The cross is great fun to use as there’s no limit on the amount of times it can be used. The upgrades for this weapon are irresistible; they literally make you feel as though the wrath of god is in your hands.

As opposed to the cross the scythe is equally a blast getting to grips with. This is your primary weapon and a dominating one too, depending on how you coinsit it with the cross and magic to devise combos.

There’s nothing more disturbing than the opening hour of Dante’s Inferno. In particular the events of a crying unbaptized baby coming out of a womb, attacking you with a sycle for hands. Then there are the prostitutes of the lower circle Lust. These are the most terrifying prostitutes you’ll ever see; they have penises with stingers on them. Everything within sight is alarmingly alive, from poor souls embedded within walls to environments made of people quivering with an inch of life.

Button mashing is something of a frequent interval in Dante’s Inferno, even when you’re not required to. For no apparent reason your asked constantly to mash a face button whenever you want to open a door or break a fountain containing health, magic or collectables.

Puzzles placed in the game make no sense, usually in a hack n slash game they have a purpose or tie in with the story in order to progress. In Dante’s Inferno it feels as though the puzzles are used to prolong the campaign.

In Dante’s Inferno the sound designers and engineers have created an experience on par with production values of a motion picture. They have captured hell perfectly, if you play the game for a prolonged period you become engrossed by the screams and echoes of hell. If you thought the appearance and inhabitants of the nine circles made your skin crawl, wait until the cries of unbaptized babies freak you out.

Dante’s Inferno is an epic and challenging adventure, it’s an experience this February you won’t want to miss out on. The campaign weighs in at 6 to 8 hours or longer if you play on the harder difficulties, which fans of the genre will appreciate.

One aspect that might throw you when purchasing Dante’s Inferno is the resemblance to God of War, but then again there’s not one game on the market that hasn’t taken some form of inspiration from another video game. The endless button mashing for no apparent reason when you want to open a door or obtain health can be annoying sometimes, but don’t let that justify your decision on missing out an incredible entry by Visceral Games.

8.5/10