Dante’s Inferno traces the journey of Dante Aligheri through the nine circles of Hell as he attempts to rescue his beloved Beatrice from the cold embrace of Lucifer – who could use her virtuous soul to free himself from eternal bondage. This Dante is not a timid poet but a Crusader, deceived by his religious leaders and damned for his betrayal of Beatrice. But when he is summoned before Death to be judged, things don’t go as planned for his spectral foe.
An epic slice ‘em up in the vein (literally) of the God of War series, Dante’s Inferno trumps Kratos’ violent adventures and recent releases like Darksiders and Bayonetta by actually telling a coherent story. A handful of stunning CG sequences are supplemented by anime and in-game scenes which propel the narrative along and give you a constant reminder of what Dante is searching for. Remarkably, the structure of the original poem is perfectly suited to video game adaptation – with its notion of nine distinct levels and the boss-like, demonic denizens of each. Of course, the game only sticks very loosely to the original order of events, diverging most wildly in the wild abandon of its bloodletting.
Dante’s Inferno is violent. Very violent. If you are adverse to the idea of rupturing craniums with a scythe, searing bodies with holy fire or dicing Pugatory-bound infants into finely ground meat then this is not the game for you. But the title earns its 18+ rating not merely for overt gore but the overall tone – complete with emotional scenes of murder and as uncensored a depiction of the Circle of Lust as we ever want to see. The final confrontation even features a genuinely distracting fully rendered phallus. Yes you read that correctly.

In game, Dante is armed with a rather natty scythe (pilfered from Death, no less) and a Holy Cross. You have a light and heavy attack for your melee weapon and a single attack for the cross with combos and modifiers being unlocked as you progress. Harvested souls give you points to spend on upgrading your weapons and powers, and they split into light and dark options. The path of salvation is always more difficult than that of damnation, reflecting Dante’s already damned state. Magic powers are also unlocked as you level up and there is always a new upgrade or attack to explore.
Combat in Dante’s Inferno is a slick and action-packed joy, with lightning quick frame rates and a system which is amenable to frantic button bashing but rewards the more considered player with some truly awe-inspiring combos. True to the fantastical levels and enemies on display, Dante is animated superbly and each and every attack is spectacular – particularly the blinding flash of the upgraded Holy Cross, the only point of light as you descend further into the depths of hell.