Dante’s Inferno is based on part of the classic poem ‘The Divine Comedy’ by Dante Alighieri. You take on the role of Knight Crusader Dante who returns home to find his wife Beatrice slain and Lucifer claiming her soul and whisking her off to hell. Naturally Dante embarks on a new crusade into the depths of hell to save the soul of his deceased wife from an eternity with Lucifer.
Hands on with the demo
The demo opens with a brief intro that’s a mixture of CGI and traditional animation which gives you some insight into Danes past as a Crusader, battling Saladin’s Saracen troops and possibly slaying innocents. As soon as the intro ends you are seamlessly thrown into combat with multiple enemies and the game takes the chance here to teach you the basics such as light/heavy attacks, blocking and dodging – pretty much the standard fare. After learning the basics and dispatching a couple of waves of enemies whilst avoiding incoming artillery fire from ships off shore, Dante is assassinated. This is where it gets interesting.
After the assassination of Dante you are immediately confronted by Death who damns you to hell for your sins as you would expect, however Dante has other plans and takes up his halberd against Death. This is the first real battle in Dante’s Inferno and where you get chance to really practice with the combat system. After a grueling battle with Death, Dante emerges the victor carrying his new trophy – Deaths scythe. Following the demise of Death you are shown another pre-rendered sequence of Dante repenting for his sins and returning home to find his wife Beatrice has been murdered.
After finding his wife dead Dante is confronted by Lucifer who seduces Beatrice’s soul and takes her to a nearby chapel. Dante rushes to the chapel to confront death (hindered by a couple of battles on the way) only to stumble upon an intimate moment between his wife and Lucifer before gaining his second weapon the Holy Cross (effectively a ranged weapon) and descending into hell.
The rest of the demo takes you through part of the first level of hell, fighting scores of undead and demons alike. The combat in Dante’s Inferno is similar to God of War and Bayonetta but seemed to remind me more of Ninja Gaiden for the original Xbox, chaining combos together and being very mobile, all in all providing a very satisfying and fluid feel to the combat. The finishing moves in Dante’s Inferno are initiated by action commands similar to God of War but still manage to seem satisfying and not shallow, plus they are beautifully gruesome.
Towards the end of the demo you are introduced to a new weapon for Dante’s arsenal – magic. The magic spell that you learn in the demo is an ice dash move that isn’t that powerful but can work well when surrounded. This coupled with the range of combos and abilities that are available for Dante to learn as you progress through the game offer a great level of depth that allows you to customize Dante’s fighting style to your preference.
As mentioned earlier Dante’s primary weapon is Death’s scythe. Aside from being an effective weapon the scythe also grants Dante the ability to ‘punish’ or ‘absolve’ enemies, this has an effect on how Dante will progress as the points gained from either are tied to 1 of the 2 separate talent tress that determine which moves and spells Dante will be able to learn as you progress through the game.
Aside from the extremely satisfying combat, Dante’s Inferno is brimming with atmosphere. Dark and broody, Dante’s Inferno provides a very believable version of hell and in some places felt like classic Castlevania – full of atmosphere with a captivating orchestral score. On top of this the graphics are great, no texture pop, a very detailed environment, fantastic character design and moody lighting complete the full package that is Dante’s Inferno. Definitely one to watch.
