Dante’s Inferno Review

 

I just beat Dante’s Inferno, and figured I was getting a bit behind on my game reviews.  It’s looking like I’ll be back at BioWare in about a month, so it’s no time to start letting my QA mind get rusty.

Upon starting Dante’s Inferno I was immediately drawn in.  The idea of getting to explore the Christian hell through a game based on 19th century poetry was pretty intriguing.  I may be atheist, but the concepts have always been there, and I’ve always found religion interesting.  So to spend 10 or so hours exploring the depths of hell first hand was quite interesting.  I’m sure the actual experience would be less enjoyable.

It’s no secret Dante’s Inferno is a God Of War clone, of which there are so many.  But it’s one of the best ones yet.  Sadly, it still doesn’t reach the level of awesome that is God Of War.  It copies it too closely, without topping it in almost any way.  There are a few exceptions though, things Dante’s Inferno did better than God Of War, or most other games in general.

I already mentioned my interest in the subject matter, which for the most part is explored quite well.  I really enjoyed the level aesthetics.  It has the 9 rings of hell, so how the designers decided to convey, for example, wrath differently from lust, was quite creative.

The musical score to this game also definitely deserves mention.  I don’t think a score could have more accurately captured the utter hopelessness and awe that is hell.

The game was far from perfect though.  The fact that it is a God Of War ripoff without adding much new is a bad place to start.  It is significantly less gory than God Of War, which is one of the franchise’s best traits.  It can get quite repetitive, and more than once I found myself quite frustrated…

I actually enjoyed the game a fair amount, but when a game is so clearly a ripoff of another franchise, it’s hard not to compare it.  While on its own Dante’s Inferno is a solid game, definitely worth playing, you won’t be able to avoid comparing it to God Of War, which will leave you disappointed more often than not.