Games are usually based or inspired after movies, books and historical events. However, it’s not common that you’ll find a game based on a poem. Enter Dante’s Inferno, EA’s hack-and-slash action title that follows the words and journey of Dante Alighieri, a 14^th century poet, who describes his journey through the nine circles of Hell. But can this Crusader join the ranks of hack-and-slash legends, or will this journey be, well, hell.

In Dante’s Inferno, players will take on the role of Dante, who’s chasing his loved one, Beatrice through Hell after she was mysteriously murdered and taken away by Lucifer himself. Armed with Death’s Scythe and a Holy Cross, Dante must move through the nine circles of hell, while battling hordes of the damned, demons and some really nasty creatures. It’s obvious some serious creative license has been taken here as Dante will violently tear demons in half, where in the poem he just passively observed. It all goes to the greater cause however, because the story turns out very interestingly and the mythology behind the narrative is enough to keep you captivated.

Dante’s is essentially a hack-and-slash action adventure, therefore involving a lot of big combos, button combinations and platforming. Thankfully, all of these elements are pretty solid when it comes down to gameplay. In combat the Scythe is the primary weapon with light and heavy attacks, while the Holy Cross serves as a ranged attack, although it works extremely well in close quarters. Players can also absolve or punish enemies and characters they encounter in hell, which will earn holy or unholy points respectfully. These points can be used to upgrade Dante’s weapons, whereby unholy points will unlock scythe upgrades, while holy points do the same for the cross.

Dante’s Inferno Video Review – GamesCastLive

Dante’s abilities can also be upgraded as finding relics and can give Dante powerful attacks and defensive abilities, which can help significantly as the difficulty level is not one to be underestimated.

Boss battles are also a common occurrence at the end or beginning of each circle, and they definitely push the boundaries in terms of scale and action throughout the game.

The platforming elements of Dante’s Inferno mix up the pacing of the head-splitting action, and the jumping and swinging usually incorporate the scythe. The difficulty of some of the segments will once again test even the most headstrong of players.

Dante’s Inferno is a very good looking game. The depiction of Hell is spot on, and Visceral Games have captured the pain and torment of a hellish nightmare excellently. Each circle in Hell looks and feels unique as they are stylized to the appropriate sin, while the monsters and enemy designs are as freakish and disturbing as they get. Dante himself looks awesome, as his movements are as fluid and organic as they could ever be, as well as the action being highlighted through very fast-paced combat, which runs at a cool 60 frames per second.

To let go of all the God of War similarities and preconceived ideas would be the best thing to do when playing Dante’s Inferno, then you’ll really see the incredible and fast-paced action that the game has to offer. A trip through hell can be pretty strenuous; however, this one can be more of a pleasure. Dante is definitely up there with the big boys.