Visceral is back with an entertaining, though repetitive, trip through the land of the dead. Get ready to 'Go to Hell'!
The story is Visceral's version of Dante's Divine Comedy. Here, Dante returns from fighting in the crusades to find his wife dead. He follows her down to Hell to save her from Lucifer. It seems like a typical damsel-in-distress story, but things get more complex when each time you enter the next circle of Hell, more of Dante's life is revealed. It's actually pretty interesting and the poet Virgil's commentary on the show a lot of imagination.
Here's where the similarities to Sony's God of War franchise comes into play. Gameplay is pretty much the same. You fight using an array of magic and Dante's scythe, you also have a cross that acts as a projectile attack. There are also quick-time-events in this game as well. Most enemies can be grabbed and most have quick-time-events which let you punish or absolve them. When you punish or absolve, you get holy (absolve) and unholy (punish) points. When you get enough points, you unlock the next tier of upgrades for you to purchase with the souls you collect. You can also find relics that are equip-able upgrades that level up as they are used. You also find souls of actual historical figures which you can punish or absolve for bonus souls and unholy/holy points. Like God of War, the gameplay gets incredibly tiring, maybe even more so than God of War.
The audio is one of the games' strong points. It's music is excellent as is the voice work. The sound effects like screaming and moaning of the damned souls is fantastic and helps sell the setting.
This game is set in Hell and it sure looks it. The souls of the damned are packed in the walls, they fall from the sky, and float down the rivers. Each area looks unique and each are equally gruesome. The later circles aren't as out there as the early ones, but they still look great. This game is incredibly imaginative. The character models look great and some of the enemies are disgusting. The art-style is fantastic and makes the game stand out.
Overall, if you liked God of War, you should enjoy Dante's Inferno. It gets even more boring than God of War, but the story is interesting and you'll want to play to see what you'll come across next. Visceral has once again given us a fantastic environment to explore and a disgusting one at that.
Story: 8.0/10
Gameplay: 7.5/10
Audio: 9.0/10
Presentation: 9.5/10