In spite of its quite eclectic gameplay, Dante's singular quest through Hell makes the game worth being played in depth.
For his epic "Divine Comedy" (as not being written in Latin), model for Dante's Inferno (EA/Visceral Games, 2010), Dante Alighiero (1265-1321) has been drawing on characters and events from classical –mythological, religious– sources as well as his own epoch, politically overshadowed by the struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines in central Italy.
Judging by its visual and narrative composition, it is a game as adult as are the sins portrayed while venturing into the Nine Circles partitioning Dante's Inferno: Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, Treachery, each one generating its own bestiary and populated by the corresponding sinners to be fought, absolved, or punished. The sins' (descending) order being purposely, of course, with Upper Hell putting up the self-indulgent, carnal sinners, while on the lowest level, that of malice, the traitors, according to Virgil, are sinning against life itself ("betraying the love and trust that Nature makes").
However, just like many symbolist and surrealist artists apparently fathering the amazing graphics, the developers seem to having been inspired regarding sins like lust and greed rather than heresy and fraud since the different chapters appear unequal in their conception and the action eclectic and often repetitive in its course.
Omnipresent levers marked with a fire sign are leading the way when jumping, climbing, and rappelling over mobile platforms, swinging ropes, burning walls, or crumbling ledges, familiar from other video games as are the mechanic puzzles requiring to drag crates or to turn cranks and quite an efficient manner to slow down both Dante's and the player's progress through Hell and the game, albeit there might also be some consolation in the fact of so many elevators being provided there.
Though Dante's Inferno might not be seen under gameplay aspect only: both the complex religious, cultural, and historical background requiring quite some enlightening knowledge about Dante, his time and thought, and the today almost obsolete topic with largely relativized "sins" opposed to pretty unfashionable "virtues", might well have contributed to its lesser popularity.
Intersected by intense cinematics and quite non-youthfree cartoons, Dante's singular quest through the depths of Hell does give the game however a deeper dimension underneath its superficial technical flaws that makes it being quite more than just a failed imitation of the one or other God of the War-like game...
Controlling and coordinating the appealing armaments and abilities works quite well, though, the souls collected with each of the numerous fights permitting to gradually upgrade both the powerful (unholy) scythe and firearm-like Holy Cross up to in total seven levels, in addition to the magic skills –three un/holy powers each– obtained thanks to the 31 relics found on (and off) the way through the Nine Circles.
The useful inventory also gives plentiful information about the menagerie of Damned existences encountered at the different stages of Dante's descent to Hell: excusable ones, like Orpheus (Shores of Acheron) or Electra (Limbo), and unforgivable ones, like Gessius (Greed) or Tiresias (Fraud), others whose presence downunder might surprise, as that of Emperor Frederick II (Heresy) or Attila the Hun (Violence), and worrying appearances like Dante's intimidating father (Greed), his pitiful hanged mother, or Beatrice's own misled brother Francesco (both violence).
Until having collected three Beatrice Stones which adds auto-absolution, choosing to absolve rather than punish one of those in total 27 lost souls (but the family members) gives rise to a simple soul-catching mini-game; some even provide one more of the quite easily rewarded achievements, as Forbidden Love –finding both Francesca de Polenta and Paolo Malatesta in Lust–, or Old Friend, for absolving Brunetto Latini, in real life apparently Dante's mentor, in the seventh circle (Violence) for his addiction to sodomy.
Apart from Dante and his family, three characters are protagonizing Hell's different stages: Virgil, leaving Limbo upon Beatrice's behalf to guide Dante on his path with 27 suitable commentaries, Beatrice, in reality Dante's ideal woman admired from afar, in the "Comedy" his betrayed wife who promised her soul to Lucifer convinced that her husband would stay faithful during his Holy Crusade, and finally the latter himself, framing the journey with his devilish laughter ever so persuasive (John Vickery) at its end, after the final fanciful fight, when proposing Dante a pact to reign over the three empires of afterlife while reuniting him with Beatrice, for now Lucifer's own temporary lover alike the mythological Hades and Persephone... – Strong, dramatic speeches all over, along with Virgil's moralizing commentaries, characterized by a quality of text and voice acting reminding of classic theater rather than of other video games comparably filled with blood and gore.
Alike the outstanding visual setting, also the quite contemporaneous (classical) music (Garry Schyman) seems to being inspired from the arts rather, but purposefully leads to also increase the psychological suspense, for instance in the slope-jumping sequences, like in a good thriller.
Finishing the game once unlocks the Gates of Hell Arena, an additional Challenge composed of a series of challenges, namely 50 so-called waves, sort of a résumé of all the previous non-boss in-game fights allowing Hell's whole bestiary to parade once again: Minions (undead, fire, hell, exploding, Gluttony), Demons (Guardian, Throne, Arch), Temptresses/Seductresses, Gluttons, Unbaptized Babies, Beast Tamers..., with the advantage of time and "untouchable" bonuses being awarded for not running out of time or taking damage.
More rewarding than this resuming challenge though is the one stirring up level design before the final encounter with Lucifer, in Treachery: in the ten Malebolge challenges characterizing Fraud, Dante is to fight the different groups concerned: Sorcerers, Flatterers, Falsifiers, Evil Counselors, Politicians, Thieves, Hypocrites..., while being given an objective to complete within a certain time limit, yielding 1,500 bonus souls each time – another way of stopping the time before taking the final run-up rather than simply a lack of variation, which should not be credited to this game so rich in ideas. Since though less imaginative in gameplay than in its visual and narrative setup, Dante's singular quest through Hell makes the game really worth being played in depth.