3.5/5 ★ – MegaBlastoise's review of Dante's Inferno.

Platform Played: PS3 Date Reviewed: Apr. 27, 2023 Rating: 7.5/10 During the mid-to-late 2000's, Devil May Cry clones were absolutely rampant. One of the more successful clones was God of War, and that game got its own fair share of clones and knockoffs. Released in February of 2010 and developed by the same folks who made Dead Space, Dante's Inferno saw mixed to positive reception at launch and was later given the label of "underrated gem". But how does the game hold up to today's gaming climate? As the game title suggests, Dante's Inferno is based on the first part of the poem "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri. After coming home from the Crusades, Dante finds his lover Beatrice murdered and dragged into Hell by Lucifer himself. And the only way to get her back is by traveling through the Nine Circles of Hell. The story is pretty simple and easy to follow. The real meat and potatoes is the gameplay. As I stated earlier, this game is a God of War clone with very similar ways of attacking and ways of collecting spells to use in combat. Unlike GoW which was filled to the brim with Quick Time Events, Dante's Inferno only has 2 instances of QTEs. There's also a morality system that not only affects what skills you learn, but the game doesn't give you enough souls (the currency used for skill trees) to max both the Holy and Unholy trees, meaning it can be very difficult to 100% the game. The spells and relics you collect are mostly useless with only 2 or 3 relics being useful for endgame. While I will praise the game for the sheer amount of customization for Dante, you'll most likely use the same relics through each playthrough. The bosses are probably the best part of the game, where each fight is unique and doesn't try to copy the formula of any other hack & slash. The graphics have aged really well compared to other games from this era, but I can't exactly say the same for the music. None of the songs really stand out and after a while, it all starts to sound the same. You would think that a game based on "Divine Comedy" would have tons of ambient orchestral music to fit the tone, but it just sounds dull. Overall, Dante's Inferno for the PS3 may not be the greatest game in the world, but I think it deserves a little more attention. Hopefully, EA remembers that this game exists and gives us a remaster or even a remake a la Demon Souls. For now though, I'd suggest buying a used copy if it's cheap enough.