Dante's Inferno is Visceral Games' 2010 action epic — a God of War-inspired hack-and-slash descent through Dante Alighieri's nine circles of Hell. You play as Dante, a crusader who literally fights through Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery to rescue his murdered beloved Beatrice from Lucifer's grasp. The literary source gives the game an unusual conceptual richness — each circle has its own visual identity, sinners, and thematic logic derived from the original poem.
Combat follows the God of War template closely: a scythe as primary weapon, holy cross as ranged attack, Beatrice's amulet for special moves, and a growing arsenal of punish and reward mechanics. The central moral system lets you Absolve or Punish condemned souls — absolving grants holy magic and upgrades, punishing grants unholy power. Two upgrade trees (holy and unholy) reflect this division and allow different playstyle builds across new game plus.
Despite its derivative combat, Dante's Inferno earns distinction through its extraordinary art direction. Each circle is visualized with a creative fidelity to the poem's imagery that few games have attempted with classic literature. The Lust circle's flesh-covered architecture, the Violence circle's river of blood, and Lucifer's frozen lake of Treachery are genuinely memorable environments that justify the game's existence regardless of its mechanical familiarity.
Each of the nine circles has a distinct visual identity, enemy types, and thematic logic derived faithfully from Dante Alighieri's original poem.
Every condemned soul gives you a choice: absolve them (grants holy power) or punish them (grants unholy power). Both upgrade trees are viable.
Fast, satisfying hack-and-slash combat with light/heavy combos, aerial attacks, magic spells, and holy cross projectiles.
The most ambitious literary adaptation in gaming — faithful to the Divine Comedy's imagery while reimagining Dante as an action hero.