Dante's Inferno: Beginner's Guide

Getting Started in Dante's Inferno

Dante's main weapon is a scythe used for combos and finishing moves. He also has a Holy Cross that fires energy projectiles and magic attacks drawn from a mana pool. Defeated enemies can be absolved with the Holy Cross, which earns Holy experience. Souls dropped by enemies or collected from soul fountains are spent to unlock abilities.

Upgrades are divided into Holy and Unholy paths. Absolving builds Holy experience and punishing builds Unholy experience, and both can be progressed at the same time. Souls are a universal currency, not tied to one weapon.

Core Mechanics

Absolve: after defeating enemies, you can absolve them with the Holy Cross. Absolving famous damned figures from the Divine Comedy yields more souls and experience through a mini-game.

Quick-time events: used to discharge demons from hosts and during boss fights.

Relics: hidden relics improve Dante's abilities, and the game also includes platforming and environmental puzzles.

Choosing a Path

There is no single correct path. Holy abilities upgrade Dante's cross attacks and Unholy abilities upgrade his scythe, so choose the one that suits how you like to fight. Because souls are shared, you can start with one and add the other later.

Essential Tips

1. Absolve named sinners. Famous damned figures from the poem give more souls through the mini-game.
2. Collect souls after every fight. Souls fund every ability in both trees.
3. Look for hidden relics. They improve Dante's abilities.
4. Expect quick-time events in boss fights and be ready for the prompts.
5. Mind the DLC servers. Trials of St. Lucia has co-op and a level editor, but EA shut its servers on 8 December 2023.

An Early Boss: King Minos

King Minos is the judge of the damned who oversees Limbo. He is one of the bosses named in the game's coverage, and, as with other boss fights, quick-time events are part of how the fights are resolved. We could not verify a phase-by-phase breakdown of the fight from a source we loaded, so we are not giving one here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Which platforms is Dante's Inferno on?
A: PS3 and Xbox 360 (February 2010) and PSP (March 2010). The Xbox 360 version, disc or digital, is also playable on Xbox One and Series consoles through backward compatibility, added in July 2018. We found no PS4 or PS5 version.

Q: How faithful is it to the poem?
A: It borrows the nine circles, Beatrice, Virgil and figures such as Cleopatra and Minos, but makes Dante a Crusader action hero, so the story is a loose adaptation.

Q: How long is the game?
A: Reviews put a first playthrough at roughly 6 to 10 hours.

Q: Is it worth playing today?
A: If you like God of War-style action games and the Divine Comedy setting, it is a short, self-contained game. Check availability first: it is a PS3/Xbox 360/PSP title.

Q: Is there DLC?
A: Yes. Dark Forest (4 March 2010), Trials of St. Lucia (29 April 2010), costume packs and soul packs.