Dante's Inferno Review

Combat: God of War's Shadow

Dante's Inferno makes no secret of its inspiration — the combat is God of War in every meaningful way: scythe attacks chained into aerial combos, a fixed-camera perspective, brutal finishing animations, and a magic system that rewards different playstyles. The scythe handles well and the combo depth is satisfying if familiar. The Holy Cross adds a ranged dimension lacking in early God of War entries. What it borrows, it executes competently.

The Absolve/Punish system adds a layer of moral choice that God of War lacks. Condemned souls scatter at the end of fights; reaching them to make your choice before they escape rewards attentive players. The two upgrade trees — holy and unholy — provide genuine build differentiation on repeat playthroughs. Holy builds favor magic burst damage and defense; unholy builds favor raw combat power and crowd control.

Art Direction: The Game's True Achievement

Each circle of Hell is visualized with genuine creative ambition. Limbo is a twilight world of unbaptized souls. Lust is a grotesque cathedral of flesh and desire. Gluttony swims in rain and filth. The Violence circle's Phlegethon — a river of boiling blood — is faithfully rendered. Lucifer himself is a massive creature frozen in ice, exactly as Dante wrote. The art team clearly read the poem and understood it. No other game has brought classic literature to life with this level of visual specificity.

Story and Pacing

The story reframes Dante as a Crusader returning from the Holy Land with blood on his hands — a morally compromised hero whose descent through Hell is penance as much as rescue mission. The ending is surprisingly affecting for a game this action-focused. Pacing is brisk at 6–10 hours; the game never overstays its welcome.

Verdict

Dante's Inferno is exactly what it is — a God of War homage with exceptional visual ambition. At its current price point, it's an underrated gem of seventh-generation action gaming worth revisiting.

Pros & Cons