Dante's Inferno is a beat'em up / hack n slash game that resembles titles such as Devil May Cry, God of War, or the more modern releases of Castlevania. The game's setting is the Nine Circles of Hell, in which you must pass through them all to save your beloved's soul. Dante was a soldier in the crusades, and having survived the entire expedition, is also a very skilled warrior. You will see all kinds of mythological beasts and creatures that are said to roam the depths of hell, and slay all who get in your way. Some of these beats may even be manipulated into doing your bidding, if they are put in the position of fearing you more than their former master. There are even some very influential figures from the world's history who make an appearance, and are believed to reside there for their sins in life. At it's core, the game is very fast paced, and will always keep you on your guard. Anyways, on to the review!

Graphics 9 / 10 -- Everything in the game is breathtaking. I'm a huge fan of games that make the most of a dark and gruesome theme, and this game does it extremely well. All of the effects used in combat look great, one of my favorites being the cross shaped projectiles you can launch at your enemies. Dante looks great, even down to the string used to hold the leather cross he sewed on to his torso in place. Even the individual bones on his scythe look very distinguished and detailed. The enemies are just as menacing, and you can see every detail on the minions of hell in perfect clarity. Even the color of their eyes can be seen clearly when they're not moving around too quickly trying to tear you to pieces. The bosses look amazing, and strike fear and / or bewilderment into you when seen up close. The environments are gorgeous, and give a perfect depiction of what most people would imagine Hell to be like. I loved the fact that each of the Nine Circles had it's own unique environment that was based on the theme for that Circle ( each circle is for a different level of sinner. the worse sins you committed, the further down you went, and also the punishment received would represent your sins ) . A lot of the games footing was made out of what appears to be a large clump of flesh that has peeled away from all the lost souls' bodies over the many millennia, and the walls you must climb on have the appearance of people stuck in the wall writhing in torment. You can actually see their individual faces and arms trying to claw their way out to no avail. All in all, everything in this game looks as gorgeous as it is dark and brutal.

Sound 8 / 10 -- For the most part, I loved everything this game had to offer in terms of audio. The voice acting was pretty great overall, but at the same time nothing truly stood out to me. Every character sounded exactly as they should, but it takes a little more than that to be something special. Most of the demons who spoke had the signature overly high / low pitched voice, depending on what or who they were, but that's exactly what you would expect. The sound effects were again exactly what you'd expect to hear and done well, but nothing special. It had your typical flesh tearing sounds when ripping an enemy apart, the clang of your scythe hitting something equally hard, and the cries of a fallen minion of Hell. The only thing I particularly enjoyed here was the constant moans and occasional screams of the lost souls in the back ground. They were spot on, and added the perfect ambiance and sense of realism to the environment the game takes place in. The sound track was pretty good. It featured a full orchestra, playing tracks that always gave you a sense of foreboding, which is fitting considering where your character had to venture. There was also a choir used quite frequently, generally only singing notes along with the orchestra, but with a lot of intensity behind their voices, again providing the sense of danger and letting you know how ominous the circumstances really were. All in all, the audio should not disappoint anyone, but it's also not something you'd go out of your way to listen to.

Addictiveness 8 / 10 -- If you enjoy the genre, you will definitely enjoy this game. The game has a very wide array of techniques to use to destroy all who oppose you, on top of interesting ways to chain them together. The techniques are set up to where you learn more as you go, and each step of the ladder in the skill tree expands on what you've already learned. For instance, one of the basic techniques launches enemies into the air, and then there are multiple attacks that can be used to either bring them crashing down, or launching you into the air as well for aerial combat. Also, there are two individual skill trees, one based on Holy power, and the other the power of Darkness / Evil. When an enemy is almost dead, there will be a window to grapple them, and you can choose to absolve their sins, or eradicate their entire existence. Depending which you choose, you will gain experience toward one of the two skill trees. Both trees have skills to deal damage, and then each also has their own unique abilities. The game doesn't offer much outside of the core things like combat and some slight plat forming aspects, but it's just so darn fun to play, you'll definitely get through it more than once.

Story 7 / 10 -- The story starts with Dante and Beatrice swearing to be together. They promise themselves to one another, and shortly after Dante must leave as a soldier in the crusades. During one of the raids on a city, Dante is ambushed, and has a dagger put into his back. As he kneels there on the verge of dying, Death shows up to collect his soul. Dante knows his loved one is waiting on him, and refuses to give himself over without a fight. After defeating Death himself, Dante claims Death's Scythe as his trophy, and starts to make his way home to Beatrice shortly after. Upon returning, Dante notices one of the priests of the church has been slain. Rushing inside, the earth starts to split open, and the Lord of Hell himself appears to claim Beatrice's soul. Because of the sins Dante committed, her holy oath was broken, and now her soul is condemned to Hell. Jumping into the broken earth in pursuit, Dante must make his way through the Nine Circles of Hell to retrieve her lost soul, and reclaim her from the evil Lord's clutches. That about sums up the intro of the game. Overall I thought the story was really good. Not only does Dante fight his way down, but more and more pieces of his past and the sins committed during the crusades come to light as time goes on. He must not only fight the demons of Hell along the way, but the demons that haunt his mind and conscious as well. There's also a pretty big twist for the ending of the game, and it really catches you by surprise. 

Depth 6 / 10 -- This would be the one area the game is somewhat lacking. For it's genre, the game itself is actually better than most I've played. The core game offers about 20 + hours of play, give or take depending on how quickly you pace yourself. The game also offers some collectibles to search for on the side, as well as searching for Relics and Condemned Souls. The collectibles themselves don't really do much other than the satisfaction of getting them. The Relics can be equipped 2 at a time, and grant all kinds of various bonuses to your character. For example, there's a Relic that increases all Holy EXP gained, as well as one for Unholy EXP. Another Relic obtained can increase damage dealt with a certain type of attack or weapon. There are about 20 - 25 + Relics to find, and most of them can be leveled up through use to further increase the bonus granted. Condemned Souls are either real people or famous characters from mythology who committed sins during their life. Each one you find will give you their name and a description of their sins when spoken to. You can choose to Absolve them of their sins, or Punish them for their crimes. Each choice has a very small mini-game, and depending how well you do, you will be granted a huge amount of EXP in either Holy ( Absolve ) or Unholy ( Punish ). Outside of what I listed, the game offers almost nothing outside of the core combat / slight plat forming. That said, there's still plenty here to make the game worth while.

Difficulty 7 / 10 -- Overall the game is moderately difficult. I think playing the game on Normal mode provides the perfect level of challenge. The enemies require skill and precision to defeat, but do not demand you to be absolutely perfect in doing so unless playing on the hardest setting. The game features your basic blocking and dodging abilities, while keeping the offensive aspects of combat about as unique as you could hope for a game of the genre. The enemies will vary greatly in terms of size, strength, speed, and capabilities, and will always keep you on your toes figuring out the best way to deal with them. The game also does a great job of throwing new combinations of enemies at you, never allowing you to get comfortable with the combat situations presented. The Bosses themselves will be difficult to defeat, but with enough perseverance, they can all be triumphed over. Just like the God Of War games, a few Boss and Mini-Boss foes will require you to do cinematic style sequences of pressing a certain button in a limited window of time. These again provide a great challenge without being so difficult they make you want to rage quit. Another great aspect here is the challenges presented outside of combat. In certain areas, you will be timed to make your way through something of an "obstacle course." These tended to be what gave me the most trouble, and require the most precision to complete. There are also a few puzzle solving elements to the game, though they are few and far between. These would provide a slight challenge at best, and actually left me wanting more of a challenge.

Overall 8 / 10 -- If you enjoy the genre in the slightest, you should definitely give this game a try. The combat is fast paced and fun, the overall theme is very dark and gruesome (bonus points from me on that lol), and the story / presentation is better than most of it's peers. I absolutely adored this game, and writing this review made me yearn to play it again.

Hope you enjoyed the review