I am a huge huge fangirl of the original Divine Comedy. So let me start by saying this game is absolutely horrific as a translation. So much of what made the Divine Comedy so beautiful, even in the pits of Inferno, is gone. There is no sense of purpose to suffering of the Damned in DI, in fact their suffering can be used by the villains. There is no love for the damned, no sadness at their suffering, no trying to seeing the humanity in those who most need it. In fact it is quite the opposite effect, the Damned are made monstrous, their sins being made horrifically exaggerated and one must somehow slay them again to progress. The Dante of the Poem (not to be confused with the real person Dante) fainted twice in the Inferno, so overcome with grief at the horrific state of the Inferno's residents. The Game Dante contributes to their everlasting pain. As an adaptation Dante's Inferno is as wrong as you can get, giving the exact message of The Inferno.
But I have always been one to say an adaptation should stand on it's own. And on it's own...Dante's Inferno is a good game, often underrated as a God of War knock-off.
The Combat System in Dante's Inferno is very reminiscent of God of War, yes. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. I enjoyed God of War. And it's not identical. Most notably (and perhaps thematically), while both Kratos and Dante have bladed weapons that can extend a distance, Dante also has a Ranged Weapon (Thematically one could see that as Dante becoming more like the rather Dark character Kratos by usage of his Scythe).
Dante's Inferno is simple in it's....everything. The plot and story are simple, the gameplay is simplistic, the enemy variety is simple, the object of the game is simple, the platforming (the most annoying part of God of War adopted into DI) is simple. It's not a very nuanced experience. But it is in my opinion an enjoyable experience.
As over-the-top trying to shock as the game clearly is, the level design and enemy fights are creative to say the least. Some of the Magic Spells are interesting (Martydom's Unique Sacrifice Health for Damage, Sins of the Father's multiple projectile spam). The story, while simple, thematically works out pretty nicely, what with it's Dual Morality System of Infernal and Heavenly Upgrades. The ending was quite enjoyable in particular with the Souls Dante has redeeming returning to help him. Dante's character is not half as interesting as the game seems to think it is (It's a standard "Bad Man" looking for redemption archetype). I will also say the Musical Score is beautiful, and I'm not usually one to notice such things.
Their isn't much in the way of replay value but it's enjoyable for a few playthroughs at least. Overall it was definitely a fun playthough for me and I imagine it would be for you as well if you like this genre....just don't think it's the same as the Poem.
VideoGame A Horrific Adaptation, A Good and Underrated Game
I am a huge huge fangirl of the original Divine Comedy. So let me start by saying this game is absolutely horrific as a translation. So much of what made the Divine Comedy so beautiful, even in the pits of Inferno, is gone. There is no sense of purpose to suffering of the Damned in DI, in fact their suffering can be used by the villains. There is no love for the damned, no sadness at their suffering, no trying to seeing the humanity in those who most need it. In fact it is quite the opposite effect, the Damned are made monstrous, their sins being made horrifically exaggerated and one must somehow slay them again to progress. The Dante of the Poem (not to be confused with the real person Dante) fainted twice in the Inferno, so overcome with grief at the horrific state of the Inferno's residents. The Game Dante contributes to their everlasting pain. As an adaptation Dante's Inferno is as wrong as you can get, giving the exact message of The Inferno.
But I have always been one to say an adaptation should stand on it's own. And on it's own...Dante's Inferno is a good game, often underrated as a God of War knock-off.
The Combat System in Dante's Inferno is very reminiscent of God of War, yes. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. I enjoyed God of War. And it's not identical. Most notably (and perhaps thematically), while both Kratos and Dante have bladed weapons that can extend a distance, Dante also has a Ranged Weapon (Thematically one could see that as Dante becoming more like the rather Dark character Kratos by usage of his Scythe).
Dante's Inferno is simple in it's....everything. The plot and story are simple, the gameplay is simplistic, the enemy variety is simple, the object of the game is simple, the platforming (the most annoying part of God of War adopted into DI) is simple. It's not a very nuanced experience. But it is in my opinion an enjoyable experience.
As over-the-top trying to shock as the game clearly is, the level design and enemy fights are creative to say the least. Some of the Magic Spells are interesting (Martydom's Unique Sacrifice Health for Damage, Sins of the Father's multiple projectile spam). The story, while simple, thematically works out pretty nicely, what with it's Dual Morality System of Infernal and Heavenly Upgrades. The ending was quite enjoyable in particular with the Souls Dante has redeeming returning to help him. Dante's character is not half as interesting as the game seems to think it is (It's a standard "Bad Man" looking for redemption archetype). I will also say the Musical Score is beautiful, and I'm not usually one to notice such things.
Their isn't much in the way of replay value but it's enjoyable for a few playthroughs at least. Overall it was definitely a fun playthough for me and I imagine it would be for you as well if you like this genre....just don't think it's the same as the Poem.
4/5