Dante's Inferno review

God of War tumbles from Mount Olympus into the depths of Hell

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Maddeningly there are often glimpses of interesting goings-on in the distance or at the corner of the screen, but because the camera’s locked to rails the best sights seem hidden from you. The City of Dis’ introduction is a phenomenal blend of art direction and calmness that’s never repeated, and a set-piece which suggests the game will stop dragging its feet and gather some momentum. But when you enter through the city’s gates you’re forced to suffer the most boring rendition of Gears of War 2’s closing Brumak ride. Yes, Dante’s Inferno has its unfair share of dragging animalistic ‘vehicle’ sections. And with the camera locked to the turd-brown road in front, despite the endless expanse of magnificent red flame and lava just above the eye-line, you don’t even get the chance to appreciate the view.

When you finally do come across an area of note, the game rarely delivers. The Wheel of Fortune turns out to be nothing more than a plain slab of stone on top of which you fight a boss. Similarly disappointing is Geyron’s back, which just turns out to be a plain elevator (with, you’ve guessed it, respawning enemies on top).

These problems are only amplified by the moments where the inspiration shines through. Gluttony is a conceptual triumph, built entirely out of giant tongue bridges, mouth gates and digestive organs. Charon’s Ferry is another exceptional moment: the normal ferryman and his boat traded for a hulking beast. Characters, too, often show sparks of creative genius. Human faces are problematic, but most enemy types are as twisted as a tornado. It wouldn’t make a difference to the game’s final score, but we’d love to pore over the concept art design documents.


Above: Yup, you can dress as Isaaac from Dead Space

It would be easy to get bogged down in the swampy mire that is Dante’s Inferno’s wealth of problems for quite a few more pages, yet it’s worth celebrating what Visceral Games’ latest gorefest does right: copying God of War. Dante’s Inferno isn’t just a 3D action game with uncanny similarities to God of War. It’s a clone, to the point where we’re stunned Sony’s lawyers haven’t been called in for a chat. Instead of Greek gods and crumbling ruins we’ve got sinners and circles of Hell, but the colour of the coating is irrelevant when the cake underneath is the same.

Of course, our fairytale doesn’t quite end there. While Dante’s poem is the perfect set-up for the title (iconic location, memorable beasties, nine clear-cut levels and a fight with Lucifer to round it all off – the game practically designed itself) the execution sits far closer to the ‘good’ marker than it does the ‘great’.

Enemy archetypes can be split into three major categories: grunts, heavies and bosses. The first is the fodder. Unbaptized babies, zombie-esque warriors… they’ll nip and scratch but Dante can dispose of them with ease. The heavies take a little more punishment (actually, a lot more later on), and include a couple of scrotum-wrenchingly tough foes you’ll be happy to see the entrails of.

More info

GenreAction
DescriptionGod of War is a mighty tough act to emulate and Inferno clearly isn’t in the same league, but though this copycat is flawed it’s a guilty pleasure for those who can’t wait for the real thing.
Platform"Xbox 360","PS3","PSP"
US censor rating"Mature","Mature","Mature"
UK censor rating"18+","18+","18+"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
More
CATEGORIES
Matthew Pellett
Matt is former editor of Official PlayStation Magazine, his favourite games include Skyrim, Final Fantasy VII, Braid, Shadow Of The Colossus and Puggsy, and when he's not grinding away in Destiny you'll often find him talking about WWE or NFL (go Seahawks!).
Latest in Action
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Assassin's Creed Shadows is shown running on a Nintendo 3DS in an impressive bit of fan homebrew
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe assassinating target with Tanto skill
Assassin's Creed Shadows' first title update is a hotfix with three lines of patch notes and a download size up to 9GB
Assassin's Creed Shadows Nishinomiya Shrine
All Nishinomiya Shrine locations in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows riddles Naoe answers
All Assassin's Creed Shadows riddle answers for NPC encounters
GTA 6 trailer screenshots showing lucia in an interview room
"GTA 6 is basically a huge meteor, and we will just stay clear of the blast zone": Publishers are in a frenzy over when to release their games to avoid Rockstar
Latest in Reviews
Zombicide box featuring stylized art of survivors fighting zombies
Zombicide 2nd Edition review: "Like a zombie flick brought to tabletop"
Razer Handheld Dock with Steam Deck sitting on cradle, pink and yellow RGB lighting on, and Alienware monitor in background with Tomb Raider Trilogy gameplay on screen.
Razer Handheld Dock review: “Your Steam Deck will ride shiny and Chroma"
Photographs of the Agricola board game in play
Agricola review: "Accurate representation of the highly competitive and often unstable world of agriculture"
Photos taken by writer Rosalie Newcombe of the Shure MV7i microphone, within a pink and white themed room.
Shure MV7i review - convenience and excellence rolled into one superb sounding package
Key art for Atomfall showing a character in the English countryside looking at a nuclear plant some distance away
Atomfall review: "This isn't British Fallout – it's something much better than that"
Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro 75% gaming keyboard with purple RGB lighting on a desk setup
Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro 75% review: "a niche luxury"