“Released back in 2010 by Visceral Games – the lovely folks who brought us Dead Space – Dante’s Inferno is a creative adaptation of the classic poem. Through its incredible design, gameplay, and narrative, Dante’s Inferno has come to be one of the most exhilarating action games of the 2010s.
For the sake of presenting a more action-driven story, Visceral went ahead and made a few changes to the source material. Whereas Dante is a poet and Beatrice is a symbol of Divine Love in the poem, the former is a soldier and the latter is his lover in the game.
The story begins with Dante during the Third Crusade (1189–1192). In the midst of combat, he is all of a sudden stabbed; he awakens on another plane having to confront the physical embodiment of death. After defeating death, Dante steals his scythe and returns home – only to find his father and love Beatrice dead. This is when Dante discovers the latter’s soul being dragged to Hell by Lucifer. From there, along with his guide Virgil (just like in the poem), Dante transverses through Hell to save his love (laying waste to every demon in his path).
[. . .]
Ten years later and I’m still amazed by this game. From its fantastic action and creative approach to the source material, Dante’s Inferno is a fascinating title. Inferno proved to be a visual treat to me when I first read it; never could I have ever expected how Visceral Games could take such a classic and elevate its imagery. Dante’s Inferno is not only an amazing action game, but it’s also an excellent journey into one of the most nightmarish representations of Hell ever depicted in art.” –Michael Pementel, Bloody Disgusting, February 4, 2020
“The 2010 video game, Dante’s Inferno, is a modern adaptation of the original Inferno by Dante Alighieri. While it has some similarities, it has some predominant substantial differences. Some of the similarities come with the characters, and the ambience. Most of the emblematic characters of the original text appear in the video game in one way or another. The ambience is also quite accurate since it clearly conveys Dante’s ideas on the various levels of hell. Every single circle of hell shows the punishment addressed to the various sinners. However, the substantial difference resides in the main mission of the story. Unlike the original, in the video game Dante’s main objective is to set Beatrice free from Lucifer. God is barely mentioned throughout the game, or any other phase besides hell. Dante does not consider getting to any places beyond hell.” –Pablo Linares (University of Arkansas, ’23)
