The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline
Developer: One O One Games
Publisher: Entalto Publishing
Platforms: PC (reviewed), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
Review Key Provided: Yes
Release Date: Out now
A few weeks ago, as part of Indie Horror Gamer’s mid-summer roundup, I reviewed a game called Necrophosis. Set within a horrific, undead world, Necrophosis offered little in terms of gameplay. Yet its visuals, a stark (and mostly brown/orange) visualisation of Hell, full of poor characters suffering eternal torment, were most striking. Oddly, I now find myself playing a similarly themed game, set within Dante’s realm, another grim representation of Hell, full again of deceased souls undergoing the most horrid of everlasting torture. Cheery stuff.
The player is Gabriele Alighieri, the latest in a line of Alighieris, and a family with a most important duty. Every 33 years, the barrier between our world and Hell weakens and, if allowed to, potentially dissipates, destroying the world and everyone on it. Called back to his ancestral home in Italy, Gabriele must perform The Ritual, a task that will ensure the bond remains sealed.
Beginning in the villa, Gabriele gathers the items required for the ceremony before gaining access to The Dive, a bizarre dimension of elegiac characters which he explores, solving (mainly) environmental puzzles tied to his own troubled psyche. As the player guides Gabriele, it reveals more about the main character as they collect the pages of Dante’s The Divine Comedy, a magical process that will help ensure the gates to Hell remain shut.
In theory, it’s a good concept, lending Dante’s weight and gravitas to a videogame interpretation; but beyond the pages of The Divine Comedy, there’s little to connect the game to the famous poet. From the very start, wandering around the ancient mansion, it looks beautiful, with lush details springing from every corner. The Dive segment is equally impressive, if more arbitrary, its gothic architecture and craggy walls lending a suitably odd atmosphere.
Unfortunately, like Necrophosis, it all grinds to a halt once you invest any significant time in Alighieri’s Circle. Sure, the opening scenes inside the villa are a fascinating introduction to the game, but once ensconced in The Dive, the player is confronted with a set of puzzles so cryptically devised that patience is soon exhausted. Given this is the game for all intents and purposes, it’s a massive own goal, especially when combined with some tedious backtracking. There may well be some philosophical clues, but when the rest of the game is a trudge through an admittedly lovely environment, it hardly seems worth the investment.
At approximately four to five hours total gameplay—much of which will be spent wondering what you’re supposed to be doing—The Alighieri Circle is at least short. A little more hand-holding and excitement would have been very welcome, and elevated it above the mediocre.
CONCLUSION
Another disappointing walking simulator set inside a nebulous world of obscure puzzles and endless plodding.
