Hello all,
This month Mitch and I tackle the most over-marketed video game of all time, 2010’s Dante’s Inferno. I mean, if it’s not the most over-marketed, it is up there. But video game financials are opaque and straight up murky and no one is telling me! I do know that superbowl ads are about 3 million dollars and if that was in their marketing budget…
Electronic Arts, the publisher, spent every dollar to get Dante’s Inferno out there. This was also the same year Mass Effect 2 came out so Electronic Arts was ROLLING IN IT. This included a bizarre mailing roadmap to video game outlets and journalists. Most of the mailing angered and annoyed its recipients which was obviously the opposite effect EA wanted.
With all of the elaborate marketing and superbowl ads, comics, an animated movie and fake protests, what are left with? A decent God of War-esque clone that probably would’ve been received better if EA didn’t shove this game down everyone’s throats. I mean, the reviews were fair but this could've been a successful small gem rather than whatever EA thought it was going to be. This multimedia project with 3 entries, comics, and movies.
I read the comics and watched the movie last week and I don’t have much to say about either additions to the IP. They mostly retell the already paper thin story but both look great just rather uninspired.
We do find the main attraction to be all of the hubbub around the game and not the actual game itself. I think the art direction is killer - some of the best, nauseating depictions of hell’s circles I’ve seen. The gameplay is familiar to a fault but fun and just when you think it might overstay its welcome, the credits roll.
Speaking of credits - why do we see Dante’s dong at the end of the game? There was so much…body stuff in the game but boy, did they go for it.
Primed for a sequel that never happened, Dante’s Inferno lived on as a big ??? for everyone. Sequel development was a ghost story with tidbits popping up on LinkedIn but ultimately left in the dirt to die. Jonathan Knight, the game’s director, left the weird world of triple-A gaming after this and now works for the New York Times and their game division (crosswords and all that).
Visceral Games, who developed Dante’s Inferno (and Dead Space) would go on to be relegated to the Battlefield mines and eventually would be shut down (even after EA said they would keep their jobs). But the creepy babies in both Dante’s Inferno and Dead Space certainly make sense.
If you think gamer’s attention is precious now, 2010 didn’t need a savior - the industry was booming. Look at this list:
Mass Effect 2
Red Dead Redemption
God of War 3
Halo Reach
Alan Wake
Call of Duty: Black Ops
BioShock 2
Star Craft 2
Fallout New Vegas
You just had to be better than a God of War clone when the God of War trilogy released its conclusion that same year. Anf funny enough, the first Lords of Shadow came out that year which is its own riff on the God of War formula but a bit more WACKY.
In a vacuum, it’s a fun game that is a thinly veiled cuck-story as Dante loses his beloved to the cooler, more direct guy. Dante is kinda a loser tbh - like how is he surprised Beatrice would be mad about all his child murder and fornication? Bro, just let her go!
If this at all is interesting to you, please check out this video that gives even more context to this game’s legacy.
Mitch and I will be coming back to Castlevania next month with Lords of Shadow 2 and I’m sure there will be LOTS to discuss. We also planned out the rest of the year of games to cover
August: Castlevania - Lords of Shadow 2
September: Gears of War 4
October: Blair Witch
November: Gears of War 5
December: Gears of War Tactics
Yes, this fall will see the return of GEARS OF FALL. I’m excited even if the newer games are a mixed bag.
Enjoy the show and talk to y’all soon!
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