Details On Canceled Dante’s Inferno Sequel Officially Revealed 15 Years Later

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In February 2010, Visceral Games launched Dante’s Inferno, a fast-paced, action-packed game inspired by the first section of Dante Alighieri’s famous 14th-century poem, The Divine Comedy. Following the success of their 2008 game Dead Space, the developers hoped Dante’s Inferno would be another big hit.

The game puts players in the role of Dante, a King Templar fighting during the Third Crusade. He battles Death and journeys through the nine circles of Hell, wielding Death’s scythe and a holy cross given to him by his fiancée, Beatrice. His ultimate goal is to save Beatrice’s soul from Lucifer.

Although Dante’s Inferno had impressive creature designs and was heavily marketed – even with a Super Bowl commercial – it wasn’t a huge hit. As a result, plans for a sequel that would have resolved the game’s cliffhanger ending were cancelled early in development.

More than 15 years after the release of Dante’s Inferno, IGN has revealed previously unseen concept art, storyboards, and story details. This includes plans for a sequel, Dante’s Purgatorio, and a third game, Dante’s Paradiso, that would have completed the trilogy, all from the development team at Visceral Games.

Dante’s Continued Journey to Rescue Beatrice

By the conclusion of Dante’s Inferno, Dante appears to have accepted his past mistakes, freed Beatrice’s spirit, and likely overcome Lucifer, thwarting his attempt to overthrow God and rule all levels of the afterlife.

The game ends with Dante preparing to ascend Mount Purgatory, dramatically discarding his cross-shaped cloak. However, the cloak transforms into a snake as it hits the ground, and Lucifer’s laughter fills the screen, followed by the message “To Be Continued.”

A script for a potential Dante’s Purgatorio sequel, written by former Assassin’s Creed 2 writer Joshua Rubin (who joined the project around 2011), detailed a beginning where Dante experiences a vision of himself, Beatrice, and their baby in the Garden of Eden. The game would have then started with a boss battle against a snake, similar to the fight with Death in the original Dante’s Inferno.

Following a short introductory movie and a reminder of the previous game’s events, Dante awakens at the foot of Mount Purgatory. He then starts his climb, determined to save Beatrice and guide her safely through the Gates of Heaven.


ign.com

Just as Dante is blocked by Cato, a large guardian of Purgatory and a former Roman senator, Lucifer—appearing as a snake—kills Cato and creates a crack in the ground. This allows Lucifer’s demonic army, led by Lilith, Adam’s first wife, to invade Purgatory, with the ultimate goal of reaching and invading Heaven.

Later in the game, Dante would have gotten a new scythe weapon from Lilith. He would then be joined by Virgil and Saint Lucia – a character players could control in the DLC The Trials of St. Lucia – and together they would fight their way up Mount Purgatory. This journey would take them through nine terraces, each representing one of the seven deadly sins, with the ultimate goal of reaching the Garden of Eden at the mountain’s summit.


ign.com

Gameplay in Dante’s Purgatorio would have featured Dante battling both demons and angels. The game would have included challenging boss fights against powerful angelic figures like the Vicar of Saint Peter, Gabriel, Uriel, and Michael. Throughout the game, Dante would also unlock new, heavenly powers.

  • Spirit Jump
  • Spirit Dodge
  • Spirit Dash
  • Possession
  • Angelic Wings (usable only during boss battles)
  • Spirit Mode (a temporary powerful mode similar to God of War 3‘s Rage of Sparta or 2018’s God of War Spartan Rage)

The story of Dante’s journey would have concluded with what appeared to be another defeat of Lucifer. However, the devil would cleverly deceive both Dante and the angel Michael, allowing him to slip through the Gates of Heaven. Lucifer would then send Dante back to the frozen lake of Cocytus. The final part of the story, Dante’s Paradiso, would depict Dante and his daughter leading a combined force of humans and angels into Heaven to finally destroy Lucifer for good.

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2025-11-06 03:09