The Alighieri Circle: Dante's Bloodline

A load of absolute horse ♥♥♥♥♥. This game had nearly nothing to do with Dante, Beatrice, the Divine Comedy or the Vita Nuova. A horrible hackneyed plot that mouths all the contemporary tired tropes of this sycophantic age: radical feminism, ♥♥♥♥♥♥ and insufferable beta male main character whose daughter turns out to be the chosen one to save the world. Blah blah blah, the lack of imagination exhibited is stultifying. The graphics are well executed, however, which is the only positive thing to say about the matter. The puzzles are incredibly difficult, and I admit I had to resort to consulting the internet for the solutions, since wandering around for thirty minutes down the labyrinthine door and candle gambit was extremely frustrating. The game took less than four hours to complete, and is surely a complete ripoff for the $17.99 paid. If I could get a refund I would.

The Divine Comedy is one of my favorite pieces of literature (I wrote SO MANY papers about it in college) but I was a little leery of this one, mainly because it was developed by the same studio that did "The Suicide of Rachel Foster" and, oh boy, did I have opinions of that one lol! After playing and completing this one though, I can confidantly, 100% say that this is a phenomenal little game. It is absolutely stunning visually. You can tell the team really understood Dante and what he created. The puzzles are fantastic, though the last one was a little illogical in my opinion (I had to use a walkthrough) and could have done with a little bit more of an explanation or more clues on what to do. I encountered no game breaking bugs during my playthrough. Overall, this is a really, really solid short, sweet game with a solid storyline. Great job devs! You knocked it out of the park!

I had a brilliant time with this. The eerie atmosphere grabbed me straight away, but the puzzle design is the real highlight. It completely refuses to hold your hand, so deciphering visual riddles and subtle audio cues made every solved room feel genuinely rewarding. The narrative leaves a few loose ends and you will definitely scratch your head without a hint system. As I had already played through the demo, the game took me just under three hours to finish and never dragged for a second. If you fancy a clever, moody brainteaser that respects your intelligence, it is well worth picking up.

Every time I thought I finally understood what was happening, the game proved that I actually had no idea xD The Alighieri Circle: Dante's Bloodline is an excellent story-driven horror game with puzzles and an incredible atmosphere. You play as Gabriele, a descendant of Dante, whose bloodline has been cursed for generations. Long ago, Dante made a pact to keep the darkness away, but that pact came with a price: every 33 years, someone from his bloodline has to perform a ritual and make a terrible sacrifice. And now it's Gabriele's turn. Following his fate leads him back to his family's estate, a place already connected to some very unpleasant memories. From there, he has to enter a mysterious portal and face a series of trials that slowly push him further and further into madness. And that's where things get wonderfully confusing. Reality starts falling apart until you can barely tell what's real anymore. Every time I thought I had figured out what was going on, the game basically looked at me and said: "That's cute. You still have no idea" xD And I absolutely loved it. The story kept me interested until the very end, the puzzles fit naturally into the experience, and the atmosphere is fantastic throughout. What I especially loved is that the game doesn't need constant jumpscares or enemies chasing you around to create horror. It relies on its story, environments, psychological elements, and the feeling that something is very, very wrong. I genuinely loved everything about this experience and really hope we'll get another game someday ^^ If you enjoy atmospheric story-driven horror, psychological madness, and puzzles without relying on jumpscares or chase sequences, this is an absolute recommendation from me :3

"Per me si va ne la città dolente, Per me si va ne l'etterno dolore, Per me si va tra la perduta gente." Vestendo i panni di Gabriele, un lontano discendente di Dante Alighieri, dovrete affrontare numerose prove e attraversare il vostro personale Inferno (l'Abisso) per concludere un antico rituale da cui dipendono le sorti del mondo. Non ci saranno combattimenti né mostri spaventosi a inseguirvi, solo tensione e paura nell'andare incontro a un destino che non comprendete a pieno. Le ambientazioni sono molto ben realizzate, con un comparto sonoro non da meno, e contribuiranno a tenervi "in punta di sedia" durante il viaggio attraverso l'Abisso. I puzzle potrebbero dare un po' di filo da torcere, ma non sono impossibili. L'unico che mi ha davvero frustrato e non ho gradito è stato l'ultimo (quello delle porte e delle candele): troppo lungo e davvero troppo punitivo quando si fa una scelta sbagliata. Ho particolarmente apprezzato, invece, la presenza del doppiaggio italiano, che aiuta ancora di più a immergersi nell'ambientazione dantesca. Mi ha fatto piacere leggere brevi citazioni alla Divina Commedia durante le schermate di caricamento, e anche altri piccoli rimandi che vi lascio scoprire da soli. In generale, comunque, apprezzo che l'opera di Dante sia stata trattata come un punto di partenza per creare una narrativa nuova e originale, e non sia stata semplicemente ripresa in maniera didascalica. In conclusione, questo gioco è una piccola chicca per gli amanti delle avventure grafiche moderne, specie per chi apprezza la Divina Commedia e vuole immergersi in atmosfere cupe ma non propriamente horror. Mettetevi comodi e godetevi il viaggio. L'Abisso vi attende.

I'm only a couple hours in, but the Divine Comedy is one of my favorite pieces of literature so I was very excited to see a game inspired by it and it hasn't disappointed thus far. Beautiful/haunting atmosphere, great puzzles and story and a really interesting spin on everything. Can't wait to keep playing it to see how everything unfolds.

A masterclass in slow-burn tension, even for a game this short! I absolutely loved the creepy, immersive atmosphere and how well it builds its world alongside an unrelenting sense of dread. It takes the classic imagery of Dante's Inferno and turns it into a sharp, modern psychological mystery. The pacing moves fast, the lore is meticulously crafted, and the escalating tension pays off in an unforgettable, chilling climax. It's an absolute must for anyone who loves dark occult drama.

Extremely Disappointing — Not Worth the Money I went into The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline expecting a game that actually made meaningful use of Dante Alighieri, Beatrice, The Divine Comedy, and Vita Nuova. Unfortunately, the connection to the source material feels extremely weak. The story is a generic, contrived mess that does little justice to the fascinating material it is supposedly based on. The graphics are probably the best part of the game. Unfortunately, good graphics cannot compensate for a weak story, frustrating puzzles, technical problems, and an extremely short experience. The puzzles are unnecessarily difficult and, at times, more frustrating than entertaining. I had to resort to you tube videos because wandering around trying to figure out what the game wanted me to do became tedious very quickly. And then there is the developer support — or rather, the complete lack of it. I was having technical problems with the game and posted in the discussion forum specifically asking the developer for help. The developer never responded to me. Not a word. Yet I could see the developer responding to other discussion posts, including posts written in Italian. That is incredibly frustrating and, in my opinion, very unprofessional. If you are going to sell a game and a customer is having legitimate technical problems, the least you can do is acknowledge the request for help. Ignoring one customer while responding to others is not the kind of developer support I expect from a game I paid for. After dealing with the technical issues, frustrating puzzles, short playtime, and lack of developer support, I ultimately refunded the game. I honestly wish I could say something positive beyond the graphics, but I can't. For the price, there simply isn't enough here to justify the purchase. My recommendation: Don't waste your money.