As I started Inferno Climber Reborn by Arc System Works I was immediately overwhelmed, the game throws about six different classes of characters you could choose from, neither really seeming very different than the other, but I chose to be the Royal Knight class. I’ve always enjoyed high strength characters and I figured, why not? The game starts off with a very generic story of a great monster and having to collect some purgatory stones to save the world. We get a quick gameplay moment of the hero fighting the final boss and being defeated right away.
Fast forward to being woken up with all of your skills, equipment and powers gone; a pretty generic RPG staple. None of this would have really bothered me if I felt the game had any sort of heart to it. It feels as if the developers wanted to throw out as many options as possible as a way to make the game seem more “filled” than it actually does. I am a very big believer in “less is more” and Inferno Climber could have really benefited from that.
The world comes off very bland and generic. When you awake from the final battle you are guided through a tutorial-like process, the game kind of just drops you in the middle of this world with very little understanding of how the controls work or any of the mechanics. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for game forcing you to learn some things, but the amount of stuff Inferno Climber has to offer as far as skill trees, upgrades, etc. it just gets to be a lot. The game offers very little in helping you understand it, which adds to the frustration of figuring out what you need to do in order to progress.
The fighting is pretty standard, you press a button, your character swings, you are allowed to hold multiple weapons and change them on the fly; which I enjoy in video games. The fighting, much like the rest of the game quickly becomes stale and monotonous. After only about five to six fights, I was bored with the fighting system and craved something fresh. The enemies are all just different variations of themselves.
I know this review sounds harsh and I really try to like most video games and respect the developers hard work on any title, but walking away from Inferno Climber felt like such a relief, they we’re clearly aiming for something much grander than what the final product actually represents.
In my closing thoughts, I would highly recommend not purchasing this game and saving your money on other independent titles that took their time to make a gratifying experience instead of one that overwhelms with you choices and pretty much nothing else. The story is generic, the gameplay is bland and the world is uninspired. I would recommend other games such as Limbo or Hollow Knight or honestly, just about anything else. Inferno Climber tries so hard to be this massive Skyrim and appeal to the masses, but in the end, I can’t imagine this game appeals to anyone.
~Miguel
*DFAT received a review code for the PS4 for this game
