The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline | Xbox Review

I’m always drawn to a dark, compelling story. I had the opportunity to review the demo of The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline earlier this year and was captivated by my time with it. I wondered where the narrative would go and what puzzles lay before me. When I was offered the chance to play the full game, I jumped at it. The complete experience kept me captivated throughout my three hours with it, and it’s an easy recommendation if you’re looking for a narrative-driven journey.

The Trip Home

In The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline, you’re placed in the shoes of a man named Gabriele. He has the task of traveling to his family’s mansion to enter a portal in its crypt to journey to Hell to complete a ritual. You know, the usual activities you do at your ancestral home. You don’t know why Gabriele has to perform an occult ritual, just that he’s been called forth to do so. Oh, and Gabriele is also an ancestor of Dante Alighieri (hence the title of the game). Discovering how this familial connection ties into the overarching narrative is a fascinating experience.

The story itself isn’t super deep, but it kept me engaged and plugging along. I needed to know what would happen to Gabriele and his family. Between trips to Hell you call his wife, Dalila. She encourages you and gives you updates on your daughter Ginevra. Knowing he has these two relying on him to successfully pull off his task adds emotional weight and had me wanting to guarantee their safety.

A Trip Into the Inferno

The gameplay of The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline is largely that of a walking simulator with puzzles sprinkled throughout. If you’re not a fan of the walking sim genre this game probably won’t be for you, but I found it to be more immersive narratively. The puzzles are mostly a fair challenge, requiring you to examine clues in the environment to solve them. Only two had me pulling my hair out because I couldn’t figure out the logic. I’m ashamed to admit to trying random combinations and hoping for the best to solve those two puzzles. I still don’t understand the logic behind them even after rolling credits.

I also wasn’t a fan of the minigame that you must play to enter the portal to Hell. You’re tasked with hitting face buttons when an orb passes through them on a track. If you hit the wrong button or are too slow, you have to restart the minigame. I didn’t really understand why this minigame was included, and found myself frustrated while playing it. Luckily, it only pops up a few times.

‘Tis Not Hell to Look Upon

The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline is a gorgeous game to look at. It’s not photorealistic, but its art direction is striking. You can feel the gloom and darkness permeating Hell while traversing through the game. Some of the cutscenes even took my breath away. They looked like moving paintings and really enriched the overall experience.

The sound design is also excellent. Walking through a pool of blood produced a satisfying squelching (I know, I’m weird), gates creaked open menacingly, and turning wheels and gears clicked together perfectly. The few pieces of music I heard were expertly timed with where I was in my journey and were gorgeous to listen to.

The voice acting is mostly solid, with only a few lines delivered in a flat manner. One little niggle I had was with the pronunciation of Gabriele’s name. The same character said it differently multiple times throughout my time with the game, and another character pronounced it differently as well. It’s a small irk, but I just wanted to know how to properly say his name.

The Final Verdict

The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline is a fascinating narratively-driven experience. If you’re not a fan of walking sims this probably won’t appeal to you, but if you do enjoy this type of game I’d add this to your list of games to play. The story keeps you engaged, the graphics and sound design are excellent, and the puzzles are mostly logical and fair. This trip to Hell was mostly a success in my book, with only a couple of quirks I wasn’t a fan of. It would be perfect to play during the spooky season.

To hear me talk more about The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline, be sure to listen to the September 15th, 2026 episode of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 1:12:33 time stamp.

This review is based on an Xbox copy of The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline provided by JF Games Agency for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation and PC.