I think if you went back in time, around the 14th century, to where Dante Alighieri was at that time, and showed him Hell maidenA bagelbullet hell, deck building, 90's anime style, essentially a sequel to the fanfic of his The Divine Comedy, he would probably say something like “Mama Mia” and die on the spot in fear of what his own creation would spawn hundreds of years later. Still, as ridiculous as the concept is (and it is), the demo is pretty good.
If you compare it to other games, Hell Maiden is a mixture of Hades and Surviving Vampireswith the latter leading in every moment of the gameplay. You play as Dante himself, or in this case, her, who has returned to Hell after reaching Paradiso, with amnesia. And now she begins her ascent to heaven again!
When you start, you are armed with Dante's feather, which shoots out fire shots every second, similar to Vampire Survivor's whip. You can have up to four weapons (at least that's the limit in the demo), with said weapons represented in the form of cards. Leveling up gives you the option to choose from three new cards, which in most cases will be weapon mods such as adding more projectiles, increasing damage and the like, but sometimes you can use a new weapon.
If you draw a duplicate modifier card, you can combine them with another one to improve it, or place it on another weapon if you so choose. There are even cards that can affect multiple weapons depending on where you place them.
Like other Vampire Survivor clones, you don't have much control over your attacks, although you can direct them in one direction while moving in another, so you do have some control. It feels compelling too, not once did I feel disappointed or shocked by what was on screen, I know that each of my deaths were my own fault. It's all quite tightly intertwined, which is especially impressive considering that every time the game launches, it's in Early Access.
The Hades element most often manifests itself in the form of narrative structure. Upon death, you are taken to the Forum, a central area where you can hang out and chat with various poets. Limbosuch as Homer, Virgil and Horace. It looks like befriending them will allow you to unlock other starting weapons, and they all also allow you to pick up different weapons and modifier cards.
It's all wrapped up in an incredibly well-drawn '90s anime style, at least when it comes to the dialogue scenes. The rest of the game is mostly pixel art, but there are special moves you can use that deal damage across the entire screen after some stellar, fully animated cutscenes showcasing these anime girl versions of, I might remind you, very real poets.
For the most part, simple genre mashing, even when done well, doesn't inherently keep me interested in the game, but with its extremely well-executed concept, I'm currently hooked on Hell Maiden. I just hope no one invents time travel so Dante doesn't die before he was meant to.
Hell Maiden doesn't have a release date yet, but when it does, it will be in Early Access. You can add it to your wishlist on Steam Now.
