Everything in Dante’s Inferno begins with Dante himself. A veteran soldier of the Crusades, he returns home from war to find the corpse of his beloved Beatrice. Death drags her to the afterlife, spurring Dante to give chase and steal Death’s bone scythe before entering the first of Hell’s nine circles, each of which is based on a sin such as Greed or Anger. With sweaty palms and a vague sense of dread, we pushed further down into the Netherworld in our hands-on demo.

Next thing we knew, we were saying hello to the second circle of Hell, where a voluptuous and gigantic Cleopatra summons a swirling vortex of damned that moan in ecstasy as often as they scream in agony. “Subtlety” aside, we’re putting money down that the second circle houses none other than the deadly sin of Lust. After solving a puzzle involving moving a globe of lightning between switches on a track, we entered the storm and boarded an elevator. As we ascended, Cleopatra scaled the outside and birthed minions from her bare breasts to occupy us.

Combat consists of stringing together light, heavy, and magical attacks into flashy combos. The dynamic combo system adds a layer of depth via Punishments and Absolutions. You can grab and sentence weaker opponents at your discretion, but you’ll have to pummel larger creatures into submission before exacting mercy or vengeance. Punishments eviscerate foes in a shower of grit and gore, while Absolutions send their souls to Paradise. Judgments fill either a Holy or Unholy experience bar that, once topped off, grants you access to powerful enemy-smashing abilities.

Developer Visceral Games promises epic boss battles, and our demonstration concluded with an impressive confrontation with King Minos, the colossal Judge of the Damned who resides in Limbo. After launching a series of attacks, the Judge leans in, leaving him wide open for a bludgeoning; then you scamper up his bulk and tackle a quick-time event. Work those buttons right, and Dante tangles the judge’s tongue in the jagged spikes of a wheel before giving it an enthusiastic spin. Righteous condemnation never felt so good.