Dante’s Inferno: The Trials of St. Lucia Review

Critics who chastised Visceral Games for their lenient adaption of Dante’s Inferno will undoubtedly be incensed by the latest downloadable content designed to augment the action game. Veering even further from Alighieri’s prose, The Trials of St. Lucia has players controlling the patron saint of the sightless in an effort to slaughter demonic foes. While pithy purists might balk at such poetic license, most of us will be too busy hectically butchering hellspawn to even care. 

Those who have already ventured through the series of challenges offered by Dante’s Inferno’s Fraud circle will be familiar with the core mechanic of St. Lucia. Each stage presents players with consecutive waves of foes fought in an arena-like environment. Unlike the original disk, where players took a solitary but storied expedition through the underworld, this content offers a cooperative trip filled with nothing but gratuitous combat. Players who require an impetus for their carnage might find St. Lucia superficial; stages are nothing more than varied successions of enemy attacks. Those untroubled by the concept will find satisfaction in the title’s new protagonist as well as additional scythe fodder.

Whereas, Dante predominantly relies on ground-based strikes, St. Lucia complements the purgatorial protagonist with a range of air attacks. When used simultaneously, the duo pose a considerable threat to beasts; it’s too bad they can’t team up for some type of collaborative super-strike. After getting accustomed to the winged seraph’s speedy attack speed and imposing combo tree, some players may regret the inability to take Lucia into Dante’s main adventure. 

The content’s challenges come in three varieties: EA’s own stages, other players’ creations, and the player’s own designs. No matter where the trial originates there are some basic ground rules: each stage may use up to six (out of twelve available) arenas. Each separate venue may have up to twenty-five waves of differing creatures, offering up to 150 separate barrages. Based upon the difficulty of each creation, a bronze, silver, gold or platinum medal is awarded to players. While the publisher’s stages offer textbook examples of level creation, user-made levels are a bit hit or miss. Taking a cue from Little Big Planet, the most popular levels (each can be rated) are the ones that promise players a “Super Easy Platinum. Still, a number of solid entries can be found if players are willing to wade through the fluff.

Level creation endows players with the ability to choose from an assortment of game modes that are both self-explanatory (ranging from ‘Kill ‘Em All’ to ‘Health Drain’) and offer just enough variety to offset fatigue. Gamers may also set the number and strength of each foe, how much health and mana each releases, and well as position both aids and traps around the battlefield. Fortunately, stage creation is intuitive and allows players to test their handiwork at any time of the construction process.

Dante’s owners who appreciated the title’s challenge levels should consider picking up The Trials of St. Lucia. The ten-dollar download offers a solid amount of entertainment, offering both a perpetual supply of custom stages and well as a robust toolset. For the gamer who finds gratification in the recesses of combo mastery, St. Lucia is the exceptional add-on, which justifies its cost. 

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

25 comments

  1. Those pics look pretty dark.

  2. If there’s ever a sale on it I might it up. Creating levels is cool, but I had enough trials in the main game.

  3. I remember hearing about this a bit. Is it out already?

  4. Cool, but it should have been on the disk. They could have sold monsters for it.

  5. Ash is the Name

    Id buy it is Lucia was a playbale in the main game.

  6. They should have made the dude from Dead Space 2 in the game. He’s in Skate 3 you know?

  7. Are any of the new monster design any good? Better than the crotch-tongue women?

  8. No grade for this one?

  9. Whats that Smell

    Man, I’ve been burned on DLC content. I bought the Just cause 2 crap which is useless, because you have to rebuy ammo. I’m reluctant to get this.

  10. Damn I need to pick this game up I hear the only thing bad about the game is the over the top nudity.

  11. What kind of weapon does Lucia have?

  12. really how do you use him?

  13. How is that bad 😉 LOL.

  14. Is there an EA game you didn’t like? j/k!

  15. Yeah at times it a bit excessive, but I think repetition is the game’s biggest fault.

  16. Barking Mad Duck

    Thanks man. Thats so awesome!

  17. I actually like Lucia moves more than Dante’s. For that alone it’s worth $10.

    The one drawback, you cant edit someone else’s creation, so you cant change a Dante-only stage.

  18. Too many manboobs in those pics for me.

  19. I can live with that.

  20. This wasn’t in the collectors edition?

  21. Just dropped the cash and it’s pretty good for perfecting your fighting skills. So far I got 3 golds and a Plat!

  22. The Ace of Mace

    Any new music or moves for Dante?

  23. Good review. You cover what I needed to know.

  24. A little dard for this pictures