I’m very partial to walking simulators, particularly of the horror kind and have played plenty in recent times. Some real terror, some more psychological, the allure of the feeling of unease is often too much to resist. What attracts me most of the horror sub-genre of the walking simulator space is the feeling of helplessness. Exploring macabre spaces with no tools of survival builds a true sense of dread in me.

Developed by One-O-One Games, creators of the well-known ‘The Suicide of Rachel Foster’, The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline is a new psychological horror which features an interesting Divine Comedy inspired narrative and puzzle-based gameplay. Dante’s Bloodline has an excellent and interesting visual style, but is the mystery of the Alighieri family worth unraveling? Our spoiler-lite review.

A Satisfying Nightmare

This is a rather brief game, taking 3-4 hours for an initial explorative playthrough. Experiencing the story is integral to the experience and gameplay so we will limit story information.

The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline’s take on the Italian classic poem, The Divine Comedy – which I don’t admit to know all too much about – centres around the Alighieri family. The original writer of the poem, Dante Aligheri, is referenced heavily in the game. Every 33 years a member of the (in game fictional) Italian Alighieri family are, by right, required to travel to ‘the Dive’. The Dive is a hellish space that unravels itself and its secrets to its guests, with no visitor ever truly leaving – physically, or emotionally. Avoiding depicting Hell as simply a space of endless inferno, The Aligheri Circle describes Hell as a place of “not fire and brimstone, it is a place where you don’t have what you love.”

This is a story of that love, intertwined with themes of family and sacrifice. It twists and turns around the horrors the ancestral members of the Aligheri’s faced as they embarked on this terrible pilgrimage to the Dive. Gabriele learns more about his lineage, what the Dive does to each of them on a mental level, including family members he has little knowledge of.

Protagonist Gabriele Aligheri is a very likeable character. A well voice acted, family man whose exchanges with other NPCs are genuinely entertaining, as their characters develop a surprising amount of depth for a shorter title. Gabriele’s wife Dalila (Lyla) and the mysterious voices we meet in the Dive pull Gabriele apart emotionally, forcing him to make impossible decisions about himself, and his family. There is a well-thought cadence to the game’s writing with the lead ‘Mysterious Voice’ drip-feeding a steady stream of detail about the Aligheri’s history in this space where the soul feels separate to the body.

I highly recommend seeking all of readable notes along the way. There aren’t too many but each of them helps to build a world that was more interesting than I had expected and helped to wrap up this sombre tale, with just a couple of flaws.

Divine Atmosphere

While The Aligheri Circle has great characters to tell it’s nightmarish story, the star of the show is its well-built world. The game is split between two locations, the aforementioned Dive, as well as where you start, the opulent Aligheri family manor. The manor is an eerie start to the adventure which reveals plenty about Gabriele’s late family, and those who have passed on to the afterlife.

The Dive itself isn’t one sole space, it’s an evolving idea of hell that shifts each time you visit. Formed by every essence of Gabriele, this is his “shapeless chaos”, though the place will be different to each and every guest. It’s a space where you can see into the past, present and future. And it really is a stunning place with exceptional lighting, daunting NPC voices and imposing monuments. The first time you visit the Dive, is a well-contrasting deathly grey, alongside blood red pools and skies. Whereas on subsequent visits you’ll see a mysterious yellowy haze that almost creates a fog of war, hiding the Dive’s deepest secrets.

If I was to be hyper critical I’d say that some of the world assets appear too frequently, making some Dive locations feel a little samey. But, these issues really are minor.

The game’s sound design hits the tone perfectly too. It’s creepy, but no more than it needs to be, enabling the player to focus on the narrative rather than a false sense of impending doom or jump scares (there’s only 2 light ones of those). Walking around the basement of the manor you’ll hear ambient bumps, water running and chains clacking. It successfully nails the feel of there’s been other people there before, rather than there’s someone peering over Gabriele’s shoulder.

Puzzler

Alongside the majority walking simulator sections in Dante’s Bloodline, there are several ‘Trials’ in the game which are deeper end of chapter puzzles. The core three, one per chapter, are all well-crafted and can certainly leave you head scratching – the first alone had me stumped for over 45-minutes. The puzzles embrace the Dive’s environments, as players will need to take in little details from their surroundings as clues to unpick solutions.

The three Trials each have a logical theme to their solution. The first focuses on attention to detail and a process of elimination; the second based on listening; and the third being a memory related puzzle challenging you to move from one room to the next. I am not the most proven puzzle solver by any means, but found my through those offered here.

Final Thoughts

Whilst the lead of The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline is Gabriele, the star is its world. With two superb locations including the nightmarish Dive which holds some challenging but approachable puzzles, this is a walking simulator well worth exploring. Lack of knowledge of the Divine Comedy shouldn’t put off the uninitiated like myself, as Gabriele’s strong fictional story stands on its own within the lore.

The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline released September 10, 2026 on XBOX Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC. This review was played on XBOX Series X. Thank you to the developer and publisher for the code provided for review.

Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline Guides

• The Alighieri Circle Dante’s Bloodline – All Gabriele’s Memories Locations
• The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline – All Livia’s Diary Pages
• The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline – Find Livia and Charon in the Dive
• The Alighieri Circle: Dante’s Bloodline – First Trial Solution
• The Alighieri Circle Dante’s Bloodline – Trial 3 Solution and the Missing Piece Missable