Mediterranea Inferno

Lorenzo Redaelli follows up 2020's uncompromising The Milky Way Prince: The Vampire Star with a pulverising, shape-shifting visual novel of friendship, post-COVID trauma, and horror in the blistering Italian sun that's as artistically dazzling as it is emotionally raw.

Mediterranea Inferno is an achievement in storytelling - not only through it's uniquely direct tackling of the effects of COVID-19 on young adults, but in how it uses the most outlandish, awe-inspiring visuals and sounds to tell that story.

This game isn’t a long experience, instead the game encourages players to replay the main path and unlock all of the game’s available endings. Mirages are your key to opening different “worlds” so to speak and you will be able to purchase them with the game’s available currency as you collect ’em. Don’t spend it all in one place lest you leave one of the three behind. Whether you experience a mirage or not, the story moves on and you’ll get to see the consequences—often viscerally. I only wish it had an auto play feature, as mashing A to continue reading through dialogue over and over gets a l...

Sometimes, I play games because I want my skills to be put to the test while other times, I want to experience interesting stories and characters. Today, we check out a visual novel that falls into the latter category: Mediterranea Inferno.

A surreal and unsettling work of interactive fiction, that examines not just the end of Covid lockdown but issues of friendship, passion, and murder.

While the plot and characters in Mediterranea Inferno are interesting, the lack of any real gameplay makes this a difficult game to recommend. If you want an interesting journey but don’t want much involvement, then this could be one for you.