Exclusive: Hands on with The Inferno on iPhone

The vision of hell outlined by The Inferno (not to be confused with EA's eyebrow-raising hack 'n' slash Dante's Inferno) is enough to scare the bravest among us, but its gameplay is what really has us trembling.

How one of the most historically important pieces of literature has been transformed into such a vivid game is literally puzzling.

Dante's descent into the circles of hell in search of his beloved Beatrice plays out in puzzle form. Given a mere four hours of real time, you must race through a series of 111 levels to confront Lucifer for Beatrice's soul.

You can take longer, though the story takes a turn for the worse once the clock reaches zero, putting you in line for the game's alternative ending.

Each level contains lost souls that must be collected in order to open a portal that takes you to the next. It's done from a top-down perspective, which gives the game the feel of a puzzle. It often plays like a platformer, though, with fast-moving sections filled with enemies and unholy obstacles that require a timing and skill.

A set of D-pads, one for horizontal movement in the lower-left and a second for vertical steps at the right, allows you to manoeuvre Dante around obstacles and nab souls. While it works, we'd like to see an option for a full D-pad offered. Splitting horizontal and vertical movement isn't nearly as intuitive as having a proper pad.

The obstacles vary with each circle, astutely tied to the theme of each layer. Limbo, for example, possesses the feel of an ancient Greek pavilion to reflect its designation as a place where righteous pagans are to be punished for having not believed in God. Skulls of departed Greek philosophers patrol narrow walkways that have to be avoided with quick taps of the D-pads.

In the plains of gluttony, rocky pathways crumble as though symbolically crushed underfoot by sin. Ghosts wandering the forest of suicides, sprayed with the blood of those who have taken their own lives, have to be hastily evaded by tucking into tiny alcoves lining tightly cut passages through the trees. The variety is fantastic.

Power-ups, traps, and tricks provide surprises along the way. One level in the plains of gluttony featured a defensive boost that was a lifesaver when trying to run away from fireballs. Collecting all of the souls in the level meant luring the fireballs away from them, then rushing over to grab them.

As the levels get harder, so do the puzzles. Spiked floors are hard to make out, killing instantly should you take a wrong step. Icy projectiles in the circle of avarice symbolising the cold hearts of the greedy fly across the screen and threaten you with a fatal freeze.

Switches protected by patterns of fireballs in several levels have to be toggled in order to open a way to the exit portal. One stage in particular filled the screen with dozens of fireballs.

A few levels proved pretty difficult, though nothing that some tweaking can't fix before final approval. If a handful of levels end up being markedly more difficult than the others it wouldn't ruin the experience, but it would certainly temper it.

It's impressive enough that The Inferno promises challenging puzzle play, but the carefully crafted presentation makes it enormously attractive. Graphical flourishes abound from glowing fireballs with sparking trails to a thick, pervasive fog.

Superb sound design infuses the game with a heaviness that parallels the seriousness of its source. Even the character art, which has been purposefully drawn in a style that mimics those of Renaissance-era paintings, lends the game an authentic appeal.

This attention to detail and variety will stand The Inferno in good stead. A free version will be offered with in-app purchasing enabling upgrade to the full game using level packs. Additionally, a 59p/99c version with 50 levels will be available alongside the full game at £1.79/$2.99 before the end of the year.