Mediterranea Inferno Review (Hawke)
Mediterranea Inferno is a very queer visual novel with adventure game elements and decent replayability. It is original enough in both presentation, themes, and gameplay to recommend.
The game approaches the experiences of the younger generation of the white middle class cis gay men with both sympathy and criticism. The ones who did not have to fight for social and legal recognition or healthcare access or face the threat of physical violence or homelessness from their genetic material providers. In other words, the worst thing happening is their own inner struggles or sitting a few weeks in their apartments, as the story takes place shortly after the COVID lockdowns when the protagonists try to reconnect with each other, spend a few days together, and figure out what to do with their lives. It absolutely can go very wrong (see the CW on the store page).
It should be noted that most of the main characters’ issues can be covered by “social bullshit” which includes the lack of communications and could have been resolved by a semi-competent therapist. The game acknowledges this privilege clearly and unambiguously, while still expressing sympathy at the same time. The climate crisis comes for us all, as well as the wealth inequality pushing down the less lucky ones. Also, the various kinds of fash are trying to attack our human rights and physical and financial independence, as they always do, starting with the refugees and the trans and the disabled communities, while gay men, cis women, and naturalised citizens are not far behind.
The main gameplay aspects are the few interactive dialogues and adventure-like exploration of the relatively small and surreal locations. The stated goal for each protagonist is to collect 4 Mirages and reach heavens. The former cost and there other things to spend on during summer. In general, the main characters auto-dialogue and choices are related to where to go, what to explore, and whether or not to buy a Mirage. There are a few dialogue choices within the Mirages, but they do not seem to affect anything outside of them.
The game provides replayability as at each point there are two locations to choose from and the unchosen one becomes unavailable for the rest of the playthrough. The cards collected or spent carry over between runs. The scenes back at the summer house change based on which place was visited and what was done there. The overarching resource management system encourages careful planning to keep the protagonists less depressed.
The saving system allows to save at will with several save states (I have not reached the limit, therefore, I’d say it is sufficient). I find it vaguely disappointing that this is not the standard and I feel the need to spell it out that the saving system is adequate and functional. I still would say that the visual novel sequences should have had a better skip function. There is one that speeds up the animations 5x times but it still requires clicking through the seen dialogue lines. The engine is Unity and I have experienced one or two FPS drops in 3 playthroughs.
While the game is generally erotic, there are also a few optional sex scenes. Though they might add depth to the narrative, they are quite hard to jerk off to. For jollier gay sex, Coming Out on Top is a better option.
The artstyle reminds of both French cartoons and anime and fits the game well, with many scenes featuring unique artworks, while others repeat, similar to the old magical anime girl transformations. The game is surreal and a lot of it is metaphorical, strongly reminiscent of Utena.
I found the experience to be more reflective rather than per se entertaining.