Dark Atlus: Infernum – Brutal, Beautiful, and Unforgiving
I went into Dark Atlus: Infernum expecting punishment.
The trailers made that clear. Grim environments, oppressive atmosphere, heavy combat animations, and a world that looks like it actively resents your presence. I was ready for difficulty.
What I wasn’t ready for was how exhausting that difficulty could become when paired with systems that don’t always communicate clearly.
This is a demanding game and sometimes that demand crosses the line from satisfying into draining.
Atmosphere That Absolutely Commits
Let’s start with what works.
Dark Atlus: Infernum absolutely nails its tone. The world feels hostile, decayed, and suffocating in a way that constantly reinforces tension. Lighting is used sparingly. Sound design leans heavily into distant echoes, environmental groans, and subtle audio cues that make exploration feel uneasy.
Combat animations carry weight. Every swing feels deliberate. Every dodge feels urgent. Enemies look dangerous and usually are.
For the first several hours, I was fully immersed. The world felt handcrafted to make me uncomfortable. But then I started noticing the cracks.
Combat That Demands Precision and Punishes Hesitation
Infernum clearly wants to sit in that “brutal but fair” category. Stamina management matters, Positioning matters and Timing matters. All good things in a game that expects some level of skill.
The issue is that enemy tracking can sometimes feel overly aggressive, especially in tighter spaces. Dodges that look clean occasionally still connect due to wide hitboxes or delayed attack frames. When you die because you mistimed a move, that feels fair. When you die because the animation doesn’t match the impact window, that feels frustrating.
I had several moments where I paused and thought, “Did I mess that up, or did the game?” That uncertainty chips away at confidence.
Exploration Feels Rewarding Until It Isn’t
The level design encourages backtracking, vertical exploration, and discovering hidden paths. That part works well. Secrets are placed thoughtfully, and the world feels interconnected.
However, checkpoints can feel sparse depending on your route. Losing progress after a long stretch of careful movement hits harder here than in other similar titles. It makes exploration tense — but sometimes in a way that discourages experimentation.
After losing a significant amount of progress twice in one session, I found myself playing safer instead of curious.
That’s when the tone shifted for me.
Frustrations I Experienced and What Helped Me
After a particularly rough boss sequence (You know who), I started looking into online forums. A few consistent themes showed up that mirrored my experience.
Enemy Tracking and Hitboxes Feel Inconsistent
I felt certain attacks track more aggressively than expected, especially mid-combo enemies.
What helped me was slowing combat down. Instead of reacting to animation starts, I began reacting to the end of attack frames. Delaying my dodge slightly actually improved survivability.
Stamina Management Feels Punishing Early
Early builds can feel starved for stamina, making extended fights exhausting rather than challenging.
Investing into stamina and recovery early made a noticeable difference. Once I adjusted my build, combat started feeling strategic instead of suffocating.
Checkpoint Distance Can Be Frustrating
Long stretches between safe points amplify tension, but also amplify frustration after mistakes.
My adjustment was treating each new area as reconnaissance first. Instead of pushing forward aggressively, I mapped enemy placements and retreat routes before committing to deeper progress.
UI and System Clarity
Some mechanics are explained minimally, which fits the dark tone but leaves room for confusion.
Taking time to experiment in lower-risk areas and reading every tooltip carefully cleared up several misunderstandings I had about damage scaling and resistances.
Boss Encounters – Intense but Mentally Draining
Boss fights are where Infernum shines visually and stumbles mechanically. The presentation is incredible. Music swells at the right moments. Arena design adds tension.
But some encounters lean heavily into pattern memorisation rather than adaptive strategy. Once you learn the sequence, victories feel inevitable. Before that point, they feel overwhelming, well to me at least.
I don’t mind learning patterns, just casting my mind back to hollow knight! I do mind when small input delays cost entire runs.
Still, when a boss finally falls, the relief is real.
So, how melty is it?
Atmosphere and Worldbuilding – 9.2/10
Dark, oppressive, and visually striking.
Combat Weight and Feedback – 8.5/10
Heavy and satisfying, but occasionally inconsistent.
Difficulty Balance – 7.8/10
Brutal early on, smoother once builds stabilize.
Exploration Tension – 8.7/10
Rewarding but sometimes discouraging due to checkpoint spacing.
Boss Design Impact – 8.4/10
Visually memorable, mechanically uneven.
Total Melt Score: 8.2/10
Dark Atlus: Infernum doesn’t compromise. It doesn’t hold your hand. It doesn’t soften its edges.
When everything aligns, it delivers intense, rewarding combat and a world that feels genuinely oppressive. But it also demands patience, tolerance for ambiguity, and a willingness to adapt your build and playstyle.
It never completely broke me. But it came close during a few late-night boss attempts.
If you enjoy methodical combat, dark fantasy settings, and learning through failure, there’s a lot to appreciate here. Just know that Infernum doesn’t bend, you have to.
If you enjoyed this read, check out our blog on Death Howl – A Beautiful Nightmare That Broke My Brain this is a different type of horror that I think you will enjoy.
You can read more on the official dark atlus infernim website.
