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 all-Italian game, in which three homosexual boys come together after lockdown to come to terms with their own frailties, their fears and the loneliness ingrained in their souls. This visual novel abandons political correctness to offer an irreverent experience, a slap in the face in many ways. Interesting, but definitely not for everyone.

Mediterranea Inferno is an excellent contemporary visual novel that will connect to you even through its eccentricities. A gorgeous presentation along with a mash of personal struggle grounded in Italian culture and LGBT-positive themes.

Mediterranea Inferno is a unique visual novel. Multiple endings allow for replayability, though the drug-induced sequences and unlikeable characters won't be for everyone. Nor will the explicit content. If you like your indie titles on the more obscure side, though, this one might be worth checking out.

Mediterranea Inferno's potent mix of enflamed sexual energy, pandemic frustrations, and tattered friendships is slightly too inconsistent in execution, but still earns some appreciation nonetheless.

I am very glad to have experienced Mediterranea Inferno as its themes and messages will stick with me for a long time; maybe even forever. Granted, it's not exactly escapist fantasy nor a fun game most of the time. It is, however, an incredible piece of art by all metrics and I implore you to play it as long as you can handle its mature elements. ☀️

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.

Undoubtedly unique and daring, but expect to far more often be a passenger than a participant

Mediterranea Inferno challenges the narrative, social and emotional conventions of what we have already seen in visual novels, and gets it right by problematizing conveniences in an unabashed and incisive way, without shame in saying, showing or poking at themes that are still so sensitive in a world that prefers to ignore its own scars.

Mediterranea Inferno is a deeply sensible work in its discussions and manages to offer an instigating psychodelic view of current social issues. The lives of the three sun boys is a curious way to think about our own blemishes, the world we live in, and what we wish for the future. Even with a few technical issues, this is a must-play and the ultimate proof of Lorenzo Redaelli's skill as a creator.