Mediterranea Inferno follows three young Italian men as they attempt to reconnect after the pandemic snipped the ties they had to each other. It often feels reminiscent of an "art house" movie with its abstract and unsettling visuals, tackling themes of isolation and responsibility foisted upon the younger generation in an increasingly volatile world. Also, to quote a fellow Grouvee user, Sir Laguna, who made me aware of the game months back, "it is very, very gay."

I'm not Italian, but it's still hard not to feel like I'm the target audience for this game. I was in my last semester of college when the pandemic hit and it had quite an impact on my transition into the "real world." Inferno looks to explore the effects of the global event on those who entered adulthood around that time and I found myself relating pretty heavily to a lot of the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist trio. What I really liked was it also tries to avoid the pitfall of just being an echo chamber of frustration. Especially in the latter half of the game and in the true ending, you get to see some pushback on the very pessimistic perceptions presented throughout. It aims to create a discussion, rather than preach and then walk away.

The game is also brazenly homoerotic, and that's really putting it lightly. It was refreshing to experience a piece of media that doesn't feel like it's trying to compromise on its queerness or leverage it to virtue signal. The main characters are messy and horny but also dealing with a lot of trauma, and I really appreciated the depth in the way they're written.