Hell Maiden, a roguelike bullet heaven game that draws inspiration from Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, has launched today in early access. The game puts a unique spin on the classic epic by featuring anime-styled characters, including the protagonist Dante, who finds herself back in Hell with amnesia and a drive to ascend to Paradiso.
As players progress through the nine circles of Hell, they will encounter various poets from Limbo, whose characteristics influence gameplay. Mechanically, Hell Maiden fuses elements from titles like Vampire Survivors and Hades. This involves fending off enemy hordes by building up a variety of attacks that trigger automatically at set intervals, incorporating deckbuilding mechanics. The game also features the roguelike structure of repeated runs, where players gain strength and progress across multiple attempts, akin to Hades.
Being an early access release, Hell Maiden's current content includes the first two circles of Hell, four poets of Limbo, two bosses, and one mid-boss. Future updates are planned, with the next patch slated for 2026. This update is set to introduce an additional story chapter and circle of Hell, another poet of Limbo, more weapons, a new boss, and new achievements.
Subsequent patches will add further content, including more bosses and weapons, alongside difficulty modifiers and a compendium. The developers intend for Hell Maiden to remain in early access for approximately one year. A price increase is planned upon the game's full 1.0 release. Currently, the game is available on Steam for $10.