In Hell Maiden you won't only count with the help of Dante's beloved, Beatrice, but with the support of the Poets of Limbo — Virgil, Homer, Horace and Ovid — who will grant you their Blessings throughout each run.
* From left to right: Virgil, Homer, Horace and Ovid.
In Dante's Divine Comedy, Limbo is where the souls of virtuous pagans reside. Poets, philosophers, great thinkers and artists from antiquity who lived without sin, but whose lives came to an end before they could be introduced to God's glory.
Thus, we took inspiration from Dante's most admired historical figures and brought them to life as the Poets of Limbo!
Our inspiration for Virgil came directly from the Divine Comedy, rather than the original author of the Aeneid. That said, she is the post-mortem reincarnation of the Roman poet Virgil and not simply a different interpretation the Divine Comedy's Virgil. Just like in the original work, however, she will be Dante's guide throughout the entirety of Hell Maiden.
The author of the famous and influential poem, Metamorphosis. Much of Ovid's personality, memories and attitudes are inspired on the author's biography and the real-life events he experienced, as well as on his body of work, including his love elegies such as Heroides and Amores.
Who doesn't know about Homer and his timeless works? Our interpretation of the legendary poet was very much based on trivia and the many myths surrounding his life. As a result, our Homer is just as mysterious and elusive as the real-life historical figure she's based on!
As one of the world's first autobiographers, there's a lot to know about the original Horace — his beliefs, life-events and even his likes and dislikes. While we're taking a lot of liberties with our interpretation of Horace, she's no more assertive and level-headed than the historical poet himself.
In Hell Maiden, the Poets of Limbo will be supporting Dante throughout the story and you, the player, throughout each run with their Blessings.
Each Poet will have their very own character-themed pools featuring rare (and super rare) cards that can totally make or break your builds. As such, you'll definitely want to strategically aim for a certain Poet's skills and abilities depending on your play style!
* All text, visuals and details are still place-holders.
Additionally, every Poet of Limbo will come with their own exclusive assortment of Signature Weapons, perks and even Ultimate Attacks — each with their very own 2D animation cut!
* A still frame from Ovid's ultimate attack animation.
You'll be able to chat with each Poet of Limbo in-between each run to get know them better. They'll be available in the Forum intermittently, so make sure to talk to your favorites whenever you spot them!
What's the Forum, you ask? That's where the Poets of Limbo live their quiet and uneventful lives.
* Taken from development build, in no way representative of the final game.
There are a million possibilities when it comes to which historical figures we could potentially include in Hell Maiden. At this point in time there are only four Poets — Virgil, Homer, Horace and Ovid — but we're actually missing one of vituous pagans Dante Alighieri admired most — Lucan.
Her character design and profile will be revealed in due time, so don't forget to follow our socials!
Given our studio's visual identity and past works (Little Goody Two Shoes and Pocket Mirror), we couldn't pass up on the opportunity of reimagining the Divine Comedy and giving both the work, and the characters within it, our very own anime twist!
With other games such as Hades and Limbus Company as inspiration, we find it super fun to explore these historical figures' work and lives, and to breathe new life into classical poetry through this playful lens.
We hope Hell Maiden's reimaginings of Dante, Virgil, Homer, Horace, Ovid, Lucan (and many more to come) will be not only memorable and fun, but interesting to interact and play with!
We love sharing more about Hell Maiden while it's still in development and hope this short post sparked your interest in the game.
Don't forget to add Hell Maiden to your wishlist and share it with friends if you haven't already, we really appreciate all of the support we're getting for our first independently published title! ❤️🔥
Want to know more about Hell Maiden and our vision for the game? Check out this interview!