101ХР, a Russian publisher, presents a metroidvania called Red and The Deadly Sins, a debut project by Diantong, a Chinese indie studio. Inspired by Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy and deep philosophical concepts of Team Cherry’s metroidvania, Diantong’s developers created Red and The Deadly Sins.

This video game is a classic metroidvania, where the player gets to explore the world, jump on platforms, find secrets, develop their character and use a sword or a spear against their enemies. The player will face personifications of deadly sins and has to gain enough power to collect 12 memory fragments for each of the seven ancient ghosts to find out the truth behind them.

The protagonist of the game is called Ruby, and he is a regular fighter serving the Soul Cleansing Committee. His task is to free souls that were doomed by negative emotions. The Committee believes that these souls could destroy the world, if there are too many of them. To prevent this, the Committee hires many fighters just like Ruby.

The plot is not related to Chinese mythology. It is an interpretation of The Divine Comedy, or rather the hero making his way through the circles of Hell, where he meets souls, their sins, and emotions associated with them. Everything in this game, starting with the Red’s mask and traps in secret rooms to the final bosses of the game, has an existential subtext or a social commentary, that people around the globe can relate to.

Early access to Red and The Deadly Sins will be available on Steam in early May. Players will get access to the first three levels and three bosses.