5 reviews
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
Developed by a hugely-talented, Tokyo-based team headed by the legendary Sawaki Takeyasu (Devil May Cry) and Masato Kimura (Okami, Viewtiful Joe) El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, draws players into a rich storyline inspired by events in the Old Testament's apocryphal 'Book of Enoch.' In the game, players take on the role of Enoch and must har...
Details
- Released
- April 27, 2011
- Developer
- Ignition Tokyo
- Genres
- Platform · Hack and slash/Beat 'em up · Adventure
- Publisher
- UTV Ignition Entertainment
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El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron Reviews
Professional reviews from gaming critics
If you missed it back in 2011, El Shaddai ASCENSION OF THE METATRON HD Remaster is a second chance to experience a MUST PLAY in gaming.
I would be lying if I told I had heard of 2011’s El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron prior to its recent re-release on Steam. This was as niche as niche could get: a lower-budget Japanese hack n’ slash centered around the Hebrew Book of Enoch, released in the same month as bonafide classics such as Limbo, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Bastion. There was no way I would have been able to pay attention to it back in the day. Thankfully, its PC port gave me the chance I needed to revisit wh...
The PC version has no mouse and keyboard support, which might turn some players away, but otherwise it seems like a fine port. It also comes with a PDF copy of Lucifer’s Fall: Chronicles of Ceta, accessible from the launch menu as a clear bonus. This is a collection of three short stories that, according to the foreword, didn’t make the final cut of El Shaddai. It’s a nice way to further expand the story and lore of a very unique game.
A second playthrough with the HUD certainly provides for an improved experience. And the game’s aesthetics are its saving grace. But regardless, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron simply isn’t a good game. And that’s too bad, because it certainly had the makings of one.
A basic port of a cult classic action adventure that's still as visually stunning as ever, but also retains repetitive combat that makes exploration a real chore at times.
As the old adage goes, 'good things come to those who wait', and that couldn't be a more apt statement for El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, UTV Ignition's deceptively simple and narratively convoluted hack and slasher that starts out as a study in portentous, preposterous pseudo-religious madness, and then pings off in unexpected directions. You may initially think that El Shaddai is a bit boring and repetitive, and for the first few chapters, you could be forgiven for making that assum...