El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron

73%
Game Brain Score Based on 306 reviews
  • graphics
  • gameplay
  • story
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron Game Cover
Completely unique and good fun to play, El Shaddai is a refreshing change and well worth adding to your collection. If nothing else, it's a joy to the senses
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"El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron" is an action-adventure game that follows the journey of Enoch as he ascends through the heavens to defeat the fallen angels and prevent a great flood. The game is known for its unique art style, inspired by religious paintings and sculptures, and its fluid, fast-paced combat system. With a mix of platforming, puzzle-solving, and combat, players must navigate through surreal environments and battle against strange and powerful enemies.

  • PC
  • Windows
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

73%
Audience ScoreBased on 306 reviews
graphics38 positive mentions
grinding12 negative mentions
  • The art direction and visual design are stunning, creating a unique and immersive experience that feels like a 'playable painting'.
  • The game features a variety of environments and levels that are visually diverse and creatively designed, keeping the experience fresh.
  • The soundtrack is engaging and complements the game's atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience.
  • The combat system is simplistic and repetitive, lacking depth and variety, which can lead to a tedious gameplay experience.
  • The platforming mechanics are often frustrating due to poor camera control and design, making navigation difficult.
  • The PC port is barebones, lacking essential features like keyboard support and comprehensive graphics options, and it suffers from frequent crashes.
  • graphics122 mentions

    The game's graphics are widely praised for their stunning, unique, and artistic style, often described as a "playable painting" that combines ethereal visuals with a diverse color palette reminiscent of titles like *Gravity Rush* and *Evangelion*. While the visuals are captivating and immersive, some players have noted technical issues such as screen tearing and a lack of in-game graphical settings, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, the game's aesthetic remains a significant highlight, making it a worthwhile experience for those who appreciate visually striking games.

    • “The overall aesthetic is gorgeous, unique, and utterly breathtaking at times.”
    • “10 years later and it still presents you with jaw-dropping visuals that have aged like fine wine.”
    • “The visuals are stunning, unique, varied, and interesting.”
    • “You can only change a few graphics settings in a launcher window before starting the game itself, and it's crashed several times during my playthrough.”
    • “The blurry graphics make you blind.”
    • “1 hour in, I keep getting a ton of screen tearing and the ugly graphics keep pulling me out of the immersion and the beauty of the art style.”
  • gameplay120 mentions

    The gameplay of "El Shaddai" is often described as simplistic and repetitive, lacking depth and variety, which can lead to a tedious experience. While some mechanics, like weapon stealing and purification, show potential, they are not fully explored, and the combat system can feel clunky, especially on higher difficulties. Despite these shortcomings, the game's unique visuals and artistic design provide an engaging backdrop that keeps players invested, making it a worthwhile experience for those who appreciate its eccentricity.

    • “The weapon stealing and switching mechanic is interesting, and not having to purchase skills nor perform complicated inputs is appreciated, as is the length; my first run through on normal clocks in at 10 hours with a bit of macguffin collecting here and there.”
    • “That chapter blew my mind because (without spoilers) it is the one chapter that completely deviates from the standard gameplay - and it is awesome and super fun to play.”
    • “You also have a decent amount of variety in gameplay between combat, the platforming and some puzzle solving.”
    • “There is lots of effort put into this game in every aspect except the gameplay, which just consists of fighting an enemy group and then walking to the next enemy group.”
    • “The main gameplay is unfortunately too simplistic; it is bare bones, which would not be a problem if there were maybe more different gameplay sections in the game. This way, it is simply too tiring to play.”
    • “All the bosses are damage sponges with minimal mechanical differences between phases and are poorly tuned on higher difficulties.”
  • story89 mentions

    The story of the game is loosely based on the apocryphal Book of Enoch, featuring a visually striking but often confusing narrative that lacks clear exposition and character development. While some players appreciate its unique and impressionistic storytelling style, many find it difficult to follow, filled with plot holes and anticlimactic resolutions. Overall, the narrative is seen as a mix of intriguing ideas and frustrating ambiguity, leaving players divided on its effectiveness.

    • “The story is inspired by several religious stories, but hard to understand and often doesn't make sense, yet it's just so weird and fresh that I couldn't help but be kind of invested in it.”
    • “Visually striking, intriguing story and decent enough combat; El Shaddai will stick with you for how unique it is and how beautiful its landscapes are.”
    • “The story does some pretty interesting experiments with how it's told, especially in the early exposition stages where you're interacting with things that would be cutscenes in other games.”
    • “Let's leave all the discussion of the religious symbolisms in this game to all of our favorite YouTube video essayists and just very briefly discuss whether this game is worth playing: the story feels like it drops you in the middle of a franchise without explaining anything about the world properly; there is not a single character that is interesting or is not absolute cringe.”
    • “Unfortunately, despite its interesting twists and takes on its source material, it has a lot of plot holes and loose threads that never really get explained.”
    • “There is a lot going on all the time and the game will not give you any time to 'breathe.' If you think Final Fantasy XIII was confusing, then El Shaddai will terrify you because the game's story just progresses as if you're already supposed to know exactly what is going on the moment you boot the game.”
  • music58 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its eclectic and well-composed soundtrack, featuring a mix of orchestral, ambient, and even jazz influences that enhance the overall atmosphere. While some reviewers noted that the sound design is good but not particularly memorable, many highlighted the music as a standout element that complements the game's stunning visuals and engaging gameplay. However, a few critiques mentioned that the older game's music transitions could be abrupt during cutscenes, detracting slightly from the experience.

    • “A fantastic action/adventure game with excellent music and beautiful art design alongside a surprisingly kinesthetic combat system.”
    • “The soundtrack is, simply put, divine.”
    • “The aesthetics and music are stellar, and I can see why this game is such a labor of love.”
    • “The only issue I have with the music presentation is that as this was an older game, music will just immediately cut off when you progress to a cutscene trigger. More modern games are better at fading it out or transitioning it as required.”
    • “The only issue I have with the music presentation is that as this was an older game, music will just immediately cut off when you progress to a cutscene trigger. More modern games are better at fading it out or transitioning it as required.”
    • “Not that it's not fun sniping down enemies with your gale, but the combat is secondary to the environment, the music, and the feeling of everything around you.”
  • grinding12 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and monotonous, with players expressing frustration over unskippable walking sections and the lack of clear indicators for gameplay mechanics like the "overboost" system. While the combat and platforming have potential, they often devolve into repetitive tasks that detract from the overall experience. Many reviewers suggest that the game is only worth playing if one is willing to overlook its grindy elements and focus on the narrative.

    • “The worst thing this game does, while not unique to El Shaddai by any means, is include tedious, unskippable walking sections that add nothing of value to the experience.”
    • “Full of grindy nonsense, and the rank achievement for hard is unfair, sadistic, and extremely tedious.”
    • “There is an 'overboost' system you get by chapter 4 where Enoch pairs up with the angel Uriel to put out some massive damage, but grinding for the orbs to increase your overboost level only increases its duration, and even then, there is no way to tell when it will pop since there is no in-game meter or visual cue that leads up to it until you are ready to activate it.”
  • atmosphere8 mentions

    The atmosphere in El Shaddai is highly praised for its stunning visuals, captivating music, and strong storytelling elements, contributing to a unique and immersive experience. However, some reviewers feel that despite the impressive atmosphere and level design, the overall experience falls short of being exceptional.

    • “Great visuals, music, and captivating atmosphere.”
    • “There's a heavy focus on the visuals, atmosphere, and storytelling.”
    • “- cool visuals, style, and atmosphere.”
    • “Whilst El Shaddai's level design, atmosphere, biblical subtext, and presentation are all top-notch, the experience as a whole is average at best.”
    • “There's a heavy focus on the visuals and atmosphere, but it doesn't translate into an engaging experience.”
    • “The atmosphere is visually striking, yet it feels hollow and lacks depth in gameplay.”
  • humor6 mentions

    The humor in the game is a blend of absurdity and religious themes, reminiscent of titles like Devil May Cry 3, infused with a unique, nonsensical charm. Additionally, the game's strong meme culture in Japan adds to its comedic appeal, making it a source of entertainment both in and out of gameplay. However, some players feel that the pacing detracts from the overall experience.

    • “This game is basically what you'd get if the creators of Shin Megami Tensei decided to make a game that's essentially a highly religious take on Devil May Cry 3, featuring the same humor and action direction but with significantly more nonsense.”
    • “There's an enormous meme culture for El Shaddai in Japan, and those videos are hilarious.”
    • “The funny thing is, both of these alternatives are present within the game, so I don't know why I'm still forced to hold forward on my controller for minutes at a time.”
  • optimization6 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed feedback. While it runs well on Linux with Proton 6.3-8 after initial audio stuttering, some users have reported frame time spikes and stuttering issues even on high-end systems like the 3090 and 5900x. Despite these concerns, many players found the game to be fully playable.

    • “Weird frame time spikes, causing hitches/stuttering even on a 3090/5900x system.”
    • “I've been waiting to see this game ported; I was kind of worried about optimization, but that isn't the case at all.”
    • “With Proton 6.3-8, the game was fully playable on Linux, with some stuttering of audio in the first few runs, but then it disappeared and audio worked great.”
  • replayability4 mentions

    The game offers strong replayability with a concise 8-10 hour playtime, allowing players to easily pick it up and put it down. Users appreciate the opportunity to discover hidden secrets and tackle higher difficulty levels, enhancing the overall experience.

    • “A good 8-10 hour length with plenty of replay value to find hidden secrets and to challenge higher difficulties.”
    • “Short, replayable, easy to pick up and put down; I would wholeheartedly recommend this.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development is praised for its impressive design, which enhances player engagement, while the progression through weapon upgrades adds a rewarding sense of growth to the characters.

    • “The character design is great and the weapons give a nice sense of progression.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    Many users express frustration with the prevalence of cheap cash grabs in the gaming industry, often characterized by excessive microtransactions that detract from the overall experience. This trend raises concerns about the prioritization of profit over quality in game development.

    • “I wonder why the industry is full of developers who just make cheap cash grabs filled with microtransactions?”
    • “I wonder why the industry is full of developers who just make cheap cash grabs filled with microtransactions?”
  • stability2 mentions

    Overall, users report excellent stability, with no crashes or performance drops, even on older graphics hardware.

    • “It runs great with no drops or issues on my now outdated graphics card and hasn't crashed at all.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

83% average critic score

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