Have you ever played a game where you have no idea what’s going on, but you’re so fascinated that you can’t put your controller down? I’m sure there are a few titles that come to mind, like the confusing plots of Metal Gear Solid and Kingdom Hearts titles. As of late, I’ve felt this with the newly-released El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. I simply can’t remember the last time I was so dumbfounded by a plot, yet so entranced by a title’s presentation that I threw it to the wayside and pressed on.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron was originally an Xbox 360/PS3 title developed by Ignition Tokyo and published by UTV Ignition Games in 2011. Now after ten years, it’s received a PC port onto Steam, upscaling the graphics and bumping up the framerate to 60fps in-game. Cutscenes are presented in their original downscaled/30fps form, as handling this is likely a large expense that the current devs/publishers, Crim Co. Ltd, wanted to bypass for the sake of saving some cash.

What makes El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron a truly unique rush is the visually arresting landscapes that you traverse. Taking on the role of real-life biblical figure Enoch, you’re tasked with saving the world from an impending flood by reclaiming fallen angels. The religious overtones may go over a lot of heads that aren’t familiar with the source material (myself included), but I didn’t mind as the narrative was still digestible and I understood what the end goal was for my character.

Levels are seriously large, but the load times (even on SSD/better) for El Shaddai are unbelievably long. Booting up a save will take a solid minute due to the sheer size of levels and the seamless transitions within them. Additionally, there are a few interactive loading screens, such as the beginning credits, which break up the standard loading screens you might see otherwise. Regardless, the loading times aren’t really a problem, as the levels are worth the wait. I found myself stopping for a second in every new area in awe of what my eyes were processing. I think the only other title of this era that managed to also do this was Alice: Madness Returns.

As far as combat goes, it incorporates a compelling system that’s based on stealing your foes’ weapons during a fight. There are three weapon types: a nimble sword dubbed an Arch, a rapid-fire ranged projectile in a Gale, and a walloping Veil. I found myself favoring the second as I could overwhelm enemies but also enjoyed the risk/reward of the Gale as it could dispatch foes in no time with well-timed hits and parries. Bosses were the only enemies that posed a real threat, and identifying their attack patterns was key to success.

I could go on about the intricacies of this title for ages, but I think it’s best experienced with a fresh head and not knowing too much to spoil the experience. It’s a bit flawed in the sense that it has long load times, an archaic plot, a need for a controller, and can have repetitive combat, but every other aspect of El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron encapsulate the term “hidden gem” and it’s a gift that it can be experienced in this fashion after all this time.

A PC review copy of El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron was provided by Crim Co. Ltd for this review.

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El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron

$29.99

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Breathtaking Environments
• Neat Combat Twist
• Fascinating Plot

Cons

• Archaic Plot
• Rough Load Times