The old adage warns that you should never judge a book by its cover.
But in modern day nerdy analogy, it’s probably fair to say you should never judge a game by its title.
For Western audiences more accustomed to A-List game names containing the words ‘War/Football/Gun/Kaboom’, something like El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is likely going to attract only the hardcore of Jap-RPG loving enthusiasts.
Which is something that can only work in its favour should enough gamers get around to actually playing it. Undoubtedly one of the most stylish and bonkers games to come out of a mainstream developer this year, it’s (brace yourselves) fundamentally a hack’n’slash platformer wrapped up in the tale of an ancient Jewish legend (inspired by the story of Noah’s ancestor), and funnelled through pretty much every oddball form of artistic expressionism going (Dadaism, cubism and more).
The quasi-religious-cum-explosively-actiontastic story finds Enoch (said Noah descendent) on the hunt to bring down seven fallen angels via the wonderful medium of his smash-heavy fists and some pretty incredible weaponry.
As you do.
From the moment you’re flung into El Shaddai’s fantastical, trippy surroundings, it’s guaranteed to grab hold with its singularity of vision, artistic flare and sheer eyeball-frazzling craziness. Yet while the core gameplay is a hoot and such originality should be commended, it’s ‘look at me I’m all different and stuff’ tone is likely to annoy as many as easily as it appeals (warning you now – there’s waffly dialogue aplenty and a post-modernist, fourth-wall breaking playfulness that can grate).
Still, with visuals that are some of the most beautiful and surreal I’ve seen on any platform, a corking soundtrack and a quirkiness that just about snags its onemoreplay-ability factor, you’d do far worse than passing up on this summer’s slew of movie cash-ins and brainless sequels and opting for something that’s every bit as bonkers as its title and pseudo-21st-century-book cover suggests.
[Rating:3.5/5]
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is on General Release now, and available on Xbox 360 and PS3.
