El Shaddai Ascension of the Metatron HD Remaster Review

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Fast Facts

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron tells the story of Semyaza, a former member of the Council of Heaven who stole pieces of God’s wisdom to descend to Earth with the Grigori (Azazel, Ezekiel, Armaros, Sariel, Arakiel and Baraqel) due for his love of humans. This seemingly innocent incident accelerates human evolution and creates human-Grigori hybrids called Nephilim which threaten to destroy the world. To prevent this, God sends Enoch, a scribe from Heaven, to recover Grigori before the Council of Heaven wipes out the planet.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is a 2D and 3D action platformer with an easy-to-grasp, hard-to-master mentality. The game has a very simplistic control scheme where players can jump, double jump, attack, and block; typical action in this genre. But, while Enoch can defend himself, he needs to steal weaponry from enemies to avoid having to fight barefisted. You can do a simple attack or charge your attack to get through enemy defence.

Unique Combat

As you face off against generic lower-level enemies, you’ll need to stun them to grab their weapon. But doesn’t expect the weapon to be 100% fully efficient. While the weapons won’t break, they can become corrupted over time meaning they’ll be less efficient against corrupted enemies. You’ll need to bless the weapon to make it as useful as when you grabbed it. It’s a fun and diverse feature that adds a unique flair to the game as opposed to breakable weapons, but note that it leaves you briefly vulnerable. Boss battles are highly challenging and require fast reflexes but are approachable to players of all skill levels.

As you’d expect, there are some platforming sequences for a bit of gameplay variety. While more often than not you’re required to clear enemies before moving on, other times you can simply walk away. Another interesting tidbit is the health system. There’s no health bar per se; the more damage you get, the more your clothes are ripped and damaged. It’s a nice change of pace, but if you don’t pay attention, death can come in swiftly. When dying, you can mash buttons to resuscitate and keep going. Thankfully, you can pick up blue hearts to “replenish” your health.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron HD Remaster has an overall unique presentation style. Enemies are incredibly unique and borderline creepy. The visual style is somehow both minimalistic and complex. The colour palette varies through various areas; whether it be a mix of white and pale blue to darker tones such as dark orange and black. The soundtrack is a calm, majestic orchestral score that goes hand in hand with the theme and gameplay. The game’s overall presentation is a refreshing take compared to today’s common gaming AAA experiences.

Remasters are Rarely Perfect

While the game originally came out in 2011 and this title is simply the game with an HD coat of paint, a few mechanics show its age. The first is the lack of targeting; meaning you can’t target a single enemy during combat. The other nuisance is the fixed camera. While it works fine overall, the camera placement can be cumbersome for some platforming sequences causing players to fall.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron HD Remaster is one of the best, more hidden gems, 2D/3D action platformers available today. The combat is fun and challenging, the story, albeit a bit confusing, is still intriguing and the presentation is simplistic yet complex. Sure there are a few outdated mechanics, but it won’t hinder the overall enjoyment of this game. Whether you’ve played it back in the day or this is your first go-round, you can’t go wrong with El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron HD Remaster.

Rapid Reviews Rating

4 out of 5

4

El Shaddai Ascension of the Metatron HD Remaster can be purchased on the Nintendo eShop.