El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron Review

By Keza MacDonald Published 9 September, 2011

Shaddai or shouldn't I?

Version tested: PlayStation 3

Editor's note: This import review of the Japanese version of El Shaddai was originally published in June 2011. We present it again to mark the game's release in the UK and Europe today. There are no differences between the versions significant enough to affect our opinion of this great game. Be sure to check out our article on The Making of El Shaddai, too.

El Shaddai has everything you could ever want from a Japanese game. It has a transforming robot made out of motorbikes, a moonwalking dance master throwing shapes in front of the screen whilst you try desperately to fend off his minions, doves with boxing gloves for heads that gently but assertively butt you out of the air mid-jump, and so much more. Anybody who has ever spent time rummaging hopefully in the import section - it's out in Japan now, with a Western release planned for later this year - was hoping to find something like this.

And despite the fact that everybody's clothes come off as they take damage, there are absolutely no uncomfortably young-looking ladies in improbable outfits. Instead, there are topless blonde angel hunks and eerily naked humanoid blob-things. And giant, masked and armoured pigs. And monocular pyramid-headed Guardians that turn into giant bats. And and and.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is the maddest and most beautiful thing I have played since... I don't even know. Probably Space Channel 5. It takes you on a breathtaking aesthetic journey that begins with strange, abstractly tribal landscapes and majestically solemn religious imagery before cartwheeling off in completely unexpected directions. The only thing that even remotely compares to it in terms of visual impact is Child of Eden. El Shaddai isn't perfect, but it doesn't have to be; it's unique, and that's much more important.

It's enormously gratifying that El Shaddai turns out to be so wonderfully varied, because at first it comes across as a bit limited and self-aware. Games with strong aesthetic statements do often take themselves a bit too seriously. The first chapter or two busy themselves with teaching you the basics of the combat system, introducing the three weapons that you can steal from stunned enemies and establishing a regular pattern of battle-rich 3D environments interspersed with stunningly beautiful 2D platforming interludes.

But about a third of the way through the game, it begins to reinvent itself dramatically with every new chapter. It gets better and better.

The combat itself is deceptively simple, with one button to attack, one to block and one to jump. It's all about timing. Button-mashing will get you the odd three-hit combo, but pausing just a half-second between button-presses changes the type of attack that you unleash, allowing you to chain balletic sequences of counter-attacks and dodges without getting hit. Once you get a feel for it, it's rhythmic and instinctive.

What gives the combat its kick is the ability to leap upon stunned enemies and steal their weapons for yourself, letting you switch quickly between battle styles. There are only three different weapons: the Arch, which looks vaguely like that curved thing that Klingons slice people up with; the Gale, which is a projectile weapon that sends explosive darts of light at foes; and the Veil, which essentially turns your hands into giant hammers.

They have something of a rock-paper-scissors relationship, and bosses have coloured haloes or other visual cues to indicate what they're weak to at any one moment. As the game progresses you gain Boost and Overboost powers, which let you regenerate armour and call upon heavenly spirits to strike with you.

El Shaddai's combat looks completely different when you're watching a skilled player, as opposed to someone who's just bashing their way through. El Shaddai really is all about the visual, and when you're playing it right, it rivals Bayonetta in fluidity and spectacle.

As for those 2D platforming interludes, they're mostly there to give El Shaddai's visual designers space for their overactive imaginations to spill over. Sometimes our hero, Enoch, and the platforms are just black silhouettes against a backdrop of exquisite stained glass; sometimes you're running across cresting waves; often the light sources change as platforms fall from the sky beneath your feet. There's no way to describe El Shaddai's visual style without sounding like an amateur poet, but the screenshots don't lie.

This is where I would traditionally attempt to give you the bare bones of the plot, but frankly I have absolutely no idea what's going on, and in fact I suspect that El Shaddai is all the more glorious when you don't understand what's happening.

You play Enoch, the aforementioned blonde angel hunk. Then there's Lucifel, with his carefully spiked hair, host-bar outfit with undone shirt, mobile phone and translucent plastic umbrella, eternally out of place in Ascension of the Metatron's luminescent, ethereal worlds. He's the narrator, dropping in and out to stroll casually about a paused scene, talking in riddles and offering advice, or leaning against a pillar having a chat about how you're doing on his mobile (and, helpfully, offering you the opportunity to save).

The wonderful thing about El Shaddai's story, art direction and style is that it's not self-consciously Japanese. Most jaw-droppingly beautiful games - Odin's Sphere, Muramasa, Okami - retreat into traditional art to find their style, but El Shaddai is futuristic, science-fictional, psychedelic.

There's a fantastic motorbike interlude in Chapter 5 where it suddenly turns into Tron; then it very comfortably transforms again for the next chapter, dropping you into a washed-out negative of an Escher-like geometric landscape. The music, too, varies from quasi-religious chanting and wailing to minimalist electronica and, occasionally, the odd J-rock guitar, never clashing with its visual context. It's astonishingly comfortable with regular aesthetic reinvention.

It's not quite so happy to reinvigorate the gameplay, though, which is the one thing that counts against El Shaddai. Once you've learned to use the three weapons effectively, which didn't take me more than a few hours of experimentation, there are no new combat innovations to look forward to, and the enemies are similarly limited to the same three fighting styles throughout, however various their forms.

It can also be a total bitch at times, particularly the bosses. It's not afraid to be difficult, which is something I really like in a game, but which can also undoubtedly be frustrating. The platforming requires a real feel for distance and timing, and it's very strict about whether or not you've landed exactly on a surface - come down just at the edge, and you'll fall off.

Falling is actually more of a problem in the 3D sections, where El Shaddai's incredible art very occasionally gets in the way of being able to see where you're supposed to go. Lose your rhythm in the fights, meanwhile, and the tide quickly turns.

But I'm continually drawn back to the way that El Shaddai makes me feel. Like Bayonetta, like Rez, like Okami, it changes the way you think about games - and yet it's remarkably unpretentious. It's not got quite enough gameplay meat on its bones to position it alongside those classics, but it's been the most refreshing experience of the year so far, and visually it truly is incomparable.

Plus, and most importantly to me, it's stratospherically mad. At the point where I emerged out of a narrow corridor into what turned out to be a vast stadium and a gyrating dance master exploded from the sea in an outfit that would make Lady Gaga proud, I almost collapsed with joy. If that sounds like you, this could the best thing you buy this year.

9 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy

Comments (93) Latest comment 8 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • schnide #1 12 months ago

    !

  • andywilkie35 #2 12 months ago

    Is the Dirt 3 advert designed to keep popping up everytime you press close? Poorly designed, must try harder.

    Game sounds excellent though, although I missed a paragraph due to said advert above.

  • Haunted_Tree #3 12 months ago

    Been looking forward to this since the first previews. Not sure whether it has mass market appeal but we need a game with imagination and depth to shine a light amongst the gloom.

  • mrpon #4 12 months ago

    What is going on with that front page image?!

  • StolenGlory #5 12 months ago

    Ni...Nin...NINE?!

    :o

    Well, this is on my radar now. Fo Sho'.

  • oupe #6 12 months ago

    So if I'm correct I'd have to import this for PS3 since the 360 is region locked?

  • Golgo #7 12 months ago

    Glad to hear PS3 is region free as this sounds more appealing in Japanese. Translated I guess you'll be hit with all the Biblical guff that - ostensibly - it takes inspiration from.

  • mingster #8 12 months ago

    Well you mentioned all games I like in that review this looks like a must buy

  • evild_edd #9 12 months ago

    Wow. Out of nowhere, to a degree.

    I assumed and feared that this would be a style over substance (which it sounds like it may still be, to a degree), but when compared with other games that have gone for such an approach (Rez/Okami) and managed it successfully, I'm now very, very tempted....

    Still can't imagine it doing well in the charts though, unfortunately.

  • gamotakon #10 12 months ago

    Before this review I thought this was an interesting game... now, I WANT IT NOW!!!

  • Mister-Wario #11 12 months ago

    It sounds wonderful. Yet another original game doomed to poor sales and obscurity.

  • DreadedWalrus #12 12 months ago

    Played the demo of this on 360 (it's all 100% in English, and give you a choice of English/Japanese subs and dubs), and it's probably the most artistically beautiful game this generation. It looks good in screenshots, but it's magnificent when you're playing it. I'll be picking it up when it comes out over here for sure.

  • Powerslave #13 12 months ago

    Can someone confirm if the Japanese version has English menus/voices? If so, I would import right now!

  • rick1199 #14 12 months ago

    Any idea about how easy this is to play if you dont speak Japanese? Are the menus all foreign? The tutorials? Can anything be read by English speakers? Does it make any difference?

    I'm tempted to get this, but need a bit more information.

  • Shinetop #15 12 months ago

    Nice boobs, dude.

  • Snufkin #16 12 months ago

    A persuasive review. This looks like its barking mental and all the better for it. Can't wait. When's the EU release??

  • Keza #17 12 months ago

    It's not that bad without Japanese - the actual gameplay is easy to pick up, the menus have important things like Save and Load in English. To be honest I can't make head nor tail of the plot even *with* pretty good Japanese, so I don't reckon it'd be a problem.

  • 32768Colours #18 12 months ago

    @DreadedWalrus

    I completely agree with you regarding how it looks in action. I haven't played it, but in motion this game is easily one of the most beautiful games I've ever seen. Isn't it sad that there aren't more full price titles that take advantage of the artistic possibilities gaming offers?

    I'm going to check to see whether there's any footage on the internet to see what the English dub sounds like, and if its poor or ill-fitting, I'll plump for a PS3 import.

  • Timotei #19 12 months ago

    Why is he wearing a dress? and has tits?

  • Progguitarist #20 12 months ago

    The demo was actually quite brilliant. Did not expect a 9/10 though!

  • Zaiz #21 12 months ago

    The front page image is unfortunate.

    More importantly, the new screenshots for this game look fantastic. When it was first announced, they discussed how good it would look, so I checked the screenshots and it looked like arse. Looks much better now.

  • spudsbuckley #22 12 months ago

    Leftfield wacky jappy game in high EG score shocker!

    I predict at least an 8 from EDGE now as well.

  • StolenGlory #23 12 months ago

    "wacky jappy".

    Racist much?

  • Shinetop #24 12 months ago

    How is that racist?

  • Pasco #25 12 months ago

    The animations look bad in videos, the framerate is variable despite the minimalist graphics and the character seems lost in the platforming sections because I have problems recognizing where he is in 3D space. They don't seem to get the basics right. I will pass.

  • spudsbuckley #26 12 months ago

    I'm sure the videogame I'm describing will be heartbroken by my "racism".

  • CloudXIV #27 12 months ago

    I knew this game is gonna be good, but I wasn't expecting a 9. Definitely getting it when it hits Europe.

  • Kaminari #28 12 months ago

    It looks more like a case of buggy graphics which the designers thought would be unexpectedly artsy.

  • PixelPirate #29 12 months ago

    Yay sounds as epic as i was hoping!

    edit Good luck for the future Kezza, EG is loosing its best reviewer!
    Edited by PixelPirate at 01/06/11 @ 13:26

  • lord_fartsalot #30 12 months ago

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • apoc_reg #31 12 months ago

    wow 9 month continues, is this worth importing or does it have a lot of text etc?

  • P1GEONPOO #32 12 months ago

    anyone know the best place to import from?

  • RobTheBuilder #33 12 months ago

    This looks mental in a fantastic way.

  • CloisterBlack #34 12 months ago

    Am I the only one who thinks that the front page image for the article is wrong in at least 15 different ways?

  • GamesConnoisseur #35 12 months ago

    Played the demo from Japanese PSN Store before the PSN downtime, was well impressed and loved the visual style and would recommend people to try demo and see for yourself.

    Import may be worthwhile but I would wait for US English localisation to import, as I don't read Kanji beyond a mere handful of symbols!

    Glad the game got critically positive review.

  • orangpelupa #36 12 months ago

    whats wrong with the dirt 3 ads and front page image?
    ugh... i limited browsing internet with no images or multimedia.....

    btw reading the review it seems good, my friend played the jap ver on xbox also said its good. hmm but still wondering about the story... the article not mention much in story ....

    hoping the story not got too many japan melodrama in wrong place wrong time a-la FF 13....

  • Nithron #37 12 months ago

    EG, please sort out your weird screenshot system. I don't know if it's meant to be this way, but I can't click on the actual screenshots in the reviews to enlarge them. I have to go to the screenshot gallery. At that point, if I do enlarge them, not only is the default some crappy, tiny, useless resolution, but the Full Size button somehow manages to display so off center that about 10% of the image disappears off the left side of the screen, along with most of the gallery controls (although thankfully not the Next button).

    Thanks.

    (running Chrome, btw)
    Edited by Nithron at 01/06/11 @ 14:15

  • IkariW #38 12 months ago

    I think I definitely Shad pick this up! ;)

  • JayKwon #39 12 months ago

    I am gonna buy this now 100%. This sounds perfect for me! I'm happy:). And the developer will hopefully be happy as well with my money:).

  • StolenGlory #40 12 months ago

    "I'm sure the videogame I'm describing will be heartbroken by my "racism"

    Nah, just the rest of us disappointed by your distinct lack of class.
    Edited by StolenGlory at 01/06/11 @ 14:54

  • ToAks #41 12 months ago

    NOW THATS A REVEW! the demo was kick ass. i so want this, i'll get it day one when we get the western ed.

  • Stompy #42 12 months ago

    Post deleted at 23:13:35 17-04-2012

  • Golgo #43 12 months ago

    ^ Just went and read it. It's guff.

  • djed #44 12 months ago

    MacDonald doing another 9/10 review for a strange japanese game? Count me in :)

  • suteaka #45 12 months ago

    Based on this review is it safe to assume that the reviewer didn't actually finish the game? Bosses are described as being tough but no mention of how the game sets up that there are so many of them and it turns out there aren’t and how anti-climactic the ending is.

    The game hit #3 in the charts the week it was released because the early trailer's corny dialogue became an internet meme and that built a bunch of hype. But once the game released and everyone saw how they'd cut corners and rushed to finish (like lack of fully rendered cut scenes; pretty much what you saw in the trailer is it) that by the following week there were so many people trading it in that most game stores would barely give anything for it. It's currently in the bargain bin. Ignition knew it wasn't going to live up to the hype so they rushed out the soundtrack and art book and other junk with the game launch before anyone could catch on.

    Looks great and the soundtrack is good but otherwise it fails to deliver.

  • evnewell #46 12 months ago

    With this and Outland soon to be available, I am going to be busy. Thank you, I'll take two!

  • TruWari3r #47 12 months ago

    Strange, played the demo (japanese xbox live) and while aesthetically it's top notch I found it to be very repetitive and out of date gameplay wise.

    Never would have expected it to get a 9.

    As for region locks, all ps3 games are region free (although sony published games require same region for dlc), a lot of 360 games are too. Japanese 360 games however not, so wait for the US or Asia release to see if they're region free.

    /edit: I knew this would get negged. Really anyone playing the demo on the 360 will be thrown back in time gameplay wise but be pleased about the chosen visuals. Not for everyone and surprised it got a 9 as it really is a niche.
    Edited by TruWari3r at 03/06/11 @ 13:14

  • menage #48 12 months ago

    SOLD!!!!!!

  • HokutoNoKen #49 12 months ago

    El Shaddai Demo Analysis - PS3

    Max FPS: 60
    Min FPS: 29.5
    Averange: 46.714
    Tearing: 0

    [link url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae4PX_gkLd8
    ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae4PX_gkLd8
    [/link]

    El Shaddai Demo Analysis - XBOX360

    Max FPS: 59.5
    Min FPS: 28.5
    Averange: 38.679
    Tearing: 0

    [link url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDdAZrfLDT8
    ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDdAZrfLDT8
    [/link]

    / Ken

  • mingster #50 12 months ago

    I have a patch file that turns the whole game completely into English. Menus, Subtitles, info screens the whole lot. All perfectly translated. Unfortunately you need a cfw on the ps3 to be able to ftp the data file you need from the disk to inject the english into. If your interested PM me.

  • Obiwanshinobi #51 12 months ago

    Pretty good performance there (excellent by this gen lousy standards). I wonder if there's much difference in the control latency department between versions.

  • Ahskay #52 12 months ago

    I'm trying to find something that makes me wonder how Bayonetta changed my views of gaming...nope, nothing at all. Now if you would've said Vanquish!

  • orangpelupa #53 12 months ago

    argh why the xbox version not get english patch....

    the ps3 version already got eng patch now....

  • Nobunaga #54 12 months ago

    Good review Keza, thx. Could you enlighten us about the language choices - is there an English option?

  • Scimarad #55 12 months ago

    I love the style of this game but I found the actual gameplay a total turn off in the demo.

  • erp #56 12 months ago

    Is this essentially a hack-and-slash game with platforming interludes? If so I think I might have to pass, because unfortunately I'm allergic to hack-and-slash games.

    This review sounds mostly great but the comparisons to Bayonetta worry me, as 15hrs into that particular game I felt like I was becoming braindead from overwhelming tedium so I stopped playing it and sold it on.

    I really hope I will like El Shaddai, as the original aesthetic and in particular the total bonkersness really appeal, but I'm just not sure the gameplay's going to be for me...

    I guess I should just play the demo when the Japanese PSN gets switched back on and make a decision based on that.

  • mingster #57 12 months ago

    erp you wont like this game it is like bayonetta or devil may cry it is hack n slash.

  • Matthew_Hornet #58 12 months ago

    ALL MY HOPES AND DREAMS HAVE COME TRUE. ALL MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED. IT IS AS THOUGH RAW CREATION TOOK FLIGHT FROM MY DREAMS AND CRYSTALLIZED INTO SOFTWARE. I SHALL EXPERIENCE THIS ASCENSION AND WE SHALL BE AS ONE - or at least I will once the European version comes out.

    But seriously, this sounds as good as I had hoped it would be when I first learned of the game. In all the ways.

    Also, is it true that the game doesn't contain inappropriately sexualized female characters? And even replaces them with good looking MALE characters? Because that would MAKE MY DAY. Please say it's true!

    P.S. I love the androgynous look for the main character - after all, he's an angel! How do you think they should look? Plus somebody finally had the balls to go all the way with the prettyboy archetype, hopefully making a few people uncomfortable along the way.
    Edited by Matthew_Hornet at 02/06/11 @ 22:05

  • erp #59 12 months ago

    Thanks, mingster.

    Oh well. I guess I may as well grab the demo anyway, but it sounds unlikely it'll grab me unfortunately.

  • lewisg #60 12 months ago

    Glad to hear its as fun as it looks

  • freethinker101 #61 10 months ago

    Really good to hear someone describe Bayonetta as an unpretentious classic. This line alone will make me buys this game!

  • JadedSoul #62 9 months ago

    Post deleted at 08:10:55 26-04-2012

  • menage #63 9 months ago

    Ok, I'm getting this, just because it's different enough from the rest of the pack to warrant purchase.

  • RoOhDaMite #64 9 months ago

    For all its Artstyle glory the combat and platforming seems quite dated. Whereas the japanese-painting style suited Okamis Nippon world rather well, the expressionistic style in this game hits me as random.

  • linksdad #65 9 months ago

    If its not a mainstream success it will only be a matter of weeks before it is heavily discounted.

  • TheEarlOfZinger #66 9 months ago

    This game is the tits.

  • ProtoformX #67 9 months ago

    Having just finished Deus Ex I was considering getting Space Marine next, but having read some reviews for that and, for some strange reason, only just seen this, I think I'll plonk for this instead.

  • Trafford #68 9 months ago

    The demo was interesting, but I put it down quickly.
    Will have another look.

  • login_name #69 9 months ago

    Everyone seems to be reviewing this well but the demo I played was awful. It looks great but the gameplay was very basic and repetitive. I'm all for great art, and in todays western dominated industry a game like this is a breath of fresh air, but I wonder if this game would have rated so highly if Japan was still the creative tour de force it once was and great Japanese games were a dime a dozen. I feel some gamers are so starved of great Japanese developed titles that they'll rate anything that even hints at the "glory days".

  • Agent_Orange #70 9 months ago

    After playing the demo I wasn't that impressed! Sure an interesting art style, but the actual gameplay wasn't that good... Just a generic hack and slash where you can steal enemies weapons. When you re in the 3d sections it's sometimes hard to see where you are jumping to and you end up falling down holes because the camera wont change.
    Edited by Agent_Orange at 09/09/11 @ 10:42

  • Darren #71 9 months ago

    Like Agent_Orange, I thought the demo was visually 'interesting' (that is to say distinctive but not exactly beautiful to my eyes as the camera felt too zoomed out) but the gameplay was just plain dull IMO as I cleared a 'room' of enemies then moved across increasingly more difficult platforms to the next room. If that's one-third of the game then I'm definitely not interested. Sorry. It's great that the Japanese continue to make quirky and unique games (even if it only extends to the visuals) like this and Catherine but I'm afraid I didn't like this much, not based on the demo anyway.

  • Ror1984 #72 9 months ago

    *sees author's name*
    Keza's back!!!!

    *reads editor's note*
    D'awww :(

  • IkariW #73 9 months ago

    Having played this, I think comparison Bayonetta or Okami is pointless, sure, they all have their own style, they are all 3rd person, but there is a difference between them and this, in my opinion.

    'Bayonetta and Okami would have been great games despite their art/style direction, this wouldn't.'

    However, comparison to Rez isn't a million miles off, lets not forget, Rez came out before you were allowed to 'Feel' anything about video games, and so, people didn't get it, and it got mostly slammed critically, but became popular due to its cult following.

    For all intents and purposes, Rez was Panzer Dragoon, with gameplay modifying music.... that was it, the art direction, style and general artistry behind it however, was masterful, making for an amazing over all experience, if you 'Got it' great, if you didn't, then no worries.
    But Rez stuck to one over all style, and didn't really care if you didn't like it, where as El Shad seems more like, "Lets do as many as possible, people are bound to like one of them!"

    Anyway.... I do think this is one of the problems with people now comparing video games with art, true, there is artistry in them, and sure, they can influence emotion in people, but, the thing with art is that you can't give it a number, what I mean, is you can't rate it.

    Some people like certain pieces of art and 'get it', some people don't and 'don't get it'.... but the difference between art and games is that the people who like a piece of art don't rate it as a way of trying to justify its virtues to other people, its pointless as they will never 'Get it', no matter what score or explantion is given.

    So to sum up, what I'm trying to say, is I didn't 'Get' El Shaddai in the same way I 'Got' Rez.... and so in my eyes, this will never ever be as good, but I'd never try to influence someone into thinking the same way as me, that'd be pointless.

    I'd say play it first before excepting another persons 'personal experience' with the game as your own. :)
    Edited by IkariW at 09/09/11 @ 11:45

  • Alt129 #74 9 months ago

    I was on vacation in Japan last April and advertising for this game was everywhere. There was even a department store chain that sold the jeans the main characters wear.
    Edited by Alt129 at 09/09/11 @ 12:05

  • kingbelly #75 9 months ago

    Sounds like it's perfect for playing in short bursts, a bit like Muramasa. Beautiful and frantic but can get repetitive. Very interested.

  • Rack #76 9 months ago

    The demo was absolutely horrendous, one battle that goes on about 5 minutes too long repeated half a dozen times alongside a platform section without any platforming. Either this is a "style over substance" experience that doesn't gel with me or the demo is extremely poorly judged either way I'll have to pass.

    Just to be clear though I don't want to be too judgmental of "style over substance" as it's a label that can be applied to many highly enjoyable titles but it's always the case that if you don't get on with the style you'll get nothing out of the game.

  • Sonic_D #77 9 months ago

    Had no idea this was due for release here so soon, good stuff. Fear this game will suffer due to the sheer number of games being released.

  • RedPanda #78 9 months ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • Phantom_Dynamite #79 9 months ago

    I keep reading the title of this as EL Shaddai: Ascension of Megatron, any one else do this or am I going crazy...

    Any way hyped it got a 9.

  • sonicyoda #80 9 months ago

    Not being funny, but I don't see many of you complaining that FPSs have too much shooting. However you're quick to accuse an action game of having too much hacky/slashy.

  • technicianTed #81 9 months ago

    9/10 i didn't see that one coming.

    Actually most people from the screenshot comparison article on this site never saw it coming either, most people on the thread seemed to expect a poor game.
    http://www.lensoftruth.com/head2head-el-...

  • PoundHound #82 9 months ago

    I took a trip into Glasgow today to pick this up and the shop I went in to didn't have it. I know I can get it online (and probably cheaper too), but it surely doesn't bode well for sales when specialist games stores aren't stocking it.

  • patchbox360 #83 9 months ago

    good Eurogamer

  • zzkj #84 9 months ago

    9? Fluidity rivals Bayonetta? What?

    The frame rate is all over the place, unlike Bayonetta (on 360 anyway). It went between 60 mostly and 30-ish FPS just because I was fighting two enemies depending on direction of the camera, in a thoroughly uncontrolled manner. Is this a review of PS3 and is the PS3 more consistent perhaps?

  • Bucser #85 9 months ago

    This review has been recycled. This was based on the import not on the actual western release as the URL points to the 2011-06-01 review of the import game. I think this game would have worth a re-review for the western release not just new date on the front...

  • Lunatic4ever #86 9 months ago

    I know you'll kill me now but I have to say

    I HATED BAYONETTA though I tried to love it. NOT ONE SINGLE PART of the game was entertaining to me.
    The plot was awful and the art style was absolutely pretentious.
    Too bad for me ,I guess, I couldnt enjoy it.

  • weebl #87 9 months ago

    Well, I saw this was out today and scanned the review, then went straight into town and bought it. It has been a long time since I've done that.

    I must say it is pretty spell binding stuff; I frankly didn't know whether I was losing boss fights and carried on in a different path or whether I was destined to lose. Now a couple of hours in and the graphical style of the whole game has changed about six or more times and there is just so much artistic creativity in it. I wouldn't say that it all gels together in a seamless package like Rez and it is apparent that the gameplay is just a standard hack and slash (albeit with pretty good controls), but none the less the whole experience pulls you in until you can't wait to find out what crazy situation you'll be in next.

  • penhalion #88 9 months ago

    Hmm I'm skeptical as the demo left me cold.

    I'm starting to trust Keza's reviews less and less these days. It's like the game described in the review is completely different from the one I buy. At this stage I'm trusting my impressions from the demo i.e. this game was repetitive and had seriously fiddly combat mechanics.

  • 32768Colours #89 9 months ago

    @IkariW

    Firstly, great username - one of my favourite games on the Speccy that one :)

    I think you've put a really interesting slant on a very common discussion; a slant on "are games art?" which to my mind at least hasn't really been touched upon before.

    Rez is a particularly interesting example because there are so many artistic iterations built around the fundamental mechanics that game employs. Space Harrier, Afterburner, Panzer Dragoon, Rez and now Child of Eden (and probably other games I've completely forgotten about like G-LOC) provide more or less the same gameplay but the artistic choices made each game feel very different.

    Picking up Rez on the Dreamcast, I was instantly familiar with the requirements of the core gameplay, but despite this, piloting an F-14 felt nothing like floating through the abstract worlds of Rez. Personally, I love them both, but I can certainly appreciate why some people would feel more at ease in the real world setting of Afterburner, or even the familiar fantasy setting of Panzer Dragoon.

    It just shows how important the artistic direction is to defining a game's success on a commercial and critical level. So long as the core mechanics are solid - be they innovative or well established - a game really stands or falls on its aesthetic choices.

    You could probably re-skin Modern Warfare 2 into a surrealist abstraction of the violent birth of the universe and if no association with COD was made, the game would probably flop completely, in spite of essentially being the exact same game.

    Still it doesn't take much these days for people to sit up and take notice of imaginative graphics, which from a critical point of view, says a lot about the overall lack of imagination in the gouraud shaded, "realistic" worlds most games populate. Whether this is cause for concern is debatable, but its certainly interesting to reflect on, and all the more notable when games push visuals as far out of the box as El Shaddai does.
    Edited by 32768Colours at 11/09/11 @ 00:55

  • Demiath #90 9 months ago

    Nope, that does not sound like me. *returns to Dead Island's tastefully derivative and refreshingly soulless head-smashing*.

  • IkariW #91 9 months ago

    @32768Colours

    I see the direction your coming from, and I think you make some very valid points, especially the 'If a game was a different graphics style would it sell?'. Like you say, an interesting topic for sure. P.s. Re- Username, it was one of my favourite Speccy games and Arcade games... and Amiga games too! haha. ;)

    @ gotyourmoney
    "abstraction has nothing to do with art."
    - Tell that to Van Gogh or Picasso! ;)

    "Thirdly, everything is art, the discussion should be more along the lines of 'can games provide valid emotional experiences'"
    - I agree and disagree with you there, I'm not sure how you can say Abstraction has nothing to do with art, and then totally contradict yourself by saying 'Everything is art'?
    But I totally agree with the possible discussion of 'can games provide valid emotional experiences', thats a discussion that has already raised a healthy debate across the industry too.


    "Then again it's probably because they're so young and everyone working on them is a retard (Not when it comes to programming though, for the most part)."
    -Yes the industry is a young one, but 'everyone working on them a retard'?
    Even if this were the case, and not just an obvious attempt to induce flame, I refer you to the 'infinite monkey theorem'.
    Eventually, they 'will' become great at evoking emotion and taking players on literary journeys. Its only a matter of time.
    Edited by IkariW at 12/09/11 @ 11:37

  • RedSparrows #92 8 months ago

    The demo wasn't that invigorating, but I'm willing to give this a rent - sounds like it's my kinda thing.

  • bigshot316 #93 8 months ago

    This game is a steaming pile of dog shit, and I returned it the day after receiving it.
    How the fuck EG can give this 9 but Dead Island 6 is anybodies guess.