Cult classic El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron gets September release date on PC
Don't stop 'til you get Enoch.
Ignition Entertainment's cult classic action-adventure El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron finally has a PC release date and will be making its way to Steam on 2nd September.
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron - which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, having originally launched for PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2011 - is perhaps the first and only game to be inspired by the apocryphal Book of Enoch.
It recounts the story of Enoch (re-imagined as blond, denim-clad pretty boy) as he hunts downs seven fallen angels at the behest of God - a quest that blends 3D and side-on platform segments with some deceptively simple, and thrillingly balletic, three-weapon combat.
Admittedly, the platforming is only passable and combat doesn't really evolve much over the course of the adventure, but El Shaddai's issues are easy to forgive in light of its wonderfully imaginative, dizzyingly relentless reinvention, with the game switching perspectives, psychedelic (and frequently breathtaking) visual styles, even genres on a whim.
"At the point where I emerged out of a narrow corridor into what turned out to be a vast stadium," wrote Keza MacDonald in her 9/10 review back in 2011, "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."
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron comes to Steam in both standard and deluxe edition forms, both of which will be discounted for two weeks after the game's 2nd September release.
There's 19% off the game-only standard edition, which will cost £25.10/€27.53/$32.39 USD (instead of £30.99/€33.99/$39.99), and the deluxe edition is discounted by 45%. This includes the game, digital art book and sound track, and is discounted to a still rather steep £53.66/€58.13/$39.25 (usual price £61.47/€66.57/$78.97).