SacrificAbomina

A fun game for a cheap price. It has a weird combination of gameplay styles that actually works. My only complaint is that it uses the stylus, one of the least comfortable yet effective interfaces I know of, a lot and that keeps me from playing for more than a few hours at a time due to my hand cramping up.

If you were expecting an action game that can compete with Bayonetta and God of War, then El Shaddai is not the game for you, but it is in no way bad. El shaddai is probably the most artsy game I have played since Okami which is not too surprising since it is the same producer who headed the design of both games. El Shaddai's visual style and art is among the best I have seen this generation, and it is accomplished with less polygons than most game have this generation. Most of El Shaddai's art seems to be done with filters you would find in photoshop, but super imposed on 3D models. Another aspect of the art that really stands out is that every area in this game has a different look and feel which makes it visually entertaining. This is a game though and it isn't good without good gameplay. Unfortunately, this aspect is completely up to the player and how they play. At first I hated the setup because it was literally run through a field until you reach an arena where you can fight some enemies, but as the game progressed this changed drastically as 2D and 3D platforming elements and some other concepts (unique to each area) like bike riding were added in. The combat is essentially a 4 button combat system (attack, jump, block, purify) and before anyone says that this sounds awful there are many things that make this combat system deep and entertaining. For instance if I attack an enemy wait a second or two and attack again Enoch will perform a guard break. If I hold down the attack button Enoch will perform a heavy hitting attack. There are also combinations with the jump and block buttons. The purify button can be used to restore a weapon to it's full strength and allows Enoch to steal enemy weapons. This game has 3 weapons (Arc, Gale, and Veil) and each acts differently when used in combination with the attack, jump, and block buttons. The Arc is kind of a sword like weapon, used for quick attacks, the Gale is a long range weapon, and the Veil is a melee weapon, for heavy hits. Each weapon is good for certain situations, and can be bad for others. Another nice tool that shows up during boss battles is a visor like ring that allows Enoch to see which weapons are effective against the boss. There are some downsides to this game and some can be very frustrating. For instance while the 2D platforming can be some of the best platforming segments of the game the 3D platforming sections can be an absolute nightmare. There is an entire section of this game that is 3D platforming at its worst, and this can be easily blamed on the visual style of the game. It's hard to judge distances when two platforms look like one from a distance because the art style makes it seem that way. This game is forgiving though and one misstep doesn't mean a long trek back to the same spot where another misstep sends you back on the long trek to the same spot. Most of the time you will end up on one of a few platforms back from the one you fell from. Even though this game has some minor issues it is one of the best looking and fairly fun games I have played recently.