Based on the biblical Book of Enoch, the story follows the scribe Enoch as he travels the earth in search of seven fallen angels that he must exterminate in order to prevent a great flood from destroying mankind. Enoch is assisted by four archangels and Lucifel, a guardian angel charged with the protection of the world. Lucifel mostly plays the role of narrator or acts as a save point for the player. The other four archangels are rarely appear.
Gameplay is a mixed bag of lengthy narrations, long stretches of hallway, platforming, and hack-and-slash battles. Enoch and his enemies utilize the same three weapon types: Arch, Gale and Veil. Only one weapon can be held at a time. The pure white color of Enoch's weapon will gradually darken over time as it accumulates "taint" from his enemies, becoming less effective against them in combat. The weapon can be "purified" by Enoch periodically, or he can just pick up a new weapon. New weapons are retrieved from fallen opponents or from certain platforming sections. Eventually Enoch will gain the aid of the archangel Uriel, enabling him to activate an "Overburst" mode which increases the power of his attacks and initiates special combos.
The condition of Enoch's holy armor is used in place of a traditional health bar. It will start to loose pieces and degrade as Enoch takes damage. Health can be regained from orbs found inside breakable objects, or if Enoch is on the brink of death, by repeatedly pushing buttons to repair some of the armor. I get that it was intended to make the game more immersive by freeing up screen space, but it just wasn't as practical as a traditional health bar.
The platforming segments are very basic, with moving platforms or elevators, and these sections of the game were abysmal; it is near impossible to judge distance or tell where you are going to land because of the game's aggressive visual style. The aesthetics are expressive and imaginative, but dominate everything, to the point where you can't see where you are going half the time.
To be frank, I didn't like this game at all. In fact, I hate it and will never touch it again. The story was impossible to follow, constantly interrupting gameplay with meaningless explanations of nebulous events. Most of the issues I experienced with the gameplay could be tied to the game's overpowering art style. I can appreciate the effort that went into El Shaddai's visuals, but the lack of restraint and cohesion between gameplay and aesthetics ruined the whole experience.
First posted to videogamegeek.com
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