Okay. This is a fresh review. I just played and beat Gravity Rush for the Playstation Vita. This was one of the very few flagship titles for the system that came out around launch in 2012. It actually began development way back in 2008 as a PS3 title, and it was put together by Sony's development studio in Japan. It uses cel shaded graphics, and utilizes a control scheme that focuses on manipulating gravity while playing.
When the game came out, I was on the fence, and felt that it was somewhat gimmicky. I however, still purchased it relatively soon after finding it. It was a game with a heroine, which used to be rare, but if you notice, almost all IP games today have heroines as the generation of gender blurring continues. I didn't mind that, and I never do honestly. Metroid has a female lead, as well as Beyond Good and Evil, and I loved both games. I usually only have a gripe when there isn't some male mascot that I can relate to. Aside from Uncharted, which doesn't really count, I always thought it sucked that there was never a Mario-esque, male lead game like Gravity Rush released for the Vita.
Nonetheless, it starts off with a scene of an apple falling off of a tree and then down a deep chasm. Then a scene opens up which I can't fully recall. When the game starts, the heroine- Kat, as she is called, awakes with amnesia in a town called Hekesville. For some reason, the Japanese get a kick out of doing a Japanese game where the characters appear to speak French, with Japanese writing all over the settings. This makes it a bit difficult to connect with the characters. English voice-overs would have been appreciated. You quickly meet a cat creature that seems to be made out of dark energy, which follows you around, and is responsible for your powers. It is never made clear who the girl is or where she came from, but she is quickly involved in the town's affairs and saves the day often. Hekesville has been under the attack of dark gravity creatures called Nevi, that have split the entire world into fragments and sunk areas off it into the depths. Kat goes on impromtu missions to recover parts of the town, but seems to only draw their ire as a result of their fear of her powers.
You have a move set of gravity moves and combos that you can execute. Pressing square will use standard attacks. You have a jump button as well. Pressing circle generates a gravity field, allowing you to pick up objects or people if needed. Pressing the shoulder buttons initiates a gravity shift or disengages it. When this is done you can do moves like a gravity kick, switch the polarity of gravity, and special attacks that do a lot of damage. The enemies are tough and move very quickly. During cutscenes, Kat can fly around, but when playing the game, it isn't like flying at all. The camera is not stabilized, and it feels like a psychodelic trip when moving around, since the screen will tilt uncontrollably as you shift, causing you to have to fly and fight with very awkward to no view at all. This made things so much harder than they had to be.
During the game you meet another girl named Raven, who opposes Kat at first, since they have noble reasons, but colliding goals, until they realize the purpose of not only the Nevi, but the government, who are harnessing their power. After saving a city of lost children together, Kat and Raven team up, and have to fight against a misguided government that is going about the eradication of the Nevi in a destructive way. The game utilizes interactive comic strips to tell the story, which are well drawn and moveable. Some of the comic frames will contain motion videos, which I thought was very artistic and cool. The music also assisted this, as it had a very serene soundtrack, that used large string sections and a had a very classical sound.
The bosses were very challenging, but not really impossible feeling. I just wish the camera was done better, as it made navigation very annoying. A game like this should have felt like Spiderman, Bionic Commando, or the Hulk, where your movement makes you feel free to explore the city. But often, I got hopelessly lost due to how the camera goes so wild while shifting. During the game, there are side missions that challenge you to set records, and repair different functions of the town like elevators, bridges, and street lights. It took me altogether about 20 hours to beat the game, which is pretty solid for an action adventure game. There is still more to explore and do afterward. The towns are very huge, but it doesn't feel like there is a whole lot going on, or for you to do. Also, when you shift, people around you will get sucked into the field and scream for their life as they are launched in the sky. This makes you reluctant to freely shift around the cities, but there's no other way, besides walking slowly which would be ridiculous with how much ground there is to cover.
During the ending, the story got very deep and convoluted. the government officials are still preparing for a huge and pending Nevi attack, and even Kat and friends are aware of a huge coming danger, but are enjoying the time of peace. It is revealed that the world is a dream of sorts, but whose it is, they don't say. The corrupt mayor is injured by his Nevi destroying weapon, that ends up almost committing genocide on the city. I actually thought he died, when Kat threw it into his face. One of the scientists looks into some crystal ball and shockingly discovers who Kat really is. It shows a silhouette that looks familiar, but it is very unclear. His reaction makes you really wonder about it though. The entire ending seems like a simple interlude into the second game. The sequel was suppose to be on the Vita, which the game was designed for. But guess what? The Sony company that I have grown to hate, saw how good of a game it was and pulled it onto the PS4, barring the sequel from the Vita. One of the many attacks on their own product that I will never understand.
I would like to get the sequel to see what happens, but honestly, I don't feel that super compelled. It's a very good game, to be clear, but I felt at ease when it ended. Solid effort by SCE, that could benefit from more fleshing out, gameplay wise and setting wise. A solid 8/10
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