The rush of falling up.
What They Say:
Another mind-bending adventure awaits gravity queen Kat as a new danger emerges to threaten the fabric of the universe itself. Still searching for clues behind the mystery of her origin, and with the powerful Raven at her side, Kat must master three unique gravity attack styles as she takes on enemies and massive bosses.
Gravity-Based Action –The franchise’s famous gravity-based action mechanics have evolved with two additional styles, each with their own unique attacks.
Vast Open World – Enter a bright and bustling floating city, bursting with life. Manipulate gravity with the motion sensors of the DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controller to soar and traverse a vast and detailed open world.
Signature Art Style – French “bande dessinée” comic book aesthetic is artfully blended with Japanese manga and anime influences to create a unique and beautiful atmosphere, with cityscapes and characters and brought to life in stunning detail on PlayStation 4.
The Review:
Audio:
Gravity Rush 2’s voice-acting is almost non-existent, with the occasional phrase or two spoken by the large cast. This is most likely due to the interesting use of a made-up spoken language in-game. Resembling an almost pseudo-French language, it is very odd and while there to add to the world-building, it actually removes the player from the experience every time because of how out of place it feels.
Thankfully, the soundtrack more than makes up for the voiceover. The music has a very broad range from the light, melancholic tone in the slums to the upbeat, salsa-like track in the market. Just like Kat’s gravity abilities, the transition from one to the other is seamless, perfectly capturing the atmosphere of each of the main city’s districts.
Graphics:
Right off the bat, Gravity Rush 2 employs the signature and beloved artstyle of the original with some added flair. Cel-shaded with a hint of manga/comic influence clearly at play, the game’s look is its strongest aspect besides its gameplay. Despite its similarities to the first game, this sequel simply could not have been on the Vita again without sacrificing many of its best assets. The characters and environments are much more refined and sharp, and the presentation is noticeably superhero-esque as well, all adding to the comicbook style.
Content:
Gravity Rush 2 picks up immediately after the ending of the original. Kat, our heroine from the first game, finds herself stranded without her trusty cat Dusty in a strange realm with new friends and foes to meet. This is all mostly an excuse to reintroduce the world and Kat’s abilities in case you forgot how they work or this is your very first Gravity Rush game. Because of this, Chapter 1 can be a bit of a drag. While you get your abilities back rather quickly, the first chapter still remains the weakest point of the entire game, which is kind of a sad way to start.
The game’s initial town is small, bland, and drab. A limited color palette of browns and grays, the beginning does little to showcase what is great about this highly-anticipated sequel. It is easy to spend a lot of time here doing side quests and grinding, but it is best to move onto Chapter 2 as soon as possible.
Once in Chapter 2, the real game opens up. Going from the lame setting of the first chapter to suddenly the bright, colorful, and huge city of Jirga Para Lhao is an impressive experience, almost making up for the slow start. The city is easily the real star of Gravity Rush 2. Lovingly crafted with its signature cel-shaded artstyle, Jirga Para Lhao is in fact one of the greatest hub cities in any video game ever. The city is built from the ground (air?) up with Kat’s abilities in mind. The city is spread out both horizontally and vertically, telling its own environmental story. The poor and downtrodden are relegated to the bottom in the dark slums, while the rich are living higher up in their beautiful, massive island mansions.
With Kat’s gravity-defining abilities, you are able to traverse through each of the city’s 5 districts with ease. Shifting gravity and soaring through the skies is better than ever, with more finesse than before. Each of Kat’s returning skills are more refined and improved, with very few new abilities. This isn’t such a bad thing, as it allows the new skills to get the shine they deserve. The bulk of newness for Kat is found in her two new styles, the light Lunar and heavy Jupiter. With the flick of the DualShock 4’s touchpad, you can change between these two new forms and the more neutral, original form instantly. Finding when to use which is a balancing act, adding some much needed depth to the combat.
That depth is important, as combat is mostly the same. Normal punch and kick combos, gravity kicks, and throwing objects using gravity are all back with some improvement. Though a little unbalanced (especially Kat’s stasis field used for launching objects at enemies), fighting bad guys and Nevi makes you feel like you’re playing a true superhero game for the first time in a long time.
Unfortunately, like a lot of superhero-themed stories, the plot is rather cliche and unimportant. There are a few key moments in the earlier parts that stand out and struck me a little emotionally, but the rest of the story is forgettable. Outside of the surprisingly interesting cast, the story is clearly there to move the plot along and put Kat in unique situations that show off the game’s fantastic gameplay and beautiful environments. And while the cast is great, you miss out almost completely on them and their motivations if you skip the side missions, as the main story is short and to the point.
In Summary:
Gravity Rush 2 is more Gravity Rush, and that’s not such a bad thing. Kat and her gravity-bending abilities are back and better than ever. With the addition of new styles and the PS4’s power, Gravity Rush 2 features one of the best superhero-like games in a long time and one of the best cities ever featured in a game. While the story falls short, the gameplay and stunning cel-shaded graphics never fail to make Gravity Rush 2 one of PS4’s strongest exclusives and the first great release of 2017.
Grade: B-
Released By: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Developer: SIE Japan Studio, Project Siren
MSRP: $59.99
Release Date: January 20th, 2017
Platform: PS4
This review was done with a review copy of the game provided by Sony. We are grateful for their support.
