Gravity Rush Remastered is the Playstation 4 port of what was originally a Playstation Vita game that released in 2012. To my understanding, that game flew under most people's radar as no one I know had heard of the game. I learned about it when the second game was announced and that there was going to be a port of the original. I didn't think much about it as it sounded like a niche game that wouldn't necessarily appeal to me. I saw it come up as a suggestion on Amazon when purchasing another game. The box art was what grabbed me; a completely white case with a girl and a cat falling. Knowing little else, I purchased it. What's the significance of my experience purchasing this game? Well, I believe it is the experience that most people had when going into it, or at least I think it should be. It's also representative of the game itself; not sure what this game is about but going along with it because it looks appealing enough.
My first hours with the game were magical. I was fully ready to give the game an eight or nine out of ten based on the mechanics, art style, music, and characters alone. However, like a decent critic, I held my judgment until the end. Doing this dropped the score several points for a couple reasons.
Gravity Rush Remastered's art style is eye catching to say the least. It has an almost painterly look to it as well as having characteristics of cell-shaded graphics. Think of it as throwing the graphics of the Borderlands series and a watercolor painting into a blender and then using what comes out to create the art for a game. The result is beautiful and I never got tired of looking at the gorgeous landscapes and characters that Japan Studio had created. As far as it being a remastered game, you can see in the rough edges that this used to be a PS Vita game. If you've played a port from the Vita, you know that as a result from being on a bigger screen, the graphics take a hit. However, with this specific art style, it's not as hard on the eyes and the visuals never seemed to diminish my experience like others (Final Fantasy Type-0) have in the past.
The setting of the game is another wonderfully crafted aspect of Gravity Rush Remastered. The game takes place in the floating city of Hekseville in the midst of incredibly destructive storms called "Gravity Storms". These storms have broken the city apart and transported sections into the abyss. Progressing through the story brings back these sections which open up new and more beautiful areas to explore. The city has red light (entertainment), industrial, and residential districts. They all have the same type of steam punk architecture, but coupled with the art style, they're appealing to explore. The city rises high above you when you're on the ground and when you're up above it, sprawls beneath your feet. It seems much larger than it truly is which is a blessing and a curse as you can easily fly between areas quickly but you also feel limited as there isn't anywhere else to explore. The overall feel of the setting is that there is a sense of dread burdening everyone's lives. Talking to citizens nets you their opinions on life which usually end up being about the inevitable doom of the city as the Gravity Storms get closer and closer.
Gameplay is centered around the Protagonist's ability to manipulate gravity; which she gets from a mysterious cat that she wakes up next to. Learning to use this power is a little confusing at first but the more you use it, the more natural it feels and you'll soon find yourself zooming through the city streets. The mechanic isn't just press a button to fly. Instead you're required to press a button to float and then another button to fall in the direction of the cursor so in reality, you're never flying. You're falling. Because of this, "flying" can become very disorienting as the camera doesn't automatically flip to a certain perspective. That means that when you're in combat and bouncing from enemy to enemy, you're upside down, sideways, and right side up in a matter of a couple seconds. The gravity mechanic is fun to play with but is very disorienting and occasionally frustrating.
Usually games with gravity mechanics have you solving puzzles. There are no puzzles in this game which almost feels disappointing. Especially since the only thing you're ever doing with gravity is fighting the enemies, called Nevi, that occasionally terrorize the city (when the story deems it necessary). The enemies range from small plants to behemoths the size of a small building. Each enemy has one or more glowing weak spots that you have to attack in order to kill. This sounds easy enough but when coupled with them mainly not being on level ground, you have to do it all while manipulating gravity. There's a homing kick that works about sixty percent of the time so it's relatively easy to kill enemies when they're the weaker ones. Later sections of the game have you fighting upwards of ten to fifteen stronger monsters that are shooting large balls of goo at you so not only do you have to dodge those attacks using a dodge move that doesn't get the job done, you have try and hit them while they avoid your attacks. This becomes extremely annoying and frustrating especially with an inadequate checkpoint system. I found myself having to repeat large sequences of battles from the beginning because the dodge move couldn't get me out of the way of an attack and the game checkpointed me at the beginning of the mission.
The story and characters are, in my opinion, the weakest part of this game. Your character wakes up in an alley with no memories of who or where she is. It's a very played out gaming trope that, especially in this JRPG-esque game, feels flat and boring. Early missions have you trying to figure out who you are and where you came from but that plot-thread is quickly abandoned in favor of trying to use your powers to save the city from being destroyed. I'm fine with a well told and interesting superhero story but this game is neither. All the periphery characters are boring stereotypes of all JRPG games and the motivations and actions of them are the same. The protagonist, Kat (named because she has that mysterious cat with her), worries about whether she'll ever have a boyfriend or if people like the way she looks in certain costumes more than where she came from or whether the city is going to be blown to bits. Kat sometimes realizes that people need to be saved but that's only if the story dictates it.
Speaking of story, it's all over the place. It starts off strong but quickly nose dives into confusion as it bounces from one plotline to the next. If everything was tied up nicely in the end, this wouldn't be a negative thing. However, not a single plot point in the twenty or so missions is ever concluded. The "finale" abruptly ends and you get a cutscene (all of which are told in a comic book type way with panels) with the credits beside it. Without spoiling anything, that cutscene sets up the second game and says that all your questions will be answered in it. Something like that is passable in a episodically told series but as a fully standalone game, it's unacceptable to not answer any questions until the sequel.
Being a Lite-JRPG, there are skills that you have and can level up using "Precious Gems" that are floating through the world. You don't get these from enemies or from completing missions, but the paths that the game sends you on will net you plenty in order to level your character up. You don't ever unlock anything new through leveling. Instead you boost your existing abilities such as being able to manipulate gravity for longer and having a stronger attack and more health. Many times I forgot to even level my character up as it never seemed like something that was One-Hundred percent necessary in order to progress. It only ever made things easier.
As far as side content goes, you can take part in activities that are mostly time trial based races from point to point in order to get more gems to level your powers up. Beyond that there are only side-stories. These are full missions that provide gems and extra costumes to dress Kat in. They're interesting but still follow the silly JRPG humor and stereotypes against women. One has you dress up in a costume called "Spy Outfit" that is a carbon copy of Catwoman's costume and you run around showing cleavage and your entire midsection. Characters comment on being able to see so much of you and can't take their eyes off you. I couldn't take any of this seriously in a story that is about the inevitable doom of the human race. I never felt any of the side content was necessary as I got enough gems in the main story to level my character up enough to handle the enemies the game threw at me.
The first half of Gravity Rush Remastered introduces you to mechanics and characters that all have massive amount of potential to make for a truly incredible gaming experience. However, you're given everything upfront and that only lasts so long. The story never goes anywhere and you never get answers to any questions that the game poses. The novelty of gravity manipulation quickly wears off as nothing new is introduced and the combat begins to become more frustrating than it needs to be. Several times in my playthrough I wanted to give the game up and move on because I was bored and tired of doing the same thing over and over again. Regardless, the game is unique and out of the ordinary enough to warrant at least giving it a try. Come for the art and gravity powers, stay for no reason at all (maybe when the sequel releases?).
Score 7/10
Trophy Difficulty: Hard - Getting the platinum will require you to get the top score on all of the challenges and finish all the side-quests as well as completely leveling up your powers. This is easy enough if you have the patience and desire to do so but because the game became so monotonous and boring quickly, I had zero motivation to do this. Plus there are tons of challenges and the controls are not as fluid as they should be so the challenges become difficult fast.
Recommendations - If you like unique and interesting art styles, you'll love this game. If you love gravity manipulation, you'll love this game. If you don't like Japanese video game storytelling, you will not like this game. If you like good stories, you will not like this game. If you are a completionist and decide to play this game, I pity you. If you have no patience, I cannot recommend this game at all.
*This game was reviewed on the Playstation 4. It is only available in its Remastered form on the PS4. The original can be played on the Playstation Vita.
This review was originally written for Real Dream Productions. You can find more HERE.