I was rapturous.
The artwork was beautiful, the premise was interesting, and the main character was delightful. Immediately, I had one of those lightning bolts through my head that electrified my curiosity. This game looked awesome. And being on the PlayStation Vita, it looked to be gleaming jewel in a crown otherwise bedazzled with shite.
I was furious.
I sat on a cold and stinking London bus, months after the NTSC version of the game arrived here in the UK. I was playing a session much like many before. Trying to get an hour in on my way to work. Just wanting to finish one more area, fight one more boss prior to arriving at the office for the day.
But I did not want to play another hour because I was having fun. I didn't want to see what curiosity was around the corner. The need to finish the game was fired by the need to burn through the remaining few hours just to get it over with.
Gravity Rush is a pile of dicks and assholes.
The game's many high points, which there are quite a few, are matched by an almost equal list of detriments. The graphics are gorgeous and display a wonderful hybrid between Japanese and French art styles. Admiring the artwork is hard though, because the entire time you are playing, you are fighting the insanely terrible controls. It's like admiring the Sistine Chapel while rollerblading through it while high on three different kinds of drugs. And after huffing petrol.
The main mechanic is the ability to change the flow of gravity. This leads to being able to throw yourself off a building and just as you are about to smash into the ground, you can reverse gravity and rocket up into the air. It is a legitimately fun idea, but it is implemented poorly. Very poorly. The game's main focus is surprisingly centred on racing the clock. Carry these items from A to B in 60 seconds. Gravity kick this boss to death in two minutes. Race around this area of the city in three minutes. The main issue with this is that the controls are mentally abused and react so. You can be rocketing through the air and simply graze the edge of a solid object and your direction will flip around one way, while the camera starts spinning around manically.
Realistically, if Gravity Rush was based around exploration and discovery, these issues would not be as noticeable, but since the game requires pinpoint twitch based reflexes to complete races, the controls and mechanics are unequivocally mental.
One wonderful aspect of the game is the characters. The main character is a young woman named Kat. Kat is a good character. She is an intriguing and strong female character, but is not a half-naked cum dumpster. Her arrival into the story is shrouded in mystery. Her powers are equally mysterious. She has a very well defined personality: Aloof, quizzical, dedicated, and absolutely appealing as a hero to any gender. ...All while keeping her clothes on.
Kat is completed with a host of friends and villains: Her sidekick named Dusty is an enigmatic cat with a star field for full colour. The goofy police officer Syd is straight out of an old episode of Tin Tin. Vehement and abrasive Raven who also has gravity shifting powers is the antithesis to Kat. Throughout the story, the two are continually butting heads.
The story is simple, but entertaining. We follow Kat on her adventures after she wakes up at the beginning of the game. One thing is clear: This is a video game. And while the "this is an art game" aesthetic shines through, it is clear the creators know that this is a video game.
As of writing this, I have not finished Gravity Rush. What I have done is devote 40+ hours of my life to playing this game. Despite all of its flaws, I do like the game. What I do not like is that the game is mired in a thick coating of quagmire slop. This game could have been an amazing centre piece for the neglected and underappreciated Vita, but instead, its legacy will be "Oh yeah, wasn't that on the Vita? Man, that thing sucked."
(Addendum.)
The day after I wrote this essay, I managed to finish the game. The ending cinematics were fun, but obviously didn't change what I think about the game as a whole.