Occasionally, a game comes along and is a real surprise. Gravity Rush 2, the sequel to the often forgotten PS Vita game of the same name. That game hardly set the world on fire, so it came as a bit of a surprise that Sony decided to give it another shot on a system with a significant user base.
For: PS4
From: Sony Japan
Rating: (PG) ★★★★
Gravity Rush is centred around Kat, a seemingly ordinary girl who discovers she can control gravity with the help of a black cat. The world is invaded by a bunch of evil things (as always), and it's up to her and her friends to take them out. The game is styled like anime, with the cutscenes and plot exposition mostly coming through comic-book-style cutouts. There's not any actual dialogue as such, with subtitles and what I assume is Japanese, but I'm not actually sure.
The game itself plays better, and is so much easier to control, than you might think. Pressing a shoulder button causes Kat to fly into the air, and another causes her to stop, allowing you to direct where you want her to land. The environments are surprisingly vast and well detailed, giving you lots of places to fly off to and explore, and giving the world a sense of realism.
The whole mechanic is one of those surprisingly fun mechanics that never seems to get old. This is where the enjoyment of Gravity Rush 2 lies - there's a combat system and the story is interesting enough, but what will keep you coming back is the fun that hurtling through the air provides.
Aiding this is the upbeat graphics, while not being outstanding, they suit the aesthetic perfectly. It looks, and plays, like a work of art.
The only real downer for this game is that I imagine people will be put off by the fact that it's a sequel to a game they've likely not played. Personally, I own the game on PS Vita but had never played it. Having now played Gravity Rush 2 though, I will certainly be giving it a shot.
Don't let the "2'' at the end stop you from trying this game - it has cult classic written all over it.
- by Simon Bishop
