Gravity Rush is a game developed by Sony of Japan for the PS Vita in 2012. It combines the gravity manipulation of Super Mario Galaxy with the action platforming gameplay of games like Infamous. I first learned about Kat by playing Playstation All-Stars: Battle Royale and she was actually one of my favorite characters to play as. Last year her game of origin was remastered for the PS4 and with its sequel coming out this past Friday I figured this is a great time to take a look at the original in my mighty review of… Gravity Rush, Remastered!

Okay, to start things off I just want to point out that this game is absolutely gorgeous. The character designs, anime-style models, the way the backgrounds turn into sketches when out of view, it’s all beautiful to look at. Running at a flawless 1080p 60fps, the game never faltered and hardly has any loading screens, making it an absolute delight to explore. And the steampunk-inspired world is incredibly lively and unique with its 4 distinct districts.

Now obviously a pretty world needs some context to have meaning behind it, so let’s take a look at the story. It’s your standard, simple amnesia plot. A girl wakes up in the middle of a town and realizes she has the ability to manipulate gravity with help from her mystical cat, Dusty. She soon learns that the city she woke up in had its 3 other districts that have been sucked up by black holes and the one she’s currently in is dealing with attacks from otherworldly creatures called Nevi. She then meets a police officer who gives her the name Kat because of Dusty’s constant presence and Kat begins helping him to catch a thief with the ability to disguise himself as other people who goes by the name Alias. Through the course of the story Kat will save the people by restoring the missing pieces of the city, catching the mysterious Alias, and defeating Raven, another girl with similar powers who want Kat dead… You know, simple.

So yeah, kind of a complicated plot. And honestly, it doesn’t make a ton more sense when playing through it. The stories sometimes feel disconnected, some don’t have a resolution, and they often have little to do with one another. The art style can sometimes reflect this as well, with vastly different styles used in the title screen, dialogue, gameplay, and comic book-style cutscenes. It’s as though the developers had a ton of ideas for the project and split into three teams to make them all a reality. That being said, the story isn’t bad at all. In fact, it’s really good and reminds me of a modern anime plot. It’s charming, interesting, and surprisingly deep and I always wanted to see what happened next which is a big part of why I’m excited for the sequel.

The story is presented in a combination of in-game cutscenes and comic book panels, both of which, as previously stated, are lovely to look at. 

Most of the characters are interesting whether they exist to add to the story or just as comic relief. Kat herself is cute, kind-hearted, and inquisitive and she totally kicks ass.

There’s very little voice acting, but the little there is is in an indistinguishable language like Team ICO games. For what it is it’s good, just like the other sound effects in the game. And the music is just stunning. Beautiful scores that switch from graceful and orchestral when flying around a well-lit part of the city to smooth and jazzy when going to the darker side. Lastly, the best thing about this game presentation-wise is its scope. I often found myself asking, “I wonder if I can fly here?” and being surprised when the game let me go as far as I did. The player can go all the way down to the base of the city and fly to the top of the tallest building, with collectables and secrets often found waiting for them. 

The base of the gameplay is gravity manipulation. Kat can float in the air, then aim and select a direction for the gravity to focus on. She then flies through the air in that direction. Well, I say fly, but really it’s more like falling… with style! She can also catch herself in midair to change direction and use her powers to skate along different surfaces and different gravitational orientations. 

You may think this would be difficult to control without losing track of Kat’s orientation relative to the ground, but in practice it’s incredibly fluid and easy to control. Kat can control gravity as long as her gravity meter doesn’t run out. The meter drains any time she isn’t in normal gravity, so it gets really tense even just roaming the overworld when you fly around too much. Also, if Kat lands on an abnormally facing surface, gravity shifts to that surface’s orientation, meaning you can do things like run up buildings and hang upside down from ceilings.

Then there’s the combat. The enemies in the game consist almost exclusively of the Nevi, creatures which have giant glowing weak points on them. Hit the shiny red ball enough times and the creature is destroyed. To achieve this Kat can kick on the ground, gravity kick in the air, fling objects towards enemies, or use one of her special move to deal some extra damage. You may think the simple mechanics would get repetitive, but the enemy variety, terrain changes, and constant need to watch the gravity gauge ensure that combat stays fresh throughout the entire 10 to 15 hour experience. It’s surprising just how much mixing different kinds of Nevi into a situation can make the necessary approach so different. And the boss battles are really creative too! The only issue I have with the gameplay is the wonky targeting system. It usually works fine, but there were definitely times where it got frustrating. Not enough to dampen the fun too much though.

The campaign missions usually consist of kat going to an area to fight Nevi that’s somehow related to the story, but usually they have their own twist such as reducing the gravity gauge or just straight platforming. When not completing these, Kat can talk to people around the town, go on side missions, change costumes, and complete challenges. The challenges consist of beating enemies under a times limit or some sort of race to beat the timer. They could use a bit more context within the story, but they’re still fun and useful for collecting precious gems. These gems can also be collected by just flying around the city and finding them and can be used to upgrade Kat’s abilities such as having more powerful attacks or a stronger gravity gauge. Honestly, this is the part of the game where I had the most fun and if it weren’t for the focus on combat I’d say that Gravity Rush is one of the best collect-a-thon platformers I’ve played in a while.

Gravity Rush is a fantastic game that does just about everything right. It has some issues with too many styles and an inconclusive story, but the feeling of falling around this world is something I’m not going to forget any time soon. That’s why my final score for Gravity Rush Remastered is an excellent 9 out of 10! I love the world, the atmosphere, the inclusion of strong female characters, and I can’t wait to try out the sequel when I have the chance!

Well that does it for this review. If you enjoyed it, be sure to like and subscribe to see more mighty reviews, dissections, and other gaming content. And as always, have a mighty nifty day today!