Gravity Rush 2 Review [Minor Spoilers]
Number of hours played: ~27 hours
Completion status: Main story completed + most sidequests
Click here for a TL;DR version
It only feels like yesterday when I started playing Gravity Rush for the first time. If you’re reading this now and are unfamiliar with the series, I’d suggest you look at my review of the original first to get a sense of what it’s about. In order to keep this review relatively short, I’m going to assume for the most part that you understand the basic premise of Gravity Rush. However, if you’re feeling particularly lazy or rebellious however, or if you simply forgot about what I said before, then here’s a little quickie version to help catch you up.
It’s an ambitious title that sets out to immerse players in a wondrous world, based around a core mechanic that lets you manipulate gravity to fly around, traverse on any kind of surface, and fight enemies gravity-style. While it is a bit rough around the edges, it’s a game that I implore everyone to give at least a bit of a chance, and an absolute must own for any VITA owners.
Anywho, after being enamored by the original and wanting more, with me being me, I made sure to plan my time accordingly so that I could play its sequel, Gravity Rush 2, as soon as it came out. And well, for the first time in my posting history, I think I did quite a good job.
Oh what’s that? You’re saying I should check the Wikipedia page again? Hmmmm
OH GODDUCKING DAMMIT
Ok so maybe I’m not the best at doing these reviews in a time where it’s actually relevant. But on the bright side, at least I’ll be able to see a more fair perspective that isn’t clouded by any hype or uneducated bramble. At least I hope I can. Also, the game released before I even played the first game, so either way I already lost the battle…
SO anyways what’s the backstory this time for Gravity Rush 2? Well turns out that despite the pretty poor sales garnered by its original cult classic. Japan studios actually decided to greenlit the sequel immediately right after finishing work on the original Gravity Rush. The sequel was going to be released on the PS4 this time around, which I guess could be interpreted as a sign that Sony was abandoning the rapidly sinking ship that was the PSVita (may it rest in peace). Development was pretty smooth and it had a set release date for December of 2016. However, it was later delayed to January of 2017, because they didn’t want to compete with other triple-A titles releasing around the same period.
Yeaaaaaaa I don’t think that was the smartest idea…
As an apology though, Japan Studios promised its fans that they would release a free DLC called “Raven’s Choice”, which I’ll be covering in another post. Before we move on, I just want to give Japan Studios mad props for that great move. Usually, you see devs just delay their games whilst having their fans crying at their feet like they denied their favourite ice cream (which they totally did). But Japan Studios decided to be a bro and release free story DLC for all those hungry fans out. So, good job Japan Studios. BUT if you also make a crossover between Gravity Rush and Nier, I’ll literally buy 3 copies of all the games you’ll make till the end of time.
With all that being said however, it’s time to ask the BIG questions. Is Gravity Rush 2 a worthy successor to its original? Did Gravity Rush finally manage to break through its cultic chains and hit mainstream appeal? Will Playstation All-Stars ever become a good game?
Grab your apples and strap on tight! Because it’s time to dive in. Or should I say, it’s time to shift in?
*clap* NAILED IT!
Story (Skip the first paragraph if you want to avoid any type of spoilers)
The story picks off just shortly after the first game. Well, technically it happens right after Gravity Rush Overture (link’s here if you wanna know what it is as well as my thoughts on it, but I digress). Kat, along with police detective/sidekick Syd find themselves in a strange new land working for a small mining company so that they could “put food on the table”. Kat then informs us that they were previously pulled in by a particular strong gravity storm back in their hometown of Hekseville, and are currently trying to find Raven (who was separated during the storm) as well as figure out a way to get back to Hekseville. They must accomplish this seemingly hefty task all while trying to appease their mining overlord (who’s pretty hot might I add) so that they don’t have to conduct their search as beggars on the streets.
Homelessness and hungriness isn’t the only thing they need to watch out for, however…
Right off the bat, a big difference I’ve found in this game’s story compared to the original is how much more “fleshed out” it is. The first game’s story honestly to me, felt like it was telling the small story of Kat trying to find her footing in Hekseville, and the various little misadventures that happened along the way. It was a relatively short, cute, and personal story that you didn’t have to take too seriously.
Gravity Rush 2, on the other hand, features a much grander story; one that does a great job diving deeper into the world and lore established from the first game as well as expanding it. The beginning especially, while a bit slow, grabbed my interest much faster than the first game did, and the pacing went pretty unhindered after that point. For the most part, the story was definitely very engaging to play. It still retains a lot of the lighter, more comedic elements found in the first game. However, there are plenty more mysteries this time around that helped me focus just on the story, which took about 20 hours just by itself. Combined with the numerous amount of fun side missions that expand the worlds and characters, and you have yourself an experience that utterly dwarfs the original. So if you digged the first game, then there’s a lot more to enjoy here.
Him: But Kat! Haven’t you ever heard of the phrase “Curiosity killed the cat”?
Kat: Haven’t you heard that I’M GOING TO GO NUTS!? ( ≧Д≦)
Sadly, since the story did take this extra leap. It also brought some extra crappy baggage along the way. You see, the whole plot can be separated into 3 distinctive parts. Each one tells a vastly different tale, with only a few minor plot threads connecting between them. And this is where I think Gravity Rush 2 stumbled a little.
Because they’re so completely different from each other, it sort of feels to me like the developers weren’t able to decide on a single story they wanted to tell, and instead went for a bunch of half-baked storylines in an effort to pad out the game. As a result, there were instances where I felt utterly taken out of the story, since it would pull me in a completely different direction when my pants were down.
This ultimately made it kinda hard for me to judge the game’s story as a whole. Now perhaps the developers were being cheeky and tried going for the episodic approach, seeing how it’s kind of hard to have players take your long story too seriously when the characters gibberish language makes them sound like a bunch of drunk French people wasting away at a bar in the middle of the night. However, I think they could have at least tried just a bit harder in connecting them together, seeing as how one of them ends so egregiously bad I almost thought it was the end of the game.
Oh and by the way a quick PSA: When you encounter the first end credits sequence, KEEP PLAYING THE GAME! There’s a bunch more stuff that happens after that, and I have no freaking idea why they decided to bait players into thinking their game was over when it served next to no purpose.
Or is it supposed to be a trap? You decide! Except don’t because it’s dumb…
Anyways let’s get back on track, shall we? All else I can say is that I think the first act was pretty great, the second act was decent to borderline bad, and the third act was like watching Doctor Strange while strapped on a chair being drip-fed small doses of LSD.
The story this time around also tried to include some social commentary with topics such as the social class, and other social issues of similar nature. When I first saw them being presented in the game, I’ll admit I was afraid that they were going to turn Gravity Rush into something it clearly wasn’t. Thankfully, these elements weren’t too incredibly hamfisted into the plot, which was a breath of fresh air considering the number of games nowadays that try to cram these issues down your throat whilst screaming “LOOK AT ME, I’M BEING PROGRESSIVE”.
Characters
Gravity Rush 2 features far more characters, both old and new, for you to interact with. And each of them gets their own little spotlight. Whether that be in the story, side missions, or just regular conversations that you get to have as you explore the world. Also, many of the new girls are hot, and if you don’t agree then fight me.
And together, we are…THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN.
SHUT UP KAT THERE’S EIGHT OF US
B-But then it wouldn’t-
I DON’T CARE IF IT DOESN’T WORK. YOU MUST TREAT ALL WOMEN WITH RESPECT
The new characters especially I find have far more personality and nuance than the old ones, though admittedly the returning characters got better too. Furthermore, one thing I find that’s excellent about Gravity Rush’s characters is just how natural and subtle the character interactions are.
For example, there’s two new characters who are brothers managing the trading company that Kat’s mining company works for. One is a slimy ol’ sleazeball whose face seems to be purposefully designed to be as punchable as possible. The other is a righteous and handsome warrior that makes the ladies go heehaw everytime they catch a glimpse of his divine being. Their ideals would often clash with each other, and neither is afraid to call each other out everytime they do something even remotely offensive. However underneath all that delicious tension is an unbreakable brotherly bond. They realize that despite their differing views on life, they still respect and care for each other as they understand that behind each of their actions lies a good intention…most of the time.
Oh yes…Guys, I’m sorry but I’m going to need a little break to um…relieve some stress
What’s even more fascinating and respectable is that the quality of writing is even better when it comes to the relationships between women in this game. Now I’d like to often call myself a connoisseur of fine video game women. But I’ve got to admit the women in this game are just something else. They’re written so naturally that despite the clear lesbian undertones between characters (especially Kat and Raven), it feels like a simple extension of their character rather than something that was forced onto them. An easy example I can point to is Kat’s fellow gravity shifter Raven, as they really developed her into a character that’s pretty much worthy of becoming another protagonist. Especially given the fact that Kat and Raven would often share the spotlight together on many occasions throughout the story.
And now this is the part where we all politely say “Dude, they’re just friends bro, like chill…”
Now, despite all the massive praise I’ve given to the character writing in this game. The writers unfortunately, seemed to have dropped the ball super quacking hard when it came to the villains of this game, because they were clearly not given as much thought and care in comparison. Most of them were either so unrelatable, so shallow or so insensible that it’s hard to take any of what they say even remotely seriously. It’s a shame too because some of them actually had potential to be a great villain, had they been a bit more fleshed out. Thank quacking god they weren’t too important to the story in the grand scheme of things. Otherwise, it would’ve really soured what was pretty much a great experience for me. Kind of like when you eat an orange and its more sour than it is sweet, blegh.
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