With little “you must play this or you must die a horrible death” games on the PS Vita I would forgive you to think Gravity rush, which is a gravity (go figure) focused action adventure game, would be a game to miss. However, there is far more to this game that gave me a different, yet wonderful experience on the Vita.
You start this game as a women (wearing very revealing Japanese style clothing) called Kat who has lost her memory and seems to be in a floating town called Hekseville. She bumps into a weird black cat who gives her the ability to shift gravity, which is the main mechanic in the game, and the two of you go world saving by trying to find out why there is a gravity storm in the sky. Along with the gravity storm in the sky a species has appeared, called the Nevi, and they are hell bent on taking you out. The story sounds interesting and could have a lot of mystery to it but the execution of the story is poorly down. The developers went for a subtitle driven story which works at times and has this level of charm but severely fails when you are in combat. There were times when I couldn’t read the subtitles because I was too busy doing something else. Another issue with subtitles is it does drag the game out. There are times where reading can become a chore when all you want to do is play the game. I know I sound like a child being told to put down his Lego and do the washing up but I did just want to skip the subtitles and move on to the next mission. The major concern with the story is they have clearly gone with a Lost direction and decided to leave more questions unanswered than ones they have answered. The game clearly sets up for future instalments but you do feel a little cheated and confused when it gets to the end.
The story isn’t all that bad though. The characters are well designed and actually show so likable side to them. What really works well though is the story has an adorable feel to it despite it having darker themes. This is really achieved by clever directing and the cel-shaded visuals. The cel-shaded visuals really fit with the style of the story. It’s not a bad looking game either. The cut scenes have a very graphic novel feeling which works well with subtitle storytelling. Despite limiting acting and dialogue, they are also very engaging and it adds to the games charm. Here the characters’ personalities really shine. Each character feels vastly different from the next and they all seem to have an interesting backstory to support their personality.
The game’s score is superb. The score really compliments the tense parts and the more charming parts of the game. It isn’t one of those soundtracks that is totally in your face but it is quietly in the background giving each location a different vibe. The attack move sounds are less impressive but still do the job adequately.
The main mechanic of this game is gravity shifting. The way it works is it creates an invisible bubble around you and you just fall in certain direction. It works very well and really fits well on the Vita because you can twist and turn with Vita in your hands. It’s just a joy to zip around the immensely detailed world. Despite this mechanic working well the camera seems to work against you. At times it feels clunky and at first you will get a little bit disorientated but after awhile you get used to. Gravity shifting isn’t the only arsenal at your disposal. There is the ability to throw item, fall at a much faster rate, sliding, special attack abilities and much more stuff that can be upgraded with purple diamonds which are scattered around the world. Upgrading becomes a must later on in the game but you soon realise that to finish the game only a few abilities really need upgrading. It’s a poor design choice as you get most of the abilities quite early on in the game, so you end up using a set routine of moves for a large portion of the game.
There is no competitive online mode as such and the online mode is limited to side mission leaderboards. These side missions are not varied but still fun to play. These consist of brawls, gravity related tasks, races…..that really aren’t that challenging to complete but are challenging to get a good score.
All in all this game has its problems (story issues and camera related issues) but I really enjoyed this game. The score is just sublime, the characters are interesting and the art direction really fits with the, dare I say it, cute storytelling. I have played a number of games on the PS Vita and I have only recommended one game (LBP Vita) that “you must play this or you must die a horrible death”. I can now add another game. Yes it has its problems but it was just a wonderful experience that I couldn’t put down
PlayStation Productions and Scott Free Productions have launched development on Gravity Rush—a film based on the 2012 action-adventure video game of the same name.
hmmm... I mean if it's anime it could work. I have a hard time envisioning it in live-action.
Why are they making shows/films based on IPs they abandoned? First Days Gone now this, why?
Yep, agreed.
Like I often say, every 2-3 months, I'm bitching about what Sony did to Japan Studio and Gravity Rush.
This is annoying, honestly.
I loved both Gravity Rush games but I honestly don't see how you can blame Sony for leaving the franchise alone after the second game. It was good business sense, sadly the games simply didn't sell well enough to warrant the risk of developing a 3rd game.
LoveSpuds,
To me, my gripes are with the way Sony is handling shelved IPs versus best sellers. Sure, Gravity Rush is super niche. But the problem I have is that those games are punished for not selling well. Compare that with high profile IPs that sell a lot. They get PC versions to reach a wider audience. I guess what I want to say is that those games were already commercial successes and it seems a little backwards to not make an effort to expand access to those niche titles to PC if we're already going there, y'know? Games like Horizon and Spiderman did damn well on PS4. Certainly. But I also think the PC audience is incredibly diverse and games like Gravity Rush would perform much better on PC. It's just disappointing to see them give up on games that didn't do well on their original platforms and disband the studios, but make PC versions of system sellers.
I don't know. I just feel that, if Sony is going to put their games on PC, why not give gems like Gravity Rush a chance at a second life and keep the studio around? Their games aren't really what I would call big budget, so what harm does it do to allow them to remain?
@DarXyde I could actually see that happening. In fact the faster Sony could convert more games to PC the better for their bottom line. But, logictially, since they are primarily using an inhouse specialist to ensure QOL in their PC ports there is only so much content they can put out at once and this is going to cause them to prioritize their bigger releases. I want to see them expand the Nixxes team so that they can work on more projects at once. Right now we know of 5 games in the PC port pipeline. So there is going to be a bit of lag getting them out. And clearly, Sony don't want to burden its other console studios with handeling PC ports. And in some cases, like with Gravity Rush, the studio doesn't even exist anymore.
I am hoping that the movies do well so that Sony might greenlight a sequel game for both of them. In my opinion both gravity rush games are great and only thing that held back Days Gone was the slow pace in the beginning but afterwards the world opens up and it's a great game and both these IPs deserve a sequel.
Spot on. The first 5-10 hours is a bit slow weapon & skill wise and the bike died fast and was slowish especially if you didn’t know where to get gas . After 10 hours or so you start getting upgrades and cool weapons and your bike can travel farther/faster it was an awesome game. I think most reviewers didn’t get past the 8-10 hour mark and reviewed it off of that plus there were some bugs At launch but they fixed most of it fairly quickly
The same reason why they keep making all those awful Marvel movies. Capitalize on the demand for more of these games, make some low effort/low budget movie, waste most of the money on advertising, profit. I worry for how the GOW, and SoTC movies will end up.
Maybe they get more interest in the games through movies and we get sequels . If it works out that way I don’t care how many movies they make
Days gone could work well as a series imo but I get what you mean.
Hopefully days gone is a massive success to green light another game.
I think it's great all this gaming into movies or TV series tbh and think they should have done it long ago ie heavy rain would work well, ratchet TV series or Bloodborne TV series etc.
Having said that it's important to remember some will turn out better than others and some might be just crap.
Sony are going crazy at the moment with adaptations and I really think they need to slow down and make sure the first project or two they already have in production is good before they start churning these out
Sony Pictures is not like Sonys Gaming Division, they are idiots, they couldn't even get Spiderman right without backing off the MCU and now you have Spiderman-less spin offs, Venom was meh, Morbius was awful and we have Madame Web, Kraven, Silk and more coming out.
The films based on the Spider-Man-rouges are likely pumped out so Sony Pictures can maintain its Spider-Man film license. I’m surprised Sony didn’t just sign a production deal with Marvel Pictures. Sony could have produced Spider-Man and other associated films for Marvel as part of the MCU. While Marvel Pictures handled the story and overall narrative direction.
Madame web? That would be ridiculous and comical if they release that
Today marks the 10 year anniversary of the Gravity Rush franchise! That means it’s been ten years since gamers in Japan first took to the skies and discovered Hekseville along with Kat on the PS Vita. To celebrate the occasion, we’re happy to share with you a new interview with the director of the Gravity Rush series, Keiichiro Toyama!
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Gravity Rush is a unique series where players can manipulate gravity, but the franchise has had plenty of difficulties to overcome.
Really doubt that. It had a distinctive style that was part of what made it great. The issue is, you just can't market that game to everyone and expect them to be interested. It's a niche styled game. Personally one of my favourite series but I'm not going to lie to myself and think there was much that could be done to get the series more interest with what was there.
I think they really should have left the second fame open ended because it makes it near impossible to make another game following Kat, and Kat is so likeable that it's sad
I love Gravity Rush and Gravity Rush 2 to pieces, but no. The whole Bande-Dessinee style is what made the experience. It's faithful to an original era.
Loved this series. It was groundbreaking for me on the vita with gyro and graphics. Shame it didn't get the attention it deserved. The second one was better in every way too, such a shame
Agreed. And I'm incredibly bummed to know Sony won't go back and at least give GR2 a 60fps bump. That game cries out for it!
Glad Sony at least gave GR a second chance, but it is always a bummer when new IPs that have unique artstyles & mechanics don't perform. Sort of cements why we get so much of the same-old-same-old. Why try something new when you can apparently rehash the same old thing again & get more sales? Wish we got to see what GR would have looked like as a native PS5 title.
Really fun games, they could use a better mission structure, yet the core mechanic is addictive
Good review. This was my 2012 GOTY for the Vita.
I loved the art direction; Hekseville is a beautifully rendered floating version of fin de siècle Paris. Just wandering around it soaking up the sights and sounds was worth the price of admission.