The New Way Of Toying With The Laws Of Gravity Rush 2

Of the PlayStation Vita’s catalogue of games, Gravity Rush is perhaps the most distinctive. Playing as a character who can manipulate gravity and effectively fly through the sky, players would harness this unique ability kyo defeat the inky black baddies attacking her home-world, using the Vita’s gyroscopic controls to do so. With Gravity Rush 2, the sequel looks to build upon the series’ setting, and make use of the PlayStation 4’s power as it does so.

It immediately adds a more vibrant and brighter colour palette, compared to the original’s less appealing and murkier hues, but also expands the world you can see, so that the higgledy-piggledy buildings of the remote mining city Kat finds herself in stretch off into the distance without interruption. There’s bound to be more than a few opportunities to break out Kat’s camera and take a few snapshots of the gorgeous cel shaded views, turn it around for a selfie, or spawn in a watermelon or some other objects for something a little more unusual.

The cities ought to feel more alive, with more people populating the streets as you go round and explore. They’ll interact with you now, as well, waving back at Kat if you have her call for their attention as they sit at a table in a bustling restaurant. It’s a shame, but that restaurant’s outdoor furniture is more than likely to be smashed into smithereens during the gravity-bending combat.

The Nevi have returned as a blight on this world, with their inky black forms and highlighted weak spots, but they’re not alone in trying to stop Kat this time around, with human soldiers set up against her. They shouldn’t provide too much of a challenge, but the ones in large steampunk mech suits might prove to be a little trickier to handle. Thankfully, just as the Nevi have weak points and the larger bosses have several to try and hit, these mechs can be battered with locational damage, to take out specific limbs and render their weapons useless.

You’ll want to make full use of the force delivered from a Gravity Kick, but sometimes that might not be enough. Two new forms of gravity are being brought into the game, which also act to alter Kat’s style of fighting. Where Lunar gravity makes you much lighter and able to leap high up into the sky, giving you a Wormhole Kick attack that’s lighter but faster to deal damage with, Jupiter gravity weighs you down and will add more force to your blows. Switching between them is as simple as swiping at the touchpad, and even possible as you hang in midair.

Getting stuck into a fight will almost inevitably create a lot of detritus, as you and your foes smash up market stalls, tables, crates and more. They can even be harnessed and turned into an offensive tool for you, as Jupiter gravity lets you scoop nearby objects into a ball and hurl them at your enemies, or drag them up into the sky and take them with you to deal damage over a large area, with you and your Surge Kick at the very heart of it all.

Raven can now be called upon to fight alongside you, instead of being the prime antagonist, and comes in to act as support. It feels like this would have been a perfect opportunity to add in an element of co-operative play with friends, but Japan Studio decided to focus on this as a single player experience, with Raven as an AI buddy. However, she’s more than capable of holding her own, and will combine attacks with you when she can, and continue to fight the good fight, even if you get drawn apart.

It all adds up to a wonderful looking overhaul of the original’s combat system that adds a bit more depth and more nuance. The same is planned for the overall scope of the game, as Japan Studio look to address a common complaint that, once the main story was finished, there were few side missions and little left to do in the world. Admittedly, there were some additions via DLC packs, but Gravity Rush 2 will aim to flesh out the potential game time by including more side missions and quests to start with.

With the niche appeal of the handheld, the original game would be easily lost were if not for its port to the PlayStation 4, set to release in Japan in December, and in February of next year for the rest of the world. Having been enthralled by the first game’s quirky and unusual style on the PS Vita, it’s particularly gratifying to see Gravity Rush 2 able to build upon that game in almost every aspect.