The Gravity Queen Kat is back to finish her adventure in a massive new world. With style and grace she can make the most mundane of actions become fascinating. Whether it’s dog walking, taking pictures, and even falling. Gravity Rush 2 takes the ability to fall toward anything to greater heights, and occasionally new depths. Kat’s journey is enjoyable, but the game is often held back by the weight of its own ambition.
Gravity Rush 2 Review | Head in the Clouds
Gravity Rush 2 loosely picks up where the story left off in the original game. After a gravity storm Kat finds herself in a new place, and quickly sets out to make a new living for herself. Introduced to Jirga Para Lhao Kat takes on every issue no matter how big or insignificant. The first few hours feature Kat delivering papers, taking photos, and going on fetch quests for the towns many inhabitants.
Eventually the story picks up and assumes you vividly remember people and places from Gravity Rush. It won’t take long for anyone who failed playing the first title to become completely lost as the story continuously brings up plot points without warning or reference. This becomes hectic later as the story scrambles to discuss many of the original’s unanswered questions, which sadly remain so.
Raven, Kat’s gravity shifting partner in crime, returns to play a pivotal role in the story. She is a great counter balance to Kat’s naiveté, and adds a sense of urgency and pride when needed. You will tackle a lot of missions with Raven by your side setting up combos and the occasional covert op. Though there is no co-op in the game, Raven is excellent in providing muscle without making the game a breeze in tough segments.
For everything that Gravity Rush 2 does right something equally holds it back.
The art of shifting gravity uses the same control scheme as the remastered edition of Gravity Rush for the PS4. The right trigger sends Kat falling toward whatever you’re aiming at while the left trigger will stop her mid-fall to float in place. At anytime, while at rest or in motion, you can change the direction of the fall; giving the illusion of flight. There is a slight learning curve, but once mastered it is the best experience of the game. Which is great since that is the bulk of what you do.
Outside of falling Kat can create small stasis fields to transport people and cargo. In battle she can pick up objects and hurl them at high velocities for massive damage. She can also become frictionless and perform gravity slides. This allows her to rapidly glide along any surface. If you take the time to experiment with these abilities they can add many useful tricks to your arsenal. Even if you find the default control setting cumbersome, you can rearrange them to fit most preferences.
Controlling gravity to fall in any direction is a simple concept that gets convoluted easily. The balancing of the mechanic is well enough where you will incrementally get better the more you break the laws of physics.
While control gravity is pleasant combat is a mixed bag in Gravity Rush 2. While Kat acquires new skills and gravity styles to shift gravity and fight, you’re often at the mercy of the camera. When fighting a boss or surrounded by many enemies it’s easy to get lost in the chaos of the camera. It also doesn’t help that boss battles can drag on due to how they are designed. It might take minutes to find the foes who are the size of Kat zipping around the arena, or other enemies so massive they clutter the screen making it unclear where or what you should attack.
On the other hand Kat’s new gravity styles are the highlight of the game. They fundamentally change how you transverse the world and approach anything. Giving you creative ways to get around that don’t revolve around falling, such as platforming and precise jumps.
Her Lunar style relies on high jumps and vaults to clear vast gaps, while her Jupiter style makes her a heavy force of nature. They both offer a welcome change of pace when introduced. Creating some of the best moments when locked into one style forcing you to approach problems at new angles.
For everything that Gravity Rush 2 does right something equally holds it back. Kat is a great heroine with a big heart. But her characterization becomes belittled every time a stranger asks her to dawn a mini skirt and pass out flyers. Along with any other remedial task. The world is vast and colorful, but also filled with long stretches of empty sky to fall through. The story is entertaining, but often stops for periods of time without advancing the main plot.
Despite my grievances Kat and company shine like a shard of glass under the midday sun. The journey will put you on the other side of 40 hours. Minus some turbulence here and there the flight is worth it. Inside this Kat beats the heart of a lion, and though it may not soar, Gravity Rush 2 falls with style.
