Score: 9/10
For those who’ve missed the chance to play the original incarnation of Keiichiro Toyama’s gravity defying game on the PS Vita, Gravity Rush can now be enjoyed in glorious high definition on the PS4. While it was developed to fully utilise the Vita’s hardware, most wonder if the experience would differ greatly on the PS4, sans the touchscreen and rear touchpad features. Having played both versions of the game, the game has ported over quite well on the PS4.
Kat out of the bag
Gravity Rush is set in the floating city of Hekseville, where you control Kat, a girl with no memory of who she was or how she got there. She immediately encounters a mysterious black cat, which she names “Dusty”, that could grant her a unique ability to shift gravity at will. As she tries to uncover the mystery of her own identity, Kat also learns to utilise her abilities to aid Hekseville to rescue its citizens from the Nevi – monsters spawned from gravity storms that disrupts the game’s world.
Sure, Kat’s amnesiac origin story is nothing new but the story makes up for it with its intriguing setting. The characters are interesting, and the dialogues are well written with a touch of comedy to lighten up the mood. Hekseville itself is a wonderful location which you can seamlessly explore, and is divided into different unique districts with their own atmosphere, inhabitants and musical themes. Later on, you’ll also be able to travel into the Nevi’s dimension to rescue trapped citizens and restore parts of the city that was abducted during gravity storms.
Dive Kick
A stand-out feature is Kat’s unique ability to manipulate gravity at will. By doing so, she’ll float into the air first before “falling” towards any direction that the player chooses. It’s the fastest way to navigate the world, and other cool methods such as Gravity Slide can be purchased by collecting gems that are scattered around the world. The game’s combat shines brightest when mixed with gravity manipulation.
Aside from Kat’s basic combo of kicks, players are able to stylishly combine them with powerful gravity attacks and finishers. There are various enemy types in Gravity Rush along with their obvious “destroy me” weak spots for Kat to exploit during fights. However, it’s not as easy as it seems. While minor enemies have their weak spots exposed, some may require a specific move or combo in order to expose them. This keeps combat interesting for most of the part, and are more challenging when it comes to boss battles.
Fall in Place
Surprisingly, Gravity Rush’s port over to the PlayStation 4 is an excellent one. The graphics has been up-scaled and improved with better lighting effects, high definition textures and special effects. Even the controls complements the Dual Shock 4 controller quite nicely in all aspects.
The DLC content such as side missions and costumes from the original Vita release has been included in the port, and that itself is a pretty sweet deal. For returning players, Gravity Rush: Remastered is a worthy revisit, and is a must for those who’ve not played it yet. Now… we wait for Gravity Rush 2’s release sometime this year.
