Gravity Rush 2 Review

Gravity Rush 2 is an ambitious sequel that improves in every aspect. Better story, better gameplay systems, better graphics and environments. A truly next gen experience, because if you think about it, the first game launched on PS Vita, a small handheld, now sure the Remastered version graced the PS4 as well, but you can feel that the base game was developed for a handheld system. You can check the review right here if you didn't!

With the introduction out of the way, let's dive deeper into exploring why this game sits along the "great" sequels that improve in every aspect of the game giving the player a true next experience, not just an improvement or iteration.

I will spoil some things to make the better story argument but if you sensible to that you can skip to the next segment 😉

The game starts like the first one, Kat having an amnesia, the difference however is that it's a brand new environment with a brand new cast of characters. Some events happen and you gain freedom to explore one of the cluster islands. The vibe of the new map is absolutely opposite of the old Hekseville, if Hekseville was a sepia toned depressing islands, Jirga Para Lhao is colourful and happy.

The characters you meet along the story are recurring from the first game but also new comrades and villains. The immediate improvement I saw regarding side characters was better design and personality which makes the game more charming and made me actually care about the NPCs and their struggle.

The superhero motif returns here as well as an amnesiac Kat tries to remember where she is and how to go back to her old town where she started her superhero activities. The old characters we encounter evolved meaning a time skip occurred between the first game and the second. The sidequest givers now have a bit of personality that helps with immersion in the game's world.

If Hekseville gave a vibe of autumn and winter, the new locations have summer vibes which combined with the amazing art style makes everything pop and look absolutely beautiful. And yes since I am mentioning the old map from the first games so many times I hope you understood that in this game, you visit it as well.

As you progress throughout the game we also find out the backstory of Kat, who she is and what are her motives, why is she trying to save people providing much needed lore for the universe where we play. And if that wasn't enough for you we also get the free story DLC where we play as Raven and we find out what happened in the Ark storyline.

Better story and environments

You might be asking what can you improve the gravity based gameplay? Add new powers? Perhaps add stat modifiers? Or probably introduce battle armour that drastically changes combat?

Well, the answer is yes to all of the above 🤣

New and refined powers are useful from battling enemies to the newly added minigames and missions.

Stat modifiers are introduced in the form of talismans that are mined in the newly added dungeons that grant the player ranging bonuses from damage additions, gem attractor, extra life, faster gravity power regeneration to better efficiency when using super moves.

The biggest addition to the combat is adding the 2 gravity styles that control Kat's weight. Jupiter style makes you heavier, thus slower and accelerate slower, however she can pack a punch! The opposite is called Lunar style where Kat is lighter, she is floaty and thus can be better at dodging and faster in combat.

The best thing about these 2 styles is that you can change on the fly anytime when in combat or exploring making the combat very refreshing and fun.

Now add better high octane boss battles that challenges you to use everything Kat has to offer and you have a recipe for success!

Now I have mentioned about dungeons a couple of times and now I want to provide a bit more context: long story short there are mining sites that are basically randomly generated dungeons where you farm ores, talismans by defeating enemies. Now unfortunately since the mining dungeons are now the primary way to grind for ores to upgrade your powers, there are still some in the over-world however the amount is way less thus making exploration less rewarding than the first game since the payout is not as big.

Thankfully the new set of fresh challenges that are all over the map, in addition to the mining dungeons provide plenty of content for players that want to fully upgrade Kat, even though it will take a bit more time since it takes a bit to load all the new environments.

Better gameplay

When I mean by graphics I mean by the quality of the visual presentation, the art style is still cel shaded, however it is more diverse that gives freshness and the feeling of new even though the visual fidelity stays the same.

And while my biggest complaint from the first Gravity Rush has been addressed: population density, finally the cities are bustling with life, you see NPCs walking around doing absolutely nothing but still it is nice to see more than 5 people on the big maps. Other visual issues that break immersion are still present, the worst offender is still the draw distance. When flying at high speed the texture pop in looks very bad to the point where trees and ores are not loaded unless you close to them which impacts exploration and immersion. The camera in combat can become a bit unwieldy and will render the player unable to see what's in front of them if the camera is stuck in a corner or you are near a wall / tight hallways.

I mentioned before that the ore distribution was changed and unfortunately since the mining dungeons became the primary source, enemies stopped dropping ores which again, makes defeating enemies less satisfying. Speaking of enemies, unfortunately aside from the newly added human villains the Nevi monsters are the same, no new type of monsters just added some reinforcements making them harder to eliminate. Since collecting resources now is not as seamless as before, the frequency of the dreaded loading times is increased.

Well, another feature of this game is home customisation where you can decorate Kat's home and addition of costumes and photo mode for people who want these options, they exist.

Better graphics...?

I feel like I could talk about this game for another couple of paragraphs but alas I am afraid that you might get all the information and feel like you don't need to play this game anymore 🤣 So without further ado let's move into the final thoughts and scores for this game.

Now onto the grades, because people like it when you give scores, so let’s see:

Graphics & Art style - 10
Performance - 5
Gameplay - 9
Fun - 9

Overall the score for Gravity Rush 2 is a spectacular 87/100, gameplay and art style shines with more activities than ever even though at the cost of the exploration. Overall the game is fun. Aside from the performance issues I had and the fact that it crashed once while playing on my PS4 Pro I wholeheartedly recommend you play this unique experience.

The final score is not an average of the separate reviewed elements but the game as a whole package. A gift wrapped nicely by the developers for us, gamers.

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Rating and verdict