4/5 ★ – bokonon764's review of Gravity Rush Remastered.

Originally a PSP game, Gravity Rush Remastered is a major glow up of a super rad game. It’s cumbersome control scheme and dizzying camera work is not for everyone, but it’s definitely for me, I fuckin love this game. Gravity Rush is something really special; in aesthetics, concept, design, gameplay…I think most players would agree with me, except when it comes to gameplay. If the controls and mechanics are a bit of a beast to keep straight and under control, but if you can get it right, it sings. Undoubtedly one of my favorite flight systems in a game. You essentially control gravity, playing as what’s called a “shifter” named Kat. You can suspend Kat in mid-air, direct where you want to go, and fire away. You can also restore the normal gravity any time, sending Kat hurtling back towards the ground. It’s very easy to lose track of which is up, but a constant use of a camera reset by clicking the right stick Now the original Gravity Rush used motion controls, and the motion controls are still around, but they can be turned off, or used in tandem with the right stick as camera/aim control. I hate motion controls and turned them off, I think the game is much better this way. I have played through this game before, but this time, I almost played it exclusively on my Portal, so it was sort of like I played it in a souped up PSP. On the subject of Kat, she’s a great character. I love her design, except the heels, just give the woman some fucking boots. Despite that, still love her design; the black against the gold with the tannish skin, red eyes, scarf and hair always flowing with the shift of gravity…she’s got this familiar cat thing that is the source of her power, he’s called Dusty. Dusty is essentially made of like space and shit, he’s cool as fuck. Kat’s personality us The stellar design doesn’t end with Kat. Gravity Rush’s story takes place in a sort of city state called Hekseville. Combined with great art direction and a solid score, Gravity Rush’s setting is one of dark whimsy, sort of like a Hayao Miyazaki movie. It’s maybe the best thing about the game. Gaming powerhouse Japan Studio never ceases to deliver when it comes to aesthetics. Some of my favorite games came from this studio, Bloodborne, Shadow of the Colossus, games where atmosphere plays a huge role in how the game feels; Gravity Rush is no different. Anyways, Hekseville is a pretty simple, smallish map. There’s not a whole lot to do, just currency gems to collect, challenges, and one sort of secret collectible. Other than that, it’s just main missions and DLC side quests, which come with the remastered version. This is fine though, playing games with overstuffed, huge maps is getting super old. A complete clear of this game only takes like 15-20 hours. The piecemeal-fed lore are doing wonders for this game. The story is so-so, but its setting and world are everything. Kat is essentially a super hero in the floating city of Hekseville, a town under siege by a monsters called Nevi. There’s a rival shifter, a mysterious old man characters, a villain called Alias, some mystery and intrigue, it’s a fun romp. There are very few actual cutscenes, so a lot of the games story beats are explained through comic book paneling and text boxes. The love the anime inspired 2D art, it really pops. The Nevi are average videogame enemies: black and red, no discernible feature, save for their glowing orb weak spots. Combat really didn’t come into its own until Gravity Rush 2, but it’s fine. Hit the weak spot is essentially the name of the game. It’s the lack of variety in attacks that make Gravity Rush feel a bit to rinse and repeat. For me, it’s the challenges that really shine. If you want that sweet platinum trophy, you’re going to have to master the flight mechanics and gravity shifting, and do it quickly. It may seem really tough and straight up shitty at first, but if you can get it down, it’s so much fun. So again, not for everybody, but I fuckin love this game. If you’re looking for something unique with a relatively quick playthrough time, give this game a shot.