LogFAQs > #893053462

Gravity Rush 2

I think... okay, this one is gonna be hard to write about because I really enjoyed it but I'm still conflicted on it.

I fell in love with Gravity Rush 1. It had such a fantastic charm and interesting concept. The gameplay was something fresh, the characters and world of Hekseville/The Pillar kept you reeled in, and it left some things open for the world to be explored more. It really was a brilliant way to start the franchise. Then I played it on PS4 as Gravity Rush Remastered, and I thought it was even better on PS4 due to its controls being improved. I honestly can't believe that this was a series designed for a handheld console because its got that console feel. But I guess that's what the VITA's concept was, right? A console feel on a handheld. So when Gravity Rush 2 was PS4 only, it made sense. And I think it fits being on a console. It gives the game room to grow and breathe.

There's a lot of things that I didn't like about Gravity Rush 2 though. The design of Jirga Para Lhao, Gravity Rush 2's first world, is not that great. There's a bit too much time wasted on just moving between places, and the vertical aspect of it makes it a bit of a pain to navigate until you boost Kat's stats up and unlock Jupiter mode to fall faster. The way the second act of the game suddenly ends with more questions left open then cuts to credits, only for it all to act as a ruse for the third act of the game makes no sense and really just confuses the player. There's a couple moments in the story where things just kinda happen for the purpose of allowing the story to advance, like a perfect coincidence. Except the first game relied on that a bit too, and by now it doesn't really pass as easy.

Here's the biggest disappointment though. The game delivered the exact twist that I wanted out of it at the start of the third act without being too predictable about it, and got me ridiculously hyped up to see what everything was leading to. But then, in the process of trying to capitalize on the brilliance it set itself up for, Gravity Rush 2 loses some of its charm and devalues that twist a little. The way the ending played out made sense, but it just wasn't right somehow. I feel like I wanted something a little different from the scenario that was given to me. This may not make sense, but I think it veered off into a tone and a plot resolution more fitting of Final Fantasy or Persona than Gravity Rush. It's hard to explain without spoiling a shit ton of stuff. And it kinda sounds like an unfair complaint, like just because the story didn't happen exactly like I wanted it to means I didn't like the ending, but that's not it. It just kinda took me out of one of the main things I loved about Gravity Rush 1 (and most of Gravity Rush 2, even!), and that ended up being a decently big deal for me.

In the end, I still enjoyed this game for a gameplay concept that remained fresh and updated itself, characters that kept their charm even when the ending threatened that charm, the return of many of the best pieces of the first game, and a world that left me intrigued and fascinated right up until it finished explaining everything. And then, if I'm being honest, I wasn't left feeling like I wasn't given enough, I just felt like I wasn't given the best, and I really had high expectations for this game's resolution. So, in spite of some poor design choices and one or two disappointments with the story, it's still good. It just fell short of being great. I'm disappointed that it wasn't perfect like I was hoping out of this franchise after GR1, but I do think my expectations were maybe unfairly high. And remember, disappointment doesn't equal dislike.

6.5/10. Some really fantastic high points, and some really disappointing lows. Still enjoyable, just flawed.
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Got a brand new blues that I can't explain