Gravity Rush 2

Gravity Rush was pretty much a hidden gem on PS Vita. Since the remastered version hit PS4, however, it's become clear that it's an experience that also translates well to the big screen. Now we're ready to experience the continuation of Kat's adventure on PS4, and we can tell you with good conscience that it's worth a play.

Following on from the events of Gravity Rush, Kat is separated from her friends, but the game provides only a few words about what has transpired. If you want to know a bit more, you should watch the anime that Sony published during the Christmas holidays (that you can see on the second page of this review). In any case, we land in Jirga Para Lhao, where the tribal members of the Lhao offer us some shelter, and in return for their hospitality we must prove ourselves. However, with Dusty, the source of Kat's power, nowhere to be found, the Queen of Gravity cannot fall back on her special abilities at first.

The story of Gravity Rush 2 is unruffled and slow. Since most characters are one-dimensional, not all of the missions are all that entertaining, and this is a pity because Kat is a great protagonist. She is heartwarming, righteous, and her positive open-mindedness will put a smile on your face. Animations and small video sequences are available, but sadly these come without voices.

Kat is the Queen of Gravity, a title she holds not without reason, as she can ignore Newton's laws... as you may have already guessed. You can walk along the walls of buildings, move objects in stasis, and glide effortlessly through the air. "Glide" is really the wrong word in a way, because Kat basically falls through the levels. With the camera you fix a point or area in the world for her to head to next, and you can stop a crash by creating a stasis field around Kat and halting the drop.

It's a great strength of the game that its creators were able to implement this complex-sounding movement in a simple and functional manner. With the left stick (or with the movement sensor that's built into the controller) you can adjust the direction in which you want to let Kat fall. Of course, this requires some practice, as the game regularly tasks you with passing through complex passages or defeating enemies.

Combat, however, is not something Gravity Rush 2 handles particularly well. If you encounter enemy bandits, soldiers, or the Nevi (the Lhaoists call them Scarabs), the game often becomes confusing and chaotic. On the ground it's best to take down opponents with kicks and punches, and in the air you can use the effective gravity kicks.

Nearby objects can be thrown at opponents and their weak spots, however, the use of this powerful technique requires having things to throw. If Kat finds nothing suitable, she has to get into melee range. A special meter shows collected energy crystals which can be used to unleash devastating attacks. We didn't find these crystals particularly often, and therefore these violent special attacks didn't come into play too much.

During the course of the game Kat learns how to control two additional gravitational forms: the Lunar and Jupiter styles. In the Lunar style Kat becomes lighter and flies much further through the air. The attacks are less damaging, but Kat is very quick to attack and can build up combinations. The Jupiter style is the complete opposite, as you move more slowly and hit harder. We can hover in all three forms, so you'll have to figure out the best course of action for each individual situation.

One versatile feature is the photo mode. In almost any situation you can unpack the camera together with a tripod and take a snap that's yours to keep. This feature is used during several quests and it has been implemented very naturally. If you share your pictures online and like pics taken by other players, you also get Dusty Tokens, the game's online currency. This will unlock special rewards, and selfies are automatically saved locally to your PS4.

Gravity Rush 2, like its predecessor, comes with an appealing cel-shaded style, however, almost every level comes with a distinct colour scheme, something that we're not huge fans of. In terms of draw distance, Gravity Rush 2 unfortunately reveals some problems; you'll regularly see textures loading, or get hit by a thick veil of fog.

In the game there are, besides the main story, different side missions, which are great at setting the scene and offer nice rewards. However, they're not all to the same standard and the game regularly fails to give you clear objectives. Sometimes we couldn't understand why a mission failed and how we could solve the situation. After a few reboots you might get a hint, but it still comes across as a little rough around the edges.

Gravity Rush 2 is a sequel that's consistent with regards to its predecessor, so it's only natural that new players might feel overwhelmed. At the beginning this won't be too obvious, but in the latter part of the game it becomes more so. Without spoiling anything, background knowledge with regards to the events and side characters from the first game are definitely an advantage, and at some point Gravity Rush 2 simply stops introducing things with new players in mind. Although, with more than twenty hours of story, this game is practically double the size of the Vita original. A number of optional missions will devour a lot of your time, and then there are challenges, crystals to collect, and time-consuming online components.

We would have liked to have given this one a higher score, because the creatively implemented ideas fascinated us and we enjoyed them for the entirety of this lengthy game, but in the midst of frantic situations like when you're fighting larger opponents, or during the stealth-driven passages of play, unfortunately Gravity Rush 2 stumbles. In the end, Kat's latest adventure is a positive surprise, and the scope and the sheer size of the game far exceeded our expectations.