Gravity Rush Remastered (PS4)

Thank God for remakes and re-masters.  I never owned a Vita, so I missed out on some gems.  In particular, Persona 4 Golden and Atelier Totori Plus are games I wanted to play, but couldn't because I didn't have the hardware.  I could live that though, because I had (and still have) the originals and while they may or may not as good as the Vita remakes, I still have the experience and that was good enough.  However, there was one game in particular that I wanted to play but couldn't; Gravity Rush.  It looked like fun, but not having a Vita made it impossible for me to play.  Then, the PlayStation 4 came along and made this wish come true by having Gravity Rush Remastered in its library.  Hooray!

The heroic theme on the screen gets you in the mood to fly.

A close up of our heroine.

Gravity Rush is a game where physics and cute girls meet.  You take the role of Kat, who can defy gravity with the aid of her pet cat (which looks like outer space).  So, there's a girl called Kat with a pet cat (ha ha).  Anyway, the world is broken like Humpty Dumpty, so Kat and her cat have to put it together, all at the behest of a dirty old flasher who's body looks like a black hole.  It won't be easy though, as you have to fight countless monsters and (gasp) another cute girl who can also defy gravity.

You thought I was kidding about the flasher, didn't you?

Speaking of saving the world, what a world it is.  The game takes place in some place that I can only describe as Victorian-era steampunk version of Cloud City from The Empire Strikes Back.  This world is seriously messed up, but in a good way.  It truly feels like an escape from reality.  Your journey through this world is accompanied by comic-style cutscenes.

Kat and her cat, Dusty.

The gameplay is also something that almost defies explanation.  It feels like some weird mix of Super Mario Galaxy and Grand Theft Auto.  You walk around a mostly-open world, defying gravity, completing challenges, and going on missions whenever the heck you feel like it.  That's right.  There's no rush to reassemble the world.  You can fly around at your leisure, collecting crystals, which you need to upgrade Kat's abilities as well as start some machines, which will open up more challenges.  You can also send Kat crashing into things like a crash test dummy (this doesn't hurt her, so beat the heck out of her if you want).

Dive straight into the story or take your time and enjoy the sights.

Look out below!

As for Kat's abilities, she can throw standard kicks to hurt enemies low to the ground.  As mentioned before, she can also manipulate gravity.  She can simply hover or you can send her flying in whatever direction you want.  If you press the attack button she'll do a flying kick, which will hurt enemies depending on how fast she's going when she hits them.  Being able to defy gravity means she can also walk up or along walls.  You can make her grab things with a gravity force and carry them around or throw them like an angry Jedi (or like an angry gamer throwing a controller).  She can gravity slide to move faster on the ground.  She also has super moves, including a drill kick that absolutely rapes any enemy unfortunate enough to be in her way when it's used.  All of these abilities are upgradable, increasing their effectiveness.  Needless to say, Kat is well equipped to deal with any situation.  There is a learning curve though and you'll need to practice before undertaking the serious missions.

Kat throws a kick while her cat watches.

The enemies are mostly blobs that vaguely resemble some kind of creature.  They have a glowing red orb that you must hit if you want your attacks to count.  Hit them anywhere else and you'll slide right around them like they're made of butter.  Fortunately, Kat auto-adjusts and will home in on the weak spot, assuming the enemy movements aren't too sharp.  The enemies may look creepy, but are easy enough to defeat.

Everything else fits where it should.  Cut scenes are present like a comic book and you can tilt them by tilting your controller.  The music is diverse and tracks are appropriate for the situation they're used in.  The sound effects nice as are the graphics.  The controls are laid out well and Kat's responses are (usually) crisp.  The camera can be disorienting sometimes, but that was probably by design, considering the type of game this is.

Outside the main game, you can complete challenges, play side missions, or fool around and explore the areas you've unlocked.  Completing side missions unlocks extra costumes for Kat.  You can also replay any on the story missions after a certain point.

Now THIS is how you ride a train.

So in the end, Gravity Rush is a neat little game.  It can be confusing and frustrating, but the overall experience is good.  Check it out.