E3 2016: ‘Gravity Rush 2’ Soars As Part Of Sony’s E3 Lineup
I have not been shy over how much I love Gravity Rush. The PlayStation Vita exclusive that recently got ported to the PS4 remains one of the most creative, thoroughly satisfying games I’ve played in a long time, which is why I couldn’t be happier to find its sequel, Gravity Rush 2, on the E3 show floor. Sure, you have your Horizon‘s and God of War‘s standing in the spotlight, but can they Kratos or Aloy Gravity Kick enemies from 50 feet away? I didn’t think so. Thankfully, Kat’s only gotten better since her last adventure, and her familiar skill set was on full display.
While it was recently announced that the Gravity Queen would have multiple forms of gravity manipulation this time around, the demo only featured her skill set from the first game. If that sounds like a complaint, it’s far from it, because shifting gravity to pull Kat in different directions while both navigating the much larger city or attacking the returning Nevi threat is as satisfying as ever. After a brief tutorial explaining the controls, it was off to our first few missions, as the perpetual do-gooder proceeds to help the citizens of the new town she finds herself in.
One of the biggest complains lobbied at the original was its unreliable lock-on mechanics, leading Kat to often miss despite centering her flying kick or item toss right at her target. The most obvious improvement while playing the second game however, was that this problem no longer exists. Gone are the days where using her spiral attack results in hitting one or two enemies before aimlessly flying off into the distance, because all of her attacks, from the spiral to the kick, follow any nearby enemies for the duration of the attack. Throwing items in the environment at flying Nevi is even more viable this time around as well, thanks to Kat having a much easier time picking up multiple item. Unfortunately, hitting enemies with these objects is still an issue, not because of the lock-on, but because enemies had a bad habit of hiding behind obstacles for long periods of time. This meant spending way too much time trying to find the perfect position lob the large benches and chairs I was grabbing without them smashing into a tree. I normally would have said “screw it” and went for the kick, but this was part of the tutorial, so I didn’t have a choice.
Another small flaw I noticed in this early build was an increased amount of slowdown, which is surely the price being paid for the much larger, more vibrant city. The visuals themselves look even more incredible the second time around, with NPC’s that look like they exist outside of accidentally being launched by your gravity powers. Protecting items looks like it will still be a popular theme, since it was the only full mission in the demo before it drew to a close, but doing so will always be welcomed if it means beating down more Nevi. Especially when animations for moves such as Kat’s ground kick combo look so much more fluid this time around.
No, it’s not perfect, and is a bit rough around the edges, but I have high hopes for Gravity Rush 2 so far. Slowdown and aiming issues notwithstanding, the game looks and plays even better than before, with the gravity powers retaining the satisfying feeling they delivered back in 2012. With the promise of new ways to manipulate gravity coming to the final version, how could we not be excited?
Gravity Rush 2 will be available exclusively for the PlayStation 4 in 2017.
