Gravity Rush 2

Gravity Rush is one of those underrated gems that I’m glad I had the chance to experience. Something about manipulating gravity to float through the city and attack enemies just captivated me. I also have a collector’s itch, so I enjoyed finding gems all around the world to upgrade Kat. Gravity Rush 2 is offering a grander adventure and improved gameplay that feels more fluid and natural. I recently saw a presentation and got hands-on time with the game to see how it was shaping up – and the first looks are positive. 

The Visuals Have Greatly Improved
Unlike the first game, which debuted on the Vita, Gravity Rush 2 was built for the PS4 hardware and it shows. Everything looks sharper, clearer, and more animated. Hekseville, the town from the first game, is just so much grand and beautiful. The town hasn’t changed, but the atmosphere feels more natural. The city has seen a rapid recovery since we last visited it, so it’s only fitting that areas look more lively. You can now use gestures, such as greet, clap, scare, relax, and more, to interact with the NPCs in the town, kind of like you did in the Fable games (but sorry no fart options to report). The new vibrant city you explore, Jirga Para Lhao, is a great change of pace from Hekeseville which was more of a dreary city. Jirga Para Lhao was inspired by Latin America and Asia.

The game has a photo mode to capture your journey, allowing you to take selfies of Kat, and you can dress her in the different costumes and stage various items to get as elaborate as you want. Yes, gestures also come into play here; you can make her do a backflip, salute, sing, or even meow for her photo op. You can then send them to your friends. A side mission even tasks you with taking photos of certain things if you really want to play around with this feature.

New And Old Characters Will Meet Kat On Her Journey 
Details about the story are still scarce, but we do know the game takes place six months after its predecessor and that Kat is still at the helm. This time around though, she’ll be joined by Raven, her rival from the first game, but they’re now friends. While not much was revealed about a the story, we were introduced to some new characters. First up was Kali Angel, one of the new guardians of Hekseville. She has an aggressive and wild fighting style and uses her crystallization ability to regenerate herself when hurt. The second angel who descends to Hekseville is Durga Angel, and she has the power to crystalize empty space and create matter in that space and fly freely with the large crystal wings she’s generated. We also were introduced to Dr. Brahman  (spelling unconfirmed), who became the savior of Hekseville after a long period of chaos and has strong support from the citizens.

In addition, we saw some of our adversaries, such as Delta 1 and Delta 2, who are part of the rebels threatening Hekesville. Delta 1 has swift flying and fighting skills, making her an equal to gravity shifters. Delta 2, on the other hand, has reinforced armor and weaponry for tactical support. Together they’re a force to be reckoned with.

Talismans Provide Different Upgrade Pathways
At mining sites, you can collect gems and talisman stones. You can also find personal artifacts and mementos of other players who died in the trench. Mining is completely optional, but it’s beneficial because the gems you collect can be used to power up Kat. Talismans can be equipped to help alter Kat’s abilities, so you can boost her attack, health, the amount of objects she can pull into her gravitational field, her ability to find gems, and more. You can find these through mining or doing various events around the world. The fun here is that you can alter your talismans to give you edge in certain missions, depending on what the objective is and what forces you’re facing off against. You can equip up to three at once, and you even combine talismans to create new, more powerful ones.  

Changing Styles To Alter Your Skills And Movement
So far we’ve seen two styles in Gravity Rush. Lunar has a lighter gravitational pull, allowing Kat to stand on things like trees and water. Even if you fall from high places, you don’t incur any damage while using Lunar style. Using a different style can also change up your moves, for instance, a gravity kick in Lunar style becomes a wormhole kick, which allows you to lock-on to enemies and perform short-distance warps to get close to attack them. In addition, you can use that forces your foes to stay still. Lunar style is best for beginners because of this. 

The other style is Jupiter Style. This causes the gravitational pull to become stronger; it causes you to move slower, but gives you more powerful attacks. In this mode, a gravity kick becomes a surge kick, hitting the enemy with high damage. Your higher attack power comes with a caveat, however, you fall at a faster speed than normal, so sometimes it’s difficult to handle. This is a style for more experienced users, but don’t let that deter you as you can do some really cool things, such as creating a debris ball by collecting all the objects around to form a giant ball to chuck at enemies. 

When I asked about other styles, the director, Keiichiro Toyama, confirmed there are three styles, but said he’s not ready to talk about the third yet. 

Final Thoughts
Gravity Rush 2 plays like an improved version of the first game, as it should, but it hasn’t lost what made it fun. Going hands-on with it, I felt right at home with what I loved about the first game, just flying through the world at high speed and taking down baddies. Everything fans loved about it is here, from the exploration to fun physics-based gameplay. It just looks better and has more to do than its predecessor. The first game was special; it’s looking like the second will continue that trend, and hopefully take the series to new places. I can only hope it catches on more now that it’s on the PS4. 

Gravity Rush 2 launches on December 2 for PlayStation 4.