While the PlayStation Vita hit the market with an impressive canon of games, the past few months have seen few titles worth getting excited about. Outside of ports like Disgaea 3 and mediocre releases like Resistance: Burning Skies, Vita owners have seen a post-launch drought.
That’s all changed with the release of Gravity Rush. Featuring a unique new gameplay mechanic, tight controls and a solid story, this handheld action game has brought the Vita its first true killer app, one any owner of the system should check out.
In Gravity Rush, players take on the role of Kat, a girl who awakens in the city Hekseville , which is under attack from a mysterious race known as the Nevi. It doesn’t take Kat long to learn that, with the help of her cat Dusty, she has the ability to manipulate gravity.
With no memory of her past, Kat decides to use her newfound powers to protect the city and discover what ties she has to the mysterious Nevi.
In terms of narrative, Gravity Rush does a good job of making familiar tropes feel fresh again. A main character with amnesia is nothing new, but the game avoids the issue by focusing the mystery of the story on Hekseville itself.
Further, the presentation of the story does a great job pulling players in. Gravity Rush plays out like a superhero origin story, and the game embraces its origin with comic book panels used in cut scenes and a highly episodic plot progression. Kat even receives a superhero name from the citizens.
Where Gravity Rush truly shines, though, is in the titular gravity mechanic. At any time, players can tap a button and send Kat floating into the air. By repositioning the camera, they can then change the orientation of the gravity around Kat to send her flying through the air.
While the controls take a little getting used to, zipping around the sky, walking on the ceiling and dive bombing enemies quickly become second nature.
Adapting to the controls is key, as ground fights quickly give way to aerial combat early in the game. New enemies are constantly introduced, with each one requiring a different approach. Kat may only have a few attacks, but the large number of enemies provides great variety and many opportunities to strategize.
This is even more apparent in the game’s many boss fights. Learning how the larger monsters move and attack is important, as players will need to carefully time the use of their gravity kick ability to land a hit.
The gravity mechanic is easily the shining star of the game, but it’s also easy to see how it won’t be for everyone. The constant need to reorient the camera and keep track of where you are in the sky will be off-putting to some. However, those who stick with it will find one of the best aerial combat systems available outside of a flight simulator.
In fact, the weakest part of Gravity Rush comes when Kat is on the ground. Basic combat is a button-mashing chore, while the touchscreen-based gravity slide maneuver is sloppy and hard to control. Fortunately, taking to the skies is almost always an option.
Gravity Rush also has a lot to offer outside of tackling story missions. An upgrade system allows players to customize Kat’s abilities to their liking, while challenge missions give gamers a chance to test their skills in races and arena fights.
Simply put, Gravity Rush is a must-play for Vita owners. Though it has the rough edges one might expect from a new IP, there’s still a great deal of polish on display. As a superhero game, a handheld title and proof of the potential of the PS Vita, they don’t come much better than Gravity Rush.
