So, I wanted to play this game for quite some time. Heard nice things about it but the lack of hardware made it impossible for me to play it. Then they announced the Remaster. Couldn't say I was overly excited as I had almost forgotten about it and the trailer for Gravity Rush 2 looked cool, but the controls looked weird to someone who never played that game.
Then I saw this gif:
Look, I'm a sucker for games where you can fly through the air like that. It's one of the many reasons I consider Journey to be an amazing game. It's not just flying though, any game with a movement system that allows for such mobility is a great game in my book (Spiderman 2 for the PS2 was a game I spent most of my time just swinging through town without doing anything).
So yeah, I saw that gif and knew I had to get this game. Fast forward some days and this game is on sale on PSN - lucky me!
I started the game and first thing I notice is the language. There are very interesting and cool-sounding made up languages. Nier is a game where I feel like the language sounds kinda cool (reminds me of Lord of the Rings), but I haven't played Nier (yet) and only know the language through the amazing soundtrack that I listen to everytime, so I don't know if it won't annoy me after some time. I didn't mind ICO and SotC too much as they didn't speak too much. Okami annoyed the hell out of me but I got used to it after some time. The language in Gravity Rush... sounds awful though. That's why I preferred the story being told through comic strips, which also had a cute artstyle imo. The only instance where the language sounded really cool was the ending song, which actually brings me to the next point...
The music in this game is phenomenal! The moment I entered Auldnoir and Old Town started playing I knew I was in for a ride. It adds a great deal to the game's atmosphere. In fact, every part of town had a great soundtrack with Auldnoir and Pleajeune standing out the most for me. This alone would have been enough to make me like the game even if it was heavily flawed, but what I got was even more than I expected.
The graphics were pretty. IQ was nice and clean in 1080p, character models were totally okay for a Vita port and everything else looked very good. The only gripe I had with the graphics was the draw distance. I would have liked to be able to see a little further especially considering that I fly so high in the air. It might seem like a minor point, but to me this is very important and it should have been improved, but you can't get everything and I actually didn't mind too much after some time since it's not as bad as it sounds. This also only mattered in town. When the area is more limited this issue becomes non-existent.
The story is nothing to write books about. I liked the comic-style way of storytelling and the mystery surrounding the city and its "creators". The game's length was perfectly fine in my opinion and the DLC added some nice mini-stories (and outfits). The dialogue was mostly funny and enjoyable. The sexual innuendos were a little weird sometimes, but they never reached anywhere near Bazonga-teaching level
.
I liked how the end of the game was designed to be a little more open with the second game already in mind.
The strongest part of this game was of course the Gameplay. I'm someone who normally stays away from the "30/60 fps" debate and doesn't even want to comment on it. I'm okay with either as long as it's stable. The constant 60 fps made this game feel so nice and smooth though, I felt it was definitely worth mentioning.
When I first started the game, I didn't really like its Gameplay elements. The camera felt a little clunky, aiming with the right analogue stick while manipulating gravity felt weird (partly because of having to get used to the camera) and the whole concept of "falling" instead of actually flying seemed unnecessary to me. In fact I felt a little deceived since the gifs people were always showing showed Kat flying in the air. The worst element though was the combat. Manipulating gravity and aiming at an opponent who fights back made fights frustrating. I wasn't on the verge of losing, but I couldn't fight the way I liked to while in the air, so I was just standing on the ground and handing out kicks. This was my first impression after playing for like 20 minutes, so I already knew that this wasn't going to be representative for the whole game.
And boy, oh boy, my first impression couldn't have been more wrong. I like going in blind for many games. I've only seen Gravity Rush 2's trailer in the past and didn't know anything about the game, so the whole manipulating gravity stuff looked weird to me and I didn't know what to think of it.
The whole concept is ingenious though! Once you get used to the camera there's no better thing than "flying" through town. I mainly used my jewels to upgrade the length and speed of falls. The way the camera controlled suddenly seemed logical to me and I was able to move freely. Combat was great and special abilities made it even more fun. The only thing I can complain about is that the gravity kick didn't really work too well for me. It was one of the most helpful moves, but it felt like it missed its target more often than it should have.
Walking on buildings, picking up stuff and throwing it at opponents, "surfing" on the ground and dodging. Everything hat its use at some point and no move could be labelled as needless.
Except for a few optional bosses, the game was mostly easy. The way you handle certain enemies was still unique in a way, so the boss fights were fun anyway. What I spent most of my time with were definitely the challenges. They were fun, varied enough to not get boring and challenging enough to engage me. It also forced me to learn certain gameplay elements like picking up stuff with gravity, which I would have possibly ignored throughout the whole game otherwise (and missed out on a very helpful tool).
So yeah, I finished the game last week and actually got the Platinum trophy and felt like sharing my thoughts with you guys. Sorry if they're a little unstructured. I really loved this game and think it's one of the most overlooked games of the generation. Definitely consider picking up this gem if you haven't already. My hype for Gravity Rush 2 shot from 0% to 100%. And here I thought Kingdom Hearts was the only game I'd be picking up in January^^
Also... this is my very first thread, so, yay for that?
Then I saw this gif:
Look, I'm a sucker for games where you can fly through the air like that. It's one of the many reasons I consider Journey to be an amazing game. It's not just flying though, any game with a movement system that allows for such mobility is a great game in my book (Spiderman 2 for the PS2 was a game I spent most of my time just swinging through town without doing anything).
So yeah, I saw that gif and knew I had to get this game. Fast forward some days and this game is on sale on PSN - lucky me!
I started the game and first thing I notice is the language. There are very interesting and cool-sounding made up languages. Nier is a game where I feel like the language sounds kinda cool (reminds me of Lord of the Rings), but I haven't played Nier (yet) and only know the language through the amazing soundtrack that I listen to everytime, so I don't know if it won't annoy me after some time. I didn't mind ICO and SotC too much as they didn't speak too much. Okami annoyed the hell out of me but I got used to it after some time. The language in Gravity Rush... sounds awful though. That's why I preferred the story being told through comic strips, which also had a cute artstyle imo. The only instance where the language sounded really cool was the ending song, which actually brings me to the next point...
The music in this game is phenomenal! The moment I entered Auldnoir and Old Town started playing I knew I was in for a ride. It adds a great deal to the game's atmosphere. In fact, every part of town had a great soundtrack with Auldnoir and Pleajeune standing out the most for me. This alone would have been enough to make me like the game even if it was heavily flawed, but what I got was even more than I expected.
The graphics were pretty. IQ was nice and clean in 1080p, character models were totally okay for a Vita port and everything else looked very good. The only gripe I had with the graphics was the draw distance. I would have liked to be able to see a little further especially considering that I fly so high in the air. It might seem like a minor point, but to me this is very important and it should have been improved, but you can't get everything and I actually didn't mind too much after some time since it's not as bad as it sounds. This also only mattered in town. When the area is more limited this issue becomes non-existent.
The story is nothing to write books about. I liked the comic-style way of storytelling and the mystery surrounding the city and its "creators". The game's length was perfectly fine in my opinion and the DLC added some nice mini-stories (and outfits). The dialogue was mostly funny and enjoyable. The sexual innuendos were a little weird sometimes, but they never reached anywhere near Bazonga-teaching level
(Tales of Xillia)
I liked how the end of the game was designed to be a little more open with the second game already in mind.
The strongest part of this game was of course the Gameplay. I'm someone who normally stays away from the "30/60 fps" debate and doesn't even want to comment on it. I'm okay with either as long as it's stable. The constant 60 fps made this game feel so nice and smooth though, I felt it was definitely worth mentioning.
When I first started the game, I didn't really like its Gameplay elements. The camera felt a little clunky, aiming with the right analogue stick while manipulating gravity felt weird (partly because of having to get used to the camera) and the whole concept of "falling" instead of actually flying seemed unnecessary to me. In fact I felt a little deceived since the gifs people were always showing showed Kat flying in the air. The worst element though was the combat. Manipulating gravity and aiming at an opponent who fights back made fights frustrating. I wasn't on the verge of losing, but I couldn't fight the way I liked to while in the air, so I was just standing on the ground and handing out kicks. This was my first impression after playing for like 20 minutes, so I already knew that this wasn't going to be representative for the whole game.
And boy, oh boy, my first impression couldn't have been more wrong. I like going in blind for many games. I've only seen Gravity Rush 2's trailer in the past and didn't know anything about the game, so the whole manipulating gravity stuff looked weird to me and I didn't know what to think of it.
The whole concept is ingenious though! Once you get used to the camera there's no better thing than "flying" through town. I mainly used my jewels to upgrade the length and speed of falls. The way the camera controlled suddenly seemed logical to me and I was able to move freely. Combat was great and special abilities made it even more fun. The only thing I can complain about is that the gravity kick didn't really work too well for me. It was one of the most helpful moves, but it felt like it missed its target more often than it should have.
Walking on buildings, picking up stuff and throwing it at opponents, "surfing" on the ground and dodging. Everything hat its use at some point and no move could be labelled as needless.
Except for a few optional bosses, the game was mostly easy. The way you handle certain enemies was still unique in a way, so the boss fights were fun anyway. What I spent most of my time with were definitely the challenges. They were fun, varied enough to not get boring and challenging enough to engage me. It also forced me to learn certain gameplay elements like picking up stuff with gravity, which I would have possibly ignored throughout the whole game otherwise (and missed out on a very helpful tool).
So yeah, I finished the game last week and actually got the Platinum trophy and felt like sharing my thoughts with you guys. Sorry if they're a little unstructured. I really loved this game and think it's one of the most overlooked games of the generation. Definitely consider picking up this gem if you haven't already. My hype for Gravity Rush 2 shot from 0% to 100%. And here I thought Kingdom Hearts was the only game I'd be picking up in January^^
Also... this is my very first thread, so, yay for that?
