When you first boot up the game, you're treated to a strikingly designed environment and character design. It's unique and the characters are cel-shaded. It's aesthetically pleasant, however, I found that the world tend to be tinged with red, green or yellow (depending on the colour theme of that city). I wouldn't say the environments are beautiful but they do have some neat designs. When you're standing on the roof of a building and gaze down, it's impressive, especially considering that this is on handheld hardware. The graphics are gorgeous and beautifully rendered but you have to admit that the draw distance isn't great. Buildings from afar appear as outlines, it fits into the aesthetics and tone of the game but it still feels as if the hardware can't handle the world.
Speaking of which, at the beginning, in the town that you start off in, you would have thought that was the whole game world. It's a decent size but not big, then as you play, you come to realize that the game world is much bigger. The game play here is smooth and controls are responsive. The game play twist here is that the protagonist, Kat, can control gravity in that she can walk on walls (or upside down). Therefore, it is only logical that the game world is very vertical, with places everywhere for you to stand on. Actually, Kat doesn't control gravity in the sense that she can fling stuff around (although she can still do that), it's more like that she can control how gravity affects her, so for example, she can 'fall' into the sky.
Understandably, at the beginning, this concept has limited use since the length of time you can use your gravity powers is limited. Once you've upgraded the gravity gauge to a higher level, it's fun flying through the city. The controls can be tough to master, while it is easy enough in the tutorials, it can feel awkward and it takes time to get used to it. You basically use the right stick to aim where you want to go or attack but in the heat of battle, the camera can swing wildly making it hard to aim accurately without taking time to do so. Yet you can't take the time aiming as enemies move... This is the only thing that's hard, especially if the monster you're aiming for likes to move around (by the time you get there, the monster's moved away and you've missed it, it can be frustrating).
You're introduced to Kat's abilities throughout the first few chapters and you'll come to realize that there is much more to this game than just the basic gravity kick and travelling. Once you've played with the controls for a while, you'll learn what works and what doesn't and attacking becomes second nature. Add the special attacks which more often than not, decimates any enemy and the game is quite easy. The design of the nevi (the monsters in the game) is interesting. They feel somewhat spooky and reminds me of shadow demons (particularly No Face in Spirited Away). The boss battles are good, they're not hard and are actually quite easy in the beginning (they just seem intimidating with their size or some combat restrictions). In the heat of battle, it's easy to disorient yourself as you fly around. This is purely due to the nature of the gravity gimmick and I don't think the developers could have done anything to make it easier to keep track of where Kat is.
The story starts off slow (I found the opening cutscene to be boring) and it is told mainly through comic strips. It suits the design style of the characters well. These comic strips tell the story well enough and I actually like them better than the in-game cutscenes just because the strips are so much prettier. They've added a nice touch in that as you tilt the Vita, it also tilts the comic strip scene. The contents are on different layers so it gives a 3D effect. Again, this is a nice touch but nothing exceptional. It was disappointing the characters talk in a made-up language instead of English, which makes it harder to invest into these characters. I found the story to be too open-ended overall, as it presents too many mysteries and does not answer many of them by the end of the game.
The ending feels rushed and truncated because there you are, defeating the final boss, expecting some revelations and it ends. It feels as if there should be more (at least there is a sequel, which we can hope will address these open plot points). There is also a lack of a decent overall plot arc. Each chapter generally fairly episodic and it can be a huge contrast to the previous chapter that the experience can feel disjointed (one moment you're fighting all these nevi, the next you're doing errands then the next, you're helping this random citizen). The coherent themes are Kat slowly getting better and gaining superhero status but there's no "gotta save the world" type plot that you would expect. There are also a few chapters in which it felt like filler material, like the ones where Kat performs some odd jobs (that does not have an obvious link to the overall story).
There were some good characters (Raven was cool), some where weird but all in all, most of them were likeable. Once thing that feels overdone is Kat keeps occupying herself with thoughts of if she is cute (she is) and if she'll ever get a boyfriend. The frequency that that this happens is somewhat... oddly high. It's enough to detract from the game. The music is solid but not memorable or amazing. There are a few tunes which are good enough to make you notice them. Overall, Gravity Rush is a solid game but not an superb one. The concept of controlling gravity and floating around is awesome but the open-endedness of the story and lack of a proper hook in terms of gameplay holds the game back. It's more like you can see the potential of the game but what you actually get, doesn't tap fully into that potential.
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