Gravity Circuit is so Mega Man, that at times I wonder whether or not the game would be fun or interesting if I hadn't played a Mega Man game before. The game is consistently enjoyable, with a robust and tight moveset/combat system and level/boss design that feels completely ripped out of a Mega Man title...So...if it is so Mega Man, then what does the game necessarily bring that's unique in its own right? Well, that's one of my only real issues, it doesn't. Basically, everything down to the core is Mega Man through and through, some parts even being flat-out ripped straight from one with no changes. Hell, the game even rips the ENTIRE highway and highway boss from fucking Mighty No. 9! That's insane! It's better here than in MN9 but like still...really?
But let's start off with that gameplay dissection. The player has a melee attack with built-in unique directional attacks. Attacks have predetermined combo strings with a minor amount of depth on their own but not enough to be satisfied alone. Alongside the melee is a short-ranged attack called the Hookshot, which also allows the player to attach to walls and ceilings much like the namesake comes from. The Hookshot can also grab items and enemies to hold and on button release, throw into other enemies and objects for massive damage. You can only pick up an enemy if it has died. However, once you kill an enemy all the base combat fades away in turn for grab, throw, grab, repeat. Instant kill on all enemies the throw hits. But if you don't wanna use throws and instead want better base melee, the burst gauge is where things get a little interesting. You have up to four unique burst moves equipped corresponding to Neutral, Up, Down, and Left/Right specifically. Each move is a kind of mini super move with some i-frames and big damage locked behind one burst gauge pip. To fill the burst gauge you have to get burst energy from enemies, which is only given after they die, unless you are using the passive effect system. Flat out, the burst gauge should just fill on attack regardless of any required passive effect. The system complements the base combat to allow genuine personality but only when the player can ebb and flow in burst attacks at will. Without it, it becomes a continuous wailfest that sadly feels a little dull. It doesn't help that most of the time you really don't wanna use certain directional attacks because they have long wind-ups for no damage increase. Other than that though, the burst system is surprisingly robust, albeit most moves, and good ones especially are locked behind the different Circuits. One burst technique straight up breaks the combat system...yet feels depressingly built around it. We'll get to that later.
After combat, the next important part of a Mega Man-like, especially one with X and Zero DNA, is the movement feel. Luckily, Gravity Circuit has seriously fluid movement with some minor issues that can easily be avoided. Besides the basic left/right and jump movement, the player can wall jump infinitely on the same wall, as well as get a large jump when jumping away from said wall. The player can also slide which oddly enough has a specified duration that gets shorter the more times you have to slide consecutively. It's not really an issue but I think it would've made more sense if the slide continued through a slide tunnel if the player could not stand up. And lastly, there is a run button. The base movement is about the same as the movement speed of X from Mega Man X, which isn't all that slow. However, in this game, they wanted to crank the game speed up to match the much faster and punchy combat with a run button. The issue with the run button is that you pretty much should NEVER stop holding it down. There is basically no scenario in the entire game where it isn't expected that you are holding run. This is a problem I have with other run button-based platformers as well, but the problem is definitely exacerbated here. Luckily as stated prior, the fix is something they added in the options menu to invert the run button into a walk button. This should've been the default, no contest. On top of that, another function that isn't bound at first is an upwards-facing hookshot button, akin to the Super Metroid aim-up button. Using the hookshot for the hookshot-based platforming later in the game is NOT FUN if you do not use this function. Again, should've been the default.
While playing the game, the player occasionally garners a currency (that I could not name if you put a gun to my head) that can be used to purchase burst moves and passive effect chips. The passive effect chips also require a secondary collectible in the form of savable bots in levels but I have no qualms with those so I won't talk further on em. In general, I think there is a little bit too much of a focus on the currency during levels, and thusly in the shop functionality at all. The main reward for nearly all play during a level is money, which is still not enough to get things depending on your progress in the game/stages. Personally, I believe a much better system would instead keep the bot system for passives, and change to a much cooler and much rarer bolt collectible system found within levels for techniques. Scrap the money entirely as it's superfluous and doesn't necessarily contribute to the overall quality of the systems present. On that note, let's talk passives. The player can equip up to three and they vary wildly in effects, from increasing player range on melee, faster attacks, to the aforementioned gain burst energy on enemy hit. In general, I like the system! It once again is another layer of letting prospective players choose how they want to engage in combat uniquely which is almost always a good thing. The only issues are presented when you stack specific effects to wildly change the difficulty of combat. The burst effects especially can stack for a disgustingly nasty combo that can garner the player tons of burst energy that can not only heal the player but allow them to perform their actual burst moves. This compounds with the broken burst technique to decimate any shred of legitimacy in the combat experience, leaving a hollow husk in its wake.
This technique is a mid-combat heal. That may not sound like much, but when other passives stack with it, it can quickly change the combat from a unique Action Platformer with challenging bosses, to a needless spam of attacks to deal damage and still reward yourself with health back. There is very little risk with this strategy and that goes for the entire game after it is used. Perhaps luckily, almost the entire game can be done absolutely perfectly without said moves and is designed around NOT having it. That is...except for the final boss. The final boss is almost great, but the final phase fucks it up. In the final phase, the boss begins spawning enemies so that the player may gain a burst meter to destroy the fuck out of it. Or at least that's the intended reason for the random enemies. Unfortunately, the enemies still can launch attacks at you! While the final boss is also attacking you! This leads to a genuine clusterfuck that in no way was designed without a personal fucking heal kit in your back pocket every few attacks. Its design doesn't lend itself well to the combat system, and it sure as hell doesn't do the rest of the game any favors when it all but practically gives up on the finalest stretch possible. Which is a shame because the rest of the fight is very good, albeit a difficult learning curve.
Alright, last few minor things to talk about. Level design is incredibly strong, with each level having a very distinct core identity centered around a couple of unique gameplay ideas. And in the classic Mega Man fashion, all tethered around the specific robot master (or in this case, Circuit) of said level. This leads into the "Wily" stages of the game which as usual raise the difficulty floor of the platforming and combat as well as throw in multiple stage's ideas into one making a new unique platforming experience for each one.
Story isn't a big thing in Mega Man games, but it got a little bit of limelight here in Gravity Circuit. It isn't all that incredible, still being just fine at best, but I found it really interesting that the plot seemed to travel down a more...JRPG-esque plotline? If you play the game you'll understand what I mean. It was a fun plot while staying relatively simple which is the most you could ask for when it comes to Mega Man-likes.
And last minor thing is this review is based on the base Hard Mode experience. Enemy damage felt fair until the aforementioned final boss shenanigans and the health pool didn't become an issue until the "Wily" stages as well. On top of that, I also did not find any of the health upgrades and found only one burst gauge upgrade. In Mega Man X fashion, it is of course highly recommended to get those upgrades, but unlike X, you can find them on your first visits to levels...even if I didn't end up finding many. This of course doesn't impact my review that much, because I hold that the base kit should be more than capable of tackling all parts of the game, which in Gravity Circuit's case is almost entirely possible.
Gravity Circuit is an incredibly solid game. A lot of this review may have painted a different picture but I can assure you that my critiques are something that doesn't change the overall rating all that much. The game doesn't push boundaries, nor does it have an incredible quality to it... But every single piece of the game, from art direction, art quality, music, gameplay, and more exudes a love of the games it is based on. And most importantly, exudes consistent quality at a level of fun that any game worth its salt should wish to reach. Not all games have to be incredible 10 out of 10 masterpieces, sometimes, a game just has to be good quality fun. That is Gravity Circuit.
But let's start off with that gameplay dissection. The player has a melee attack with built-in unique directional attacks. Attacks have predetermined combo strings with a minor amount of depth on their own but not enough to be satisfied alone. Alongside the melee is a short-ranged attack called the Hookshot, which also allows the player to attach to walls and ceilings much like the namesake comes from. The Hookshot can also grab items and enemies to hold and on button release, throw into other enemies and objects for massive damage. You can only pick up an enemy if it has died. However, once you kill an enemy all the base combat fades away in turn for grab, throw, grab, repeat. Instant kill on all enemies the throw hits. But if you don't wanna use throws and instead want better base melee, the burst gauge is where things get a little interesting. You have up to four unique burst moves equipped corresponding to Neutral, Up, Down, and Left/Right specifically. Each move is a kind of mini super move with some i-frames and big damage locked behind one burst gauge pip. To fill the burst gauge you have to get burst energy from enemies, which is only given after they die, unless you are using the passive effect system. Flat out, the burst gauge should just fill on attack regardless of any required passive effect. The system complements the base combat to allow genuine personality but only when the player can ebb and flow in burst attacks at will. Without it, it becomes a continuous wailfest that sadly feels a little dull. It doesn't help that most of the time you really don't wanna use certain directional attacks because they have long wind-ups for no damage increase. Other than that though, the burst system is surprisingly robust, albeit most moves, and good ones especially are locked behind the different Circuits. One burst technique straight up breaks the combat system...yet feels depressingly built around it. We'll get to that later.
After combat, the next important part of a Mega Man-like, especially one with X and Zero DNA, is the movement feel. Luckily, Gravity Circuit has seriously fluid movement with some minor issues that can easily be avoided. Besides the basic left/right and jump movement, the player can wall jump infinitely on the same wall, as well as get a large jump when jumping away from said wall. The player can also slide which oddly enough has a specified duration that gets shorter the more times you have to slide consecutively. It's not really an issue but I think it would've made more sense if the slide continued through a slide tunnel if the player could not stand up. And lastly, there is a run button. The base movement is about the same as the movement speed of X from Mega Man X, which isn't all that slow. However, in this game, they wanted to crank the game speed up to match the much faster and punchy combat with a run button. The issue with the run button is that you pretty much should NEVER stop holding it down. There is basically no scenario in the entire game where it isn't expected that you are holding run. This is a problem I have with other run button-based platformers as well, but the problem is definitely exacerbated here. Luckily as stated prior, the fix is something they added in the options menu to invert the run button into a walk button. This should've been the default, no contest. On top of that, another function that isn't bound at first is an upwards-facing hookshot button, akin to the Super Metroid aim-up button. Using the hookshot for the hookshot-based platforming later in the game is NOT FUN if you do not use this function. Again, should've been the default.
While playing the game, the player occasionally garners a currency (that I could not name if you put a gun to my head) that can be used to purchase burst moves and passive effect chips. The passive effect chips also require a secondary collectible in the form of savable bots in levels but I have no qualms with those so I won't talk further on em. In general, I think there is a little bit too much of a focus on the currency during levels, and thusly in the shop functionality at all. The main reward for nearly all play during a level is money, which is still not enough to get things depending on your progress in the game/stages. Personally, I believe a much better system would instead keep the bot system for passives, and change to a much cooler and much rarer bolt collectible system found within levels for techniques. Scrap the money entirely as it's superfluous and doesn't necessarily contribute to the overall quality of the systems present. On that note, let's talk passives. The player can equip up to three and they vary wildly in effects, from increasing player range on melee, faster attacks, to the aforementioned gain burst energy on enemy hit. In general, I like the system! It once again is another layer of letting prospective players choose how they want to engage in combat uniquely which is almost always a good thing. The only issues are presented when you stack specific effects to wildly change the difficulty of combat. The burst effects especially can stack for a disgustingly nasty combo that can garner the player tons of burst energy that can not only heal the player but allow them to perform their actual burst moves. This compounds with the broken burst technique to decimate any shred of legitimacy in the combat experience, leaving a hollow husk in its wake.
This technique is a mid-combat heal. That may not sound like much, but when other passives stack with it, it can quickly change the combat from a unique Action Platformer with challenging bosses, to a needless spam of attacks to deal damage and still reward yourself with health back. There is very little risk with this strategy and that goes for the entire game after it is used. Perhaps luckily, almost the entire game can be done absolutely perfectly without said moves and is designed around NOT having it. That is...except for the final boss. The final boss is almost great, but the final phase fucks it up. In the final phase, the boss begins spawning enemies so that the player may gain a burst meter to destroy the fuck out of it. Or at least that's the intended reason for the random enemies. Unfortunately, the enemies still can launch attacks at you! While the final boss is also attacking you! This leads to a genuine clusterfuck that in no way was designed without a personal fucking heal kit in your back pocket every few attacks. Its design doesn't lend itself well to the combat system, and it sure as hell doesn't do the rest of the game any favors when it all but practically gives up on the finalest stretch possible. Which is a shame because the rest of the fight is very good, albeit a difficult learning curve.
Alright, last few minor things to talk about. Level design is incredibly strong, with each level having a very distinct core identity centered around a couple of unique gameplay ideas. And in the classic Mega Man fashion, all tethered around the specific robot master (or in this case, Circuit) of said level. This leads into the "Wily" stages of the game which as usual raise the difficulty floor of the platforming and combat as well as throw in multiple stage's ideas into one making a new unique platforming experience for each one.
Story isn't a big thing in Mega Man games, but it got a little bit of limelight here in Gravity Circuit. It isn't all that incredible, still being just fine at best, but I found it really interesting that the plot seemed to travel down a more...JRPG-esque plotline? If you play the game you'll understand what I mean. It was a fun plot while staying relatively simple which is the most you could ask for when it comes to Mega Man-likes.
And last minor thing is this review is based on the base Hard Mode experience. Enemy damage felt fair until the aforementioned final boss shenanigans and the health pool didn't become an issue until the "Wily" stages as well. On top of that, I also did not find any of the health upgrades and found only one burst gauge upgrade. In Mega Man X fashion, it is of course highly recommended to get those upgrades, but unlike X, you can find them on your first visits to levels...even if I didn't end up finding many. This of course doesn't impact my review that much, because I hold that the base kit should be more than capable of tackling all parts of the game, which in Gravity Circuit's case is almost entirely possible.
Gravity Circuit is an incredibly solid game. A lot of this review may have painted a different picture but I can assure you that my critiques are something that doesn't change the overall rating all that much. The game doesn't push boundaries, nor does it have an incredible quality to it... But every single piece of the game, from art direction, art quality, music, gameplay, and more exudes a love of the games it is based on. And most importantly, exudes consistent quality at a level of fun that any game worth its salt should wish to reach. Not all games have to be incredible 10 out of 10 masterpieces, sometimes, a game just has to be good quality fun. That is Gravity Circuit.