my rating for a game is based on a simple question: "how much fun did you have?" and even if a game has flaws, if i loved it i will still give it five stars.

gravity rush 2 is an Experience. it's both exhilarating and heartbreaking for reasons both in and out of universe. there's so much lore to be expanded on, and it'll never be expanded on to the degree it requires because japan studio is gone. both in and out of universe, the world of gravity rush ended up being a fleeting dream (this isn't a spoiler, gr1 elaborates on this!), and tbh yeah i really think a gravity rush 3 is needed, even though it'll never happen. the only discussion i can find on this game is from Gamers who only play AAA games and complain about every little thing in the game, weebs who "correct" anyone who dares imply kat isn't straight and complain that the movie will have "diversity sjw garbage" or whatever, and people who are incredibly weird about female characters in games, and even outside of that like 90% of discussion on the game is comments on how "underrated" it is without actually saying anything about it. i however have collected a pro-con list i know nobody will make it to the end of that sums up my thoughts. it's, as anyone will tell you, full of charm to the max

LOVED

++ raven's ai is SCARY competent and whenever she's with me she. kind of ends up leading the mission. she's a better fighter than i am and she cleans up after me a lot and i might just say she's the most competent ai ally in any game i've ever played (i'm staring daggers at lost judgment right now btw)

++ raven's kind of an mvp in this game

++ i adore the addition of sidequests and i don't care if some of them weren't great. it added so much to make the world feel a little bit more alive, and many side story npcs reappear, be it more substories or just conversations. it gives you a glimpse into the lives of everyday people in the world of gravity rush. you can continue the legacy of jingle all the way and race people to get the last stock of the hot new doll as a gift. you can do a demon summoning ritual with some schoolgirls. you can dress up as a superhero to advertise ice cream. all of that and more. it felt a lot like how yakuza builds its world if you'll excuse me going yakuza brain again

++ there's two returning characters and the way kat interacts with them is both bittersweet and wonderful for character building. her chirpy "power through it" attitude falters and often vanishes around these two and idk if the game intends it but her interactions with these two are as important as main story beats characterwise

++ the social features are amazing?? the camera, the gestures, the costumes. on par with many ONLINE MULTIPLAYER GAMES in this regard despite not needing to be

++ the game's use of musical motifs is GORGEOUS and works in a big way. if you know you know

++ gravity rush has a habit of going full NieR when it gets serious and i love love LOVE it

LIKED

+ kali angel

+ syd is 100 times more interesting in this game

+ there's actually bosses you CAN'T unga bunga and requires combat instincts

+ your honour they're lesbians

+ i'm glad to hear more of the game's conlang. it's like a mix of japanese and french i love it

MIXED

++- game world is INSANE and i like jirga para lhao even better than hekseville but it feels like an out of control minecraft smp server in terms of structures. navigating by landmarks isn't really very easy and even after finishing the game i open the map every few seconds to figure out where i'm going. some areas have too many stairs, some not enough, dead ends where npcs walk and then turn around immediately, isolated plazas with no actual pedestrian access (leaving me wondering how people living here would get anywhere)

+- i loved it but the final act should have been an entire third game, and felt kind of rushed

+- the game's social critiques are a little basic, not to the point of "why can't we all just get along :(" or both sides-ism but it makes it feel like a game from a decade earlier in terms of social attitudes. however i do like that the angry centipede still got more depth than some other games would give them

+-- jupiter style's surge kick is satisfying but the mission where you get it is the WORST

NEUTRAL/NOT THE GAME'S FAULT

/ my hair's got red streaks in it already and i love raven so i'm REALLY tempted to go full red

/ i wish i could have remapped style switches to the d-pad and none of the preset layouts allow that. maybe that's yakuza 0 brain talking (especially as jupiter style scratches the same itch beast style does)

/ sony didn't give this game a chance and killed its online server after 18 months, only 18 due to fan backlash, and it was meant to be taken offline after a year. it's genuinely heartbreaking to get hit with the "the online service has ended" message every time i finish a challenge and it never gets any less sad to see. it also means a lot of stuff is impossible to legitimately acquire

/ there is a point where the game reminds you this is made by the same guy who made silent hill. this is not a plus or a minus because i have no words for it. you will know what point.

DISLIKED

- challenges pay peanuts as before and there's less gems everywhere. grinding mines was something i didn't wanna do either

- no rp walking :( i bumped into a fair few people in lei cosmolna and made them drop their stuff

- gravity sliding is somehow worse than in gr1

-- far far far far far far FAR too many stealth missions. some good, some awful, mostly just barely tolerable. like half of this game's missions were stealth and they could have used more variety bc they def had some creative sidequests

this is a game that will stay with me for...quite a while. merch is nonexistent, the one fanzine i could find is impossible to obtain, most characters who aren't kat or raven have no cosplay that i know of, some characters have little to no fanart...i wish i could do my part in making sure gravity rush isn't forgotten

ok that's all i go now goodbye