Gravity Rush 2, the sequel to 2012’s Gravity Rush, releases next week. We enjoyed the first game here at GameSpot–check out our full Gravity Rush review for more on that–but what about the second entry in the series?
Pre-release gameplay and the demo impressed, but until now we didn’t know much about the quality of the full game. With final reviews now emerging, we’ve compiled a range of critic opinions for you to check out below.
For an even wider view on Gravity Rush 2’s critical reception, check out GameSpot sister site Metacritic.
- Game: Gravity Rush 2
- Developer: Sony Japan Studio
- Platform: PS4
- Release: January 18 (Europe, Australia), January 20 (US, UK)
- Price: US $60 / £50 / AU $100
GameSpot — 9/10
“With a wealth of stories big and small to chew on, Gravity Rush 2 fulfills the needs of both a sequel and a prequel. The first Gravity Rush had enough going for it, but Gravity Rush 2 is stuffed with things to love. While its stealth missions are lame and it’s disappointing to experience camera issues from time to time, Gravity Rush 2 excels in almost every other respect, making its predecessor seem quaint by comparison. This is easily one of the best video game sequels in recent memory, and an adventure truly worthy of its excellent lead character.” — Peter Brown [Full review]
IGN — 8.4/10
“After a couple of story hiccups, Gravity Rush 2 righted itself and pulled me in with the personality of its world and wide variety of activities. The new gravity powers and styles make combat exciting, and well-written side quests and character relationships grant better insight into Kat’s universe.” — Miranda Sanchez [Full review]
Eurogamer — Recommended
“Kat’s always been endearingly clumsy as protagonists go–in contrast to her super-ally Raven she’s a headlong mess of hair, legs, scarf, flapping awkwardly through the sky and colliding with the ground in a shower of grit. It’s the kind of inelegance that most games don’t bother to try and capture, and it gives the Gravity Rush series a great deal of their likability and character. At times that clumsiness might reach a deeper level, perhaps, as one mission blends with the next in a muddle of places to go, bosses to fight, but I’m always willing to let that slide, as I am the terrible stealth sections, and the occasional struggle with the motion-control implementation that sees you aiming, in mid-air, with both thumbsticks and the accelerometer inside the DualShock 4. Gravity Rush seemed like an oddity on Vita, but then, the entire Vita was an oddity, wasn’t it? On the radio friendly unit shifter that is the PS4, however, Gravity Rush 2 still seems wonderfully unlikely and out of place. What a strange delight.” — Christian Donlan [Full review]
GamesRadar+ — 3/5
“Like its manga-inspired superheroine Kat, Gravity Rush 2 is a bit oafish, clumsy, and often overthinks things way more than necessary. When Kat is flying through the air, fighting massive bosses in huge, open environments, or whipping through clusters of strange, floating rocks and just going for it, Gravity Rush 2 is an absolute delight–a convergence of strange narrative, jazzy style, and high-flying, vertigo-inducing acrobatics. When it forces you to the ground to complete yet another half-baked stealth sequence, it all falls apart. ” — David Roberts [Full review]
Polygon — 7.5/10
“Coming in fresh, I found Gravity Rush 2 so bright and original that I’m still playing it, even after the end credits. Gravity Rush 2 has its stumbles–the camera often feels at complete odds with what the game requires of you, a real problem in a game that so aggressively eschews standards physics. But even with so many directions to fall head over heels in, it lands on its feet–just like Kat.” — Whitney Reynolds [Full review]