Gravity Rush

Play it on: PS5, PS4, PS Vita
Current goal: Don’t get sad about Japan Studio’s closure while playing

I suspect the number of times I think about Gravity Rush in any given week is relatively high, at least compared to the average person. I fell in love with this charming superhero action platformer from Sony’s Japan Studio when it was released on PlayStation Vita in 2012 thanks to its comic book aesthetic, inventive gameplay, and charismatic protagonist. Now I’m playing the PS4 remaster of the game (and not for the first time), and it’s nice experiencing the world on a large TV even if the original release made exceptional use of the Vita’s gimmicks. With the stream of game releases briefly at a trickle before the summer influx that includes Elden Ring DLC and Final Fantasy 14’s next expansion, I wanted to return to something familiar that I associate with unadulterated joy.

The premise of the game is that you are Kat, an amnesiac woman with the power to shift the direction of gravity, which she utilizes to fly through the air, walk on walls, and fight crime in a vaguely steam-punk city. The game’s unique movement and how it’s woven into both exploration and combat is expertly executed, with each mission feeling almost like a puzzle that tests your mastery of the gravity-shifting mechanics. Gravity Rush feels like a remnant of a bygone era of PlayStation, an era in which experimentation in game design was rewarded. At a time when the industry feels more risk-averse than ever, it’s good to appreciate a game like Gravity Rush. — Willa Rowe