Gravity Rush 2 and the ‘I Hate This Game’ Conundrum

This was actually supposed to be a review for Gravity Rush 2.

I’d never played the first Gravity Rush, I did know it was well received by fans and I felt that the new one looked interesting, so I pre-ordered it. When the game finally arrived I installed it, sat down eager to play, and was honestly pretty interested in how it started. While I was expecting an action game from the get-go, Gravity Rush 2 starts in a much more subdued way. Unfortunately, my interest in the game quickly began to erode after the opening sequence.

While I will still concede that the game is gorgeous, like an interactive anime, it was the presentation of the story that really started to turn me off. Instead of cutscenes, or fully interactive story scenes, the game jarringly shifts to a series of comic book panels with a few key words spoken in Japanese. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I found what the characters were saying even the least bit interesting. I didn’t.

The opening section of the game is also the game’s tutorial, and it seems to take a really long time before you finally get the gravity abilities. Once I did, I felt the controls were entirely too loose. Others might enjoy this, but I prefer a much more precise control scheme. It’s fine though; we’re allowed to have different preferences and opinions. I could just finish the game and then review it based on my overall experience. There was only one problem with that, however.

Within two hours I realised I genuinely hated the experience of playing Gravity Rush 2.

Now, that is not to say it’s a bad game. I don’t have that opinion. The game and I just didn’t ‘click’. At all. So here I sit, not having played enough of the game to properly review it, but I also wanted to share my experience – and this got me thinking about how sometimes we will suffer through games we don’t like because we feel like we have to.

As a reviewer, this happens more often than you can imagine. Personally, I feel a responsibility to provide the people who are giving their valuable time to read my thoughts to make sure I am as informed as possible, regardless of how I feel about the game I am reviewing. I enjoy video games a lot. I enjoy sharing and articulating my thoughts about video games. I look at reviews as not only a critique but also a guide to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions. Games aren’t cheap, especially not on day one. As such, I take great pride in making sure the reviews I write provide the reader with as much information in my own voice as I can – even if that means suffering through a game I don’t particularly enjoy.

But what when I don’t have to review a game, or what about the average consumer who isn’t a reviewer? When I’m playing for pleasure, rarely do I find that games I’ve expressed interest in prior to release wind up disappointing me. I can also take my time with games, playing when the mood strikes me rather than being on a deadline and feeling obligated to play. I find myself going back to the same titles – often the Dark Souls series, getting in bits and pieces of a new run through while I wait out the mood or for a new game to come out. I find this to be very rewarding. It’s my “comfort food” of video games.

Yes, it’s unfortunate that I didn’t enjoy my time with Gravity Rush 2 at all, but I’m thankful that I wasn’t obligated to slog through it for review and I’ve had the opportunity to vent about it without having to attach a (likely unfair) score to it. Now, I think I’ll head back to Dark Souls. If I remember correctly I was being accosted by ghosts in New Londo Ruins. That should tied me over until Horizon: Zero Dawn.