Gravity Rush ‘Special Forces’ DLC Review
Warning: Spoilers for the events between chapters 17 and 18
The “Special Forces” DLC pack is a mixed bag. While the storyline is pretty good, and adds more depth and meaning to the post-chapter 17 events, the challenges are what really bog it down. Both are races, one being a “use all of your skills” while the other opts for the more frustrating “slide ability” challenge.
The first thing you’ll notice when you start up the first of the two ‘Special Forces’ Side Missions is Kat’s new military outfit. This outfit is a nice addition to Kat’s expanding wardrobe. As for the actual story? Well, that’s what really saves this DLC. After her year-long absence, Hekseville has changed. The military has taken over, making the city into more of a dictatorship. This turn of events sparks Kat’s curiosity, leading her to find out just what happened and how the people are responding to the events. Kat investigates by joining the Jellyfish, a special forces unit that was introduced earlier in the game. These two side missions had me taken aback. As I stated in my earlier review, Gravity Rush’s narrative was the strongest point of the game, and the ‘Special Forces’ DLC keeps building upon that narrative. Simply playing these two missions added another layer to the game’s story while also taking away a crucial plot hole, which was a nice thing for the developers to do. Learning about Commander Yuri, and Yunica and why they fight for the city moved me, and learning how the citizens felt about the Jellyfish’s actions to protect what was most important to them was the icing on the cake. Had this DLC solely been about the story then I would have been fine, but sadly there were two added challenges that took away from the experience.
The first of the two challenges requires you to navigate your way through a sea of pipes while strategically managing the scarce amount of power left in your Gravity Meter. Out of the two challenges, this was the most frustrating. Careening toward pipe-after-pipe in an attempt to get the gold medal is honestly the most infuriating 30 minutes I’ve spent with Gravity Rush. This particular challenge takes all of Gravity Rush’s problems and throws them at you in a convenient little package that you won’t enjoy.
While not as frustrating as the former challenge, the Gravity Slide challenge does become unnerving. My time with this challenge was plagued by the constant shifts and turns I had to execute to properly hit the checkpoint markers so that I could advance to the finish line quickly enough to get the gold medal. Getting the gold only took me two tries but the fact remains, this challenge is angering.
Both challenges are hard, but they’re hard for the wrong reasons. Whereas the initial Gravity Rush challenges posed a feat that took minutes, which turned into hours at times, to obtain the gold medal, because of a combination of difficulty and controls, these challenges are only hard because of the controls themselves. During the short two hours it took to finish the DLC, I kept thinking about how much fun these challenges would be if the controls weren’t so bad. If you’re going for the Gold, then you’re likely to have a hard time. Otherwise, if you’re just looking for another chapter in the Gravity Rush saga that adds to the already engrossing story by expounding upon some plot holes then the ‘Special Forces’ DLC Pack is definitely up your alley.
If you’re going for Gold, then you’re likely to have a hard time with the challenges, otherwise, this DLC pack will be a breeze and an enjoyable experience.
Final Score
