Gravity Ghost: Deluxe Edition Review for PlayStation 4

Originally released on Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux in January 2015 as Gravity Ghost, Gravity Ghost: Deluxe Edition by Ivy Games represents the physics-based puzzler’s introduction to the PS4. With fun platforming mechanics, well-crafted levels, and an atmospheric soundtrack, Gravity Ghost Deluxe Edition improves upon its original version and can give players hours of enjoyable gameplay.

Gravity Ghost: Deluxe Edition follows the ghost of a twelve-year-old girl named Iona. The story is told non-linearly as players progress in the game, revealing the events that led to Iona’s death and explaining her current predicament one small revelation at a time. When distanced and considering it objectively, the game’s plot can appear quite morbid. However, despite the topic, Gravity Ghost: Deluxe Edition is not a grim game.

Gravity Ghost: Deluxe Edition portrays the transition from life to death as relaxing and peaceful. This is most evident in the platforming puzzles that constitute Gravity Ghost: Deluxe Edition’s gameplay, as the levels themselves are quite easy to complete. The goal of any one level is to collect a star and then make it to a doorway to leave said level. Many of these levels will take a mere few seconds to run through, allowing players to play at their own pace without feeling pressured. Also contributing to this feeling is the fact that Iona cannot actually die; at worst, she will need to glide back to the level’s starting position and attempt to solve the puzzle again.

As far as mechanics, players can guide Iona as she traverses through each level. As a ghost, Iona can glide across each individual map as well as land on the planets that populate each puzzle. Some levels will also house animal souls that Iona can collect. After collecting these souls, Iona can find the animals’ bodies in other levels and reunite the immaterial spirit with the instantiated body. Engaging in this activity also unlocks snippets of Iona’s past and helps players learn about what came before the game’s in medias res opening. 

As players advance in Gravity Ghost: Deluxe Edition, Iona will come to possess a toolkit of powers that will make later levels easier to beat. For instance, Iona gains the ability to terraform planets early on in the game, which entails her being able to transform, for example, a solid planet into a watery planet. Iona will also learn to do an air jump, glide, and more.

The deluxe aspect of Gravity Ghost: Deluxe Edition is that players will have the opportunity to unlock Iona’s fox Voy as a playable character and have access to 13 new challenge levels. Voy has more powerful jumps than Iona, but he’s harder to control in general. The challenge puzzles are significantly harder and require skill that the original game doesn’t, which is great for players more experienced in the genre.

In all, Gravity Ghost: Deluxe Edition is a worthwhile addition for those who enjoy puzzle games. The game’s new content helps provide a challenge for more adept players, while a majority of the levels coalesce with its soundtrack and art style to induce the player to feel a sense of ease and relaxation. While Gravity Ghost: Deluxe Edition may only take players three to four hours to beat, those hours will be highly entertaining.

Check Out the Gravity Ghost: Deluxe Edition Trailer:

For more information, please visit here: http://gravityghost.com/

Jori Grossman

I'm a recent graduate of Columbia University. Gaming has been a passion of mine my entire life; I enjoy everything from RPGs and FPSs to stealth and narrative-driven games. I love the deeply immersive quality that good video games inherently possess, and am looking forward to highlighting games worthy of acclaim. When I'm not studying or reading, you can catch me playing games like Uncharted, Dishonored, The Witcher 3, and Far Cry.

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