Xbox Indie Review: Defy Gravity

Defy Gravity’s digital package is plastered with a voluptuous, violet-haired heroine stripping out of a form-fitting spacesuit, which might give the impression that it’s just another seedy, low-brow indie game. Heck, even the title could be interpreted as a double entendre. Whether it’s a desperate cry for attention or an attempt to invoke nostalgic memories of Metroid, the misguided sex appeal obscures what is otherwise a wildly enjoyable gem of a 2D platformer that implements a rather novel gameplay mechanic.

You play as Kara, the lady space-explorer who has discovered an ancient alien monolith that will hopefully help save the human race from some unnamed calamity. The story is kept to a bare minimum and provides a bare-bones justification for showcasing Kara’s awesome gravity-orb spewing device that is the centerpiece of the entire game. The device allows for the devilish platforming segments and some death-defying last minute escapes from peril that make Defy Gravity so exciting.

The handy little laser-shaped device is capable of firing two different varieties of gravity-manipulating orbs: one that attracts everything in the surrounding area and the other – which I’m sure you’ve surmised – repels everything away from it. The orbs shoot out a bit slower than projectiles in most games, and it’s fairly easy to place them wherever you want on the map. Their most common use is navigating the alien terrain and reaching otherwise impossible-to-reach areas.

Need to reach a ledge that is looming just a bit out of reach? No problem! Place a gravity orb above you and jump to get sucked into its web of gravity. While suspended in mid-air, fire an anti-gravity orb directly beneath you. When you dissipate the first orb, the anti-gravity orb will propel you even higher in the air. It took a few minutes to wrap my head around the concept, but once I got the hang of it I was bouncing around the screen with ease.

Kara’s suit also comes equipped with a jetpack, which comes in handy during the delightfully difficult platforming segments. The combination of the jetpack and the ability to fire the gravity gun in midair made eschewing death at the last minute a common feat. That said, there were still plenty of occasions when that cosmonaut was shredded into piles of assorted body parts, so thankfully the game features a very generous checkpoint system.

While the level design and individual tasks were well designed and challenging, the game is really missing a sense of continuity and cohesion. The levels are short and feel like fragmented pieces that aren’t held together by anything substantial. Although Defy Gravity is theoretically about the exploration of an enormous alien artifact, it’s a completely linear experience with no branching paths, upgrades or even indication of what level you’re currently playing. In fact, the game mysteriously ends after one of its most impressive sequences without really even wrapping up the story.

The art design doesn’t do the game any favors either; nothing about the bland textures scream that you’re investigating mysterious alien ruins, something the first Metroid game accomplished 25 years ago. The game’s backgrounds are appropriately cosmic, but it really just feels like you’re playing a game in front of picture of outer space, and there’s an enormous disconnect between the background and foreground.

But, it’s hard to get too upset about any of those faults for a game that costs a dollar and has such a cool, fun new mechanic to mess around with. I really loved the mood and feel of Defy Gravity: the appropriately floaty controls and the fantastic feeling of solitude that the excellent soundtrack conveys. It’s kind of like a tech demo or proof of concept, and although it could use a lot of work in some areas, it gets the important elements just right and is definitely worth playing.

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Visit the Xbox Live Marketplace to add a free demo of Defy Gravity to your Xbox 360 download queue.

Defy Gravity was provided for review by Fish Factory Games. It is available for 80 MS points ($1).

By Mike Wall at February 15, 2011.

About Mike Wall

Mike grew up and lives near Philadelphia and has been intrigued with games ever since his parents preached that they rotted his brain. He studied journalism at Penn State and got his master's degree in secondary education before realizing that not even summers off would make that job palatable. He now works in marketing and is trying to find time to continue writing a book about zombies, aliens, vampires, the end of the world, and a talking cat.