Gravity Circuit is an excellent action platformer, up there with it's inspirations in terms of quality. The controls are fantastic, movement is so precise and satisfying. The combat with it's melee and grappling hook along with the enemy design mix to create combat that is fast, frenetic and just feels cool. Grabbing things with the grapple hook just to toss them back at an enemy, then grabbing that dead enemy to toss at the next guy creates this excellent flow to the stages. The fact that you can chain together super moves against bosses is so sick, ending a boss with a spinning pile driver feels like nothing else.

The story is nice as well, there is some interesting details to the characters that is really appreciated. The visuals are clear, the animation is fluid and crisp, and the music is stellar. This game is a bit tough, and there are some upgrades that you can earn to help out. This game is difficult, but that makes victories feel that much more satisfying. It also helps that there is no life system, so you don't have to worry about that if lives bother you. Just keep the difficulty in mind if you haven't played these kinds of games before.

Regardless, this game is a 2023 GOTY contender for me, in an already stacked year. This is easily getting put into the rotation of Megaman games that I constantly replay, up there with X1, X2, X4 and Zero 3. If you like these games at all, I think this is a must play.

Gravity Circuit: Uma ode aos classicos Mega Man X e Zero

Gravity Circuit....oque falar desse jogo que mal terminei e já considero pacas??
A primeira coisa que deve ficar clara é que sou fanzasso do robo azul da CAPCOM, principalmente da saga X e Zero e esse jogo é uma verdadeira ode a obra da CAPCOM. Sério, o jogo é uma verdadeira homenagem a saga do robozinho azul, principalmente a X e a Zero, o jogo transpira homenagens desde o seu gameplay ao level designe e história.

No jogo encarnamos o papel de Kai, o Gravity Circuit, uma espécie de robo Maverick Hunter desse universo que deve impedir uma adivinhem....um exercito de robos do mal que não por acaso se denominam virus army(qualquer semelhança com sigma virus não é mera coincidencia) e pra isso deve lutar não só com minions mas tambem com varios outros circuits que foram corrompidos.

Como já disse o jogo transpira homenagens a Mega Man X e Zero, e isso vai desde o level designe das fases que vão desde as classicas fases de gelo, fogo, cidade até uma fase no ferro velho com direito a robos voltando a vida dos mortos(X2....é você?) até mesmo o designe dos inimigos com alguns sendo praticamente um copia e cola dos inimigos da saga X e Zero como por exemplo rodas com espinhos, morcegos, aranhas, robos com escudos, etc...
Até mesmo algumas sessões de plataforma são IGUAIZINHAS as plataformas da saga X sem tirar nem por!
A gameplay lembra muito o jogo Mega Man Zero, na qual é mais focado no combate corpo a corpo com os inimigos, Kai é como se fosse um Zero(inclusive é vermelho...como o zero) só que ao inves de usar uma espada a laser, ele usa os proprios punhos para se livrar dos inimigos, a gameplay em sí é bem gostosinha de jogar e muito facil de aprender e se divertir, Kai apertando um dos botões pode sair correndo pelas fases e sair dando tapas nos inimigos, oque da uma certa sensação alá Sonic nas fases, ele tambem pode usar um gancho para se agarrar as paredes e superar obstaculos.
Dito tudo isso....o jogo parece ser só um simples copia e cola da saga X e Zero, mas não, ele consegue brilhar por sí mesmo, seja pelos seus gráficos charmosos em 8 bits, sua trilha sonora muito gostosa(e que mais uma vez remete aos jogos de Mega Man), seu designe de personagens que ainda que muitos deles ao olhar nos faça pensar imediatamente em inimigos classicos de Mega Man mesmo assim eles tem seu charme próprio e principalmente por algumas pequenas diferenças na gameplay se comparado aos Mega Man. Ainda que no jogo nós enfrentamos 8 circuits ao todo cada um com um tema/poder nós diferente dos jogos do robozinho azul não ganhamos poderes deles, a luta contra os chefes é quase um jogo de luta na qual precisamos decorar os movimentos dos inimigos e saber quando atacar e isso é muito legal. Mas como assim você deve estar se perguntando, não pegamos os poderes dos inimigos?? Vou explicar....no jogo nós conseguimos dinheiro derrotando os minions, com esse dinheiro nós podemos comprar melhorias pro Kai em uma lojinha, Kai pode equipar até 4 melhorias e 4 poderes especiais, essas melhorias nos ajudam a passar das fases(ainda que seja possivel passar sem elas) e a enfrentar os chefões, elas vão desde pulo duplo, não ir pra tras quando atingido, ganhar mais grana, absorver parte da energia dos ataques dos inimigos, etc...esse pequeno detalhe da um charme a mais ao jogo e faz com que ele não seja uma mera cópia de Mega Man.

O jogo ainda conta com 3 niveis de dificuldades(facil, normal e dificil), fazendo com seja acessivel desde a novatos no genero plataforma ou em jogos do Mega Man até mesmo oferecendo bons desafios a velhos calejados do genero e dos jogos do Mega.

Enfim....uma charmosa homenagem a uma das minhas franquias favoritas dos games, muito bem feita e extremamente gostosinha de jogar. Recomendo a todos os fãs do robozinho azul e fãs de plataforma em geral. Espero sinceramente que esse jogo ganhe continuação, pois ao fim dele fica um gostinho de quero mais na boca.

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English

Gravity Circuit: An Ode to the Classic Mega Man X and Zero

Gravity Circuit... what can I say about this game that I've barely finished and already consider a blast? The first thing to make clear is that I'm a huge fan of Capcom's blue robot, especially of the X and Zero sagas, and this game is a true ode to Capcom's work. Seriously, the game is a real homage to the saga of the little blue robot, especially X and Zero; it exudes homage from its gameplay to level design and story.

In the game, we embody the role of Kai, the Gravity Circuit, a sort of Maverick Hunter robot in this universe who must thwart, guess what... an army of evil robots who, not coincidentally, call themselves the virus army (any resemblance to the Sigma virus is not mere coincidence). And for this, he must fight not only minions but also various other circuits that have been corrupted.

As I've said, the game is full of nods to Mega Man X and Zero, ranging from the level design of the stages, which go from classic ice, fire, city stages to a junkyard stage complete with robots coming back to life (X2... is that you?), to the design of the enemies, with some practically being copy-and-paste versions of enemies from the X and Zero sagas, such as spiked wheels, bats, spiders, shielded robots, etc.

Even some platforming sections are JUST like the platforms from the X saga, without any changes!

The gameplay heavily resembles Mega Man Zero, focusing more on melee combat with enemies. Kai is like a Zero (he's even red... like Zero), except instead of using a laser sword, he uses his fists to deal with enemies. The gameplay itself is very enjoyable and easy to learn and have fun with; Kai can run through the stages and slap enemies, giving a Sonic-like sensation, and he can also use a grappling hook to cling to walls and overcome obstacles.

With all that said, the game might seem like just a simple copy-and-paste of the X and Zero sagas, but it's not; it manages to shine on its own, whether through its charming 8-bit graphics, its very enjoyable soundtrack (which once again nods to Mega Man games), its character design, which although many of them might immediately remind us of classic Mega Man enemies, they still have their own charm, and especially due to some small differences in gameplay compared to Mega Man.

Even though in the game we face a total of 8 circuits each with a different theme/power, unlike the blue robot's games, we don't gain powers from them. The boss fights are almost like a fighting game where we need to memorize the enemy's moves and know when to attack, which is really cool. But wait, you might be asking, don't we get the enemies' powers? Let me explain... in the game, we earn money by defeating minions, and with this money, we can buy upgrades for Kai in a little shop. Kai can equip up to 4 upgrades and 4 special powers; these upgrades help us get through stages (although it's possible to pass them without them) and to face bosses; they range from double jump, not getting knocked back when hit, earning more money, absorbing part of the energy from enemy attacks, etc... this little detail adds extra charm to the game and prevents it from being just a mere copy of Mega Man.

The game also features 3 difficulty levels (easy, normal, and hard), making it accessible to newcomers to the platforming genre or Mega Man games while also offering challenges to seasoned veterans of the genre and Mega Man games.

In conclusion... a charming homage to one of my favorite game franchises, very well made, and extremely enjoyable to play. I recommend it to all fans of the blue robot and platformer fans in general. I sincerely hope that this game gets a sequel because at the end of it, there's a craving for more.

An amazing game that any Megaman fan will love. I'll be honest at first I didn't care for this game thinking it was too hard, but I realized I just needed to get gud as the kids say. Though in reality I needed to upgrade my character before I completed some stages. I also chose one of the harder stages first not knowing there was a difficulty meter so opps, but after upgrading I managed to get through the stages much faster and without dying as much. If I have one complaint its that the grapple that you have is a little under utilized and I didn't like how you could swing if you were on the ground and you had to jump first, it took me a bit to get used to it. The other issue was that you used the grapple to pick up dead enemies but since it also does damage and if you did enough over kill damage then instead of picking up the enemy it just killed them which was very annoying if you were planning to throw an enemy. Other then the few issues the game was alot of fun and going back through levels was great since I could start speeding through it it made me realized how good the speed felt in the game. A great game to pick up wither you see it on sale or not I recommend.

Ridiculously fun game, but the first level can be rough to get through on Hard Mode.
Compared to when you buy your first upgrades and palettes, especially the double jump, you feel incredibly under-powered. Any first boss was near impossible to beat, trial and error-ing into a boss I could win against, then the rest of the game became miles easier. If I hadn't had the nerve to stick with it, I might've dropped the game right then.
BUT, I'm so glad I didn't because aside from that rough start, this game is phenomenal. Amazing music, responsive controls, and a love for what made games like Mega Man X/Zero so fun. There are tons of equipment and move synergies, and the grind to completion strikes that perfect balance between too little and too much.
I wish the grapple hook got more action than just grabbing enemies, as it seemed to have so much potential. The only other time you would really see use out of it was in platforming sections where a gap was so big there was practically a neon sign saying "Use the Hook here". But that's more a nitpick than anything.

In one sentence? This game is insanely fun and I think if you're a fan of the MMX/MMZ format you should invest time and money in this product.

In a longer breath though, this game is something that from just playing, you can tell Gravity Circuit was made with such love and care, a kind of attention only indie games really seem to show in their final products. From the charming dialogue to the fast-paced hooking and dashing gameplay, it sold itself in my mind from the moment it dropped on the store, and I couldn't regret that decision for even a moment playing through it. The techniques and chips are beyond fun to mix and match to fit a personal style of play, and offer a lot of opportunities (e.g. Air Jumper providing you with a 2nd jump which opens up so many possibilities speed and platforming wise). The Circuits you face during the story are all equally fun and energetic in their fights, and seeing their personalities, even for a moment was something that I really loved when I played through MMX: Maverick Hunter with their pre and post-fight comments (Blade was my favorite fight by far). Usually in a game like this there is always that one boss that is obnoxious in difficulty or just universally hated but honestly the only circuit who gave me a run for my money was Hash, and even then it was honestly just a skill issue on my end, which made it all the more satisfying to finally get past him and keep moving forward. Reading the Dev QnAs was very pleasant, and confirmed that this game is something of a passion project that they've been working on for so long, and I genuinely hope that since releasing, they've gotten the recognition they deserve. I pray for more content to drop, whether it be a new playable character, another story campaign, or anything at all, I'm there, wallet in hand because this game was an easy 10/10 for me.

anyways, what the hell are you still reading for?? just buy the game already you big dork.

This game has some of the tightest platforming I've seen. I mean that in a good way - it's very 1:1 with your input. In the span of 6 hours or so I spent with the game (yeah, it's a bit short - but that's totally okay) I don't know that I ever over or under calculated on a jump without it very clearly being my own fault. It's very responsive. I must give it credit there. Some of the music is absolutely awesome - especially Wave Circuits stage. I love me some musical levels. The bosses were well done and were all fairly unique. After I realized the level of customization you had, which I didn't notice until about half way through the game... it seemed well-balanced. After I started equipping the badge things it became a little too easy. Once I had a bunch of upgrades, the last couple levels felt kinda samey because I was tearing through them. But hey, they're there because they want you to use them, right? I will say the actual final couple levels were a little more difficult which was nice!

Anyways, it's a cute little action platformer if you want a smaller game that's a blast to play. The standout here, by far, is how precisely your character handles. The platforming feels fantastic.

As a huge Mega Man fan, I had to buy Gravity Circuit after hearing it takes heavy inspiration from the Mega Man X and Zero games. And, overall, I really enjoyed it. I recommend it to fans of the X and Zero series as well as action platformers in general.

The art was great, with many of the character and enemy designs being super impressive. The level design was varied and was a blast to play through for the most part. Combat was fun, fast and fluid...it's hard not to feel like a badass when you're beating the crap out of an enemy and then throwing their broken body at another enemy with your grapple hook.

That also brings me to one of my biggest critiques - the grapple hook. It was deeply frustrating to use for platforming. Many times it simply would not shoot in the direction I needed it to. Sometimes you need it to go straight up and other times at an angle but it seemed to have a mind of its own in that regard. Gravity Circuit is, for the most part, a pretty easy game but I mostly died to the poorly implemented grapple sections of levels and it felt bad every time. Simply taking out the hookshot would've made this a better game.

I also had some issues with many of the upgrades and special abilities feeling empty. You have three slots for chips to change your playstyle but the double jump and energy meter refill are so essential that I really only had one slot to play around with.

Overall, I had fun but some glaring issues really keep me from LOVING it. I'd be interested in a sequel if they work out some of the kinks this one had.

After enjoying the likes of The Messenger, Shovel Knight and Huntdown, I thought I'd be up for Gravity Circuit, a retro action-platformer that came out last year to high acclaim, and which I bought for about £7 in a recent sale. Unfortunately, however, I'm having to admit defeat after a couple of hours' play as I'm finding it too fiddly and difficult to be enjoyable.

Its biggest problem is that it's an homage to the Mega Man games, which I've never played, but I understand that they, like this, give the player a choice as to which stages they complete and in what order, right from the very start. While this might seem appealing written down, the consequence of this design decision is that all the stages have relatively flat difficulty curve because any one of them could be the player's first level - in other words, they're all too bloody hard to begin with, or they were to me, anyway. I'm no stranger to difficult games (honest), but I like to feel a sense of progress and momentum when I play them, and most of the time I spent playing Gravity Circuit I felt like I was stumbling from one checkpoint to the next by the skin of my teeth and not really getting any better at the game. There were too many occasions where danger felt inevitable, and rather than being able to avoid it, I just had to pray that my small robot man would soak up the hits without crumbling and booting me back to the checkpoint, and there were too many times when he didn't. If the checkpoints were more plentiful, similar to something like Celeste, for example, then getting from one to the next would feel less like the Sisyphean task than it does, and I found myself getting increasingly annoyed.

Outside of gameplay, the pixel graphics and old-school soundtrack are...fine, but I feel like I've been spoilt after the rich retro art and music of Sea of Stars (above), and there wasn't a great deal here which stood out. Without the nostalgia of Mega Man, or other games of its type, to prop me up, I couldn't see much point in keeping going with this when I was just finding it frustrating more than anything else.

If you're a fan of the games it takes inspiration from, you might feel differently about Gravity Circuit, but it was too punishing for me.

This is an outstanding evolution of the Mega Man X and Zero series. Took a bit to get used to the combat and I don't think it is quite as satisfying as slashing robots with Zero's saber but I think it is superior overall. The grapple beam is super fun, throwing dead enemies creates an interesting flow to combat, making it somehow feel even more speedy than the games that inspired it. The bosses are super fun if a bit easy and the hub was a fun addition (please do a hub in the next X game Capcom). The stages are so fun, so varied, so full and satisfying to clear. They are on the longer side just like Mega Man 11 but the stages are way more interesting which keeps it from dragging. The only noteworthy flaw I have is the story, Mega Man isn't exactly known for housing great stories but I don't think even the basic lore here is that interesting, I'm likely going to skip it all on replay. I know I'm comparing this to Mega Man alot but truly this is everything I could ask for in a follow-up and I hope a possible X9 is even half this good.

I think every platformer fan should play this game. It was made with an insane amount of love that you rarely see from games these days. If you like MMX/MMZ or Ninja Gaiden (or any of the other platformers this game Frankensteined it's game design from), definitely give this a shot.

My only major complaint is the end game difficulty spike, the last 3 bosses took me around 4 hours of attempts over multiple days. If you like brutal bosses, you'll love this.

Definitely a new favorite, this one is going to live rent free in my head for a while.

Gravity Circuit Review - Gravity Guardian

I'm all for flashy, 2D Action games, and with this one having tones of Mega Man with a pick your level whenever structure, I couldn't put the game down. Our story takes place in a world where the only lifeforms are sentient robots, all living in peace with their own jobs amongst the Circuits, powerful Guardians that protect the citizens. An ancient evil defeated long ago by the Circuits return, corrupting 8 of them, so the world's fate lies with Kai, the Gravity Circuit. He's not alone, though, since some bots are there to help back him up on his adventure. A cast full of other robots willing to help and liven up the place, such as a Nurse who can offer you ability chips you can slot into, or the mysterious robot named Nega who can offer you new Burst techniques, as well as offer breadcrumbs to Kai's past.

The gameplay is fun and kinetic, as Kai you can grab enemies using your Hookshot once defeated and fling them to another, usually resulting in an instant K.O., so you can grab that one and throw them at another. Your speed is easy to maintain, rushing in and turning a bot into scrap to obtain energy to use a Burst Technique adds more fun to the pile, a special, devastating move that you can equip 4 of to use. It works off of Smash Bros. inputs, so it's very familiar thankfully, my only nitpick is I wish there was a little training room at the base to use them as much as you want to see what it did, they're best saved for boss fights honestly. Throughout the levels, you're able to find missing hostages, Health and Burst upgrades, and now palette swap collectables to change Kai's color scheme in a very recent update. There's even more things to do when you finish the game, thankfully, so you can be like me and wanna play more right when you have beaten it.

The music was a fun listen to and the sound effects are very well made, the sprites are made with such love and fun, my favorite aspect being when Kernal describes a mission to Kai, he'll have a dumb little side comment, and Kai will look ever slightly annoyed. The shapes of every character become easy to distinguish, the cast and story has this sorta Saturday Morning Cartoon vibe to it and I couldn't get enough of it, to me the designs scream Kamen Rider or Super Sentai.

In conclusion, this little indie game gem may not be talked about a lot, but I adore the Hell out of it, the constant action and story had me coming back for more, I barely touched anyother game I had, really. This game is going to always remain in my head as a little indie stunner that has the vibes I'd want in my own indie game if I ever made one. I highly suggest that others get a chance to play it, it's not too long and it's fairly priced at 25 bucks, if not recently on sale. And yes, if I had to pick a favorite Circuit, it's Trace, the Patch Circuit. A creepy scientist lady, that's an instant fold.

Gravity Circuit is a Mega Man-like game, with hints of Strider and Bionic Commando mixed in. After the first level you're presented with 8 long levels that can be played in any order, culminating in a boss fight. Like the Mega Man games for the NES, Gravity Circuit is HARD. I got to 2 boss fights but was decimated in seconds. I walked away, thinking I just had to accept it was beyond my skill level. Then I came back the next day with a turbo controller and started a new save file on easy mode. This made the game significantly more palatable, although it still puts up a hell of a fight. This will be blasphemy to some people, but the inclusion of easy mode puts this above all the classic Mega Man titles in my book. I respect that some people enjoy a challenge, but normal mode sucks your health like a sponge and there always seems to be some robot or missile locked on to your location. It's nice that there's a mode for scrubs like me who just wanna have a good time.

The pixel art was what really made me want to play GC; the game looks beautiful and the music is stellar. While the platforming controls are really tight, they fall short by requiring your character to use a grappling hook to traverse level hazards sometimes. I know the meme is that every game is improved by a grappling hook, but the physics of swinging, gaining momentum and attaching to surfaces just feel off here. It's a shame because everything else (running, punching, wall jumping) feels flawless. Thankfully the hook is not always needed, not to the point that it ruins the game experience anyway.

Gravity Circuit is challenging, but still a very fun time. If you've played Mega Man, you'll know whether or not easy or normal or hard mode is the right way to go, that's your choice. But I'd recommend the average player go with easy mode and wait for a sale, $22 is a lot for a game that can be finished in under 6 hours.

The worthy successor to Mega Man that Mighty no.9 wanted to be. Gravity Circuit has all the great quirks of Classic Mega Man; 8 stages with their own themes that can be completed in any order, adopting bosses powers after defeating them, robots fighting robots, and a really good rock chiptune soundtrack. The only difference here is that instead of jumping and shooting, you're jumping and punching. And the punches aren't generic either, you can combo them into special attacks making the gameplay really fun and rewarding if you make the right moves. You can also equip yourself with 3 different quirks (E.g give your self a double jump, or longer punches), this way you can cater the game to your preferred playstyle. You can also equip 4 different special moves that you have won from defeating bosses, but these can be swapped out anytime during gameplay too. Domesticated Ant games have made a franchise with a lot of potential that can possibly adopt the megaman/shovel knight fanbase. I hope this series keeps going because I really like what they have built here.