izigame.me

If I had to list the mega man x games from best to worst, and Gravity Circuit was also in that list, I'd put it at the top of that list. I’ve played a lot of platformers, and this may just be my favorite one yet – enjoyed it that much.
The close range combat was a bit difficult to get used to at first (even compared to something like Zero's saber), maybe especially for me since I chose probably the worst boss to fight first, but then quickly enough that and the general movement just "clicks" (also helped by unlocking an upgrade or two), and then blasting through the whole level, utilizing your whole moveset to its fullest, dashing along the level, grappling the wall and ceiling, using the piledriver movement at the right moment to keep finish off an enemy in a flashy way and keep going uninterrupted – it’s an absolute joy, as are the fast-paced boss fights, which almost feel like a mix of mega man bosses and a fighting game at times. The soundtrack is also, again, absolutely fantastic - one of my favorites in any game now And although obviously the story isn't a big focus (it's essentially relegated to the premise at the beginning, and then a series of big reveals right at the very end, with only little bits of flavor dialogue in the base and from bosses in between), nor do I think anyone really looks for a deep narrative in this type of game, but honestly, when those reveals at the end happened, I did feel like the narrative side was enjoyable for what it was.
Big part of what convinced me I like this more than the official MMX games is the level design. Something I've recently realized that soured me on those games a bit is that I've realized the levels there tended to sort of just be enemy corridors and enemy platforms sometimes. There isn't really much separating one level from another other than aesthetics, you run around with enemies scattered about, then there's a pretty basic platforming section (may or may not also have enemies), but with nothing about that platforming section being specific to the level, just pretty basic "jump around platforms/walls" that mechanically, could be placed in any level and not be out of place. Maybe there will be an isolated gimmick like the rising lava in a volcano in x2, or hiding from the rushing lava in x5, but those feel more like isolated set pieces than anything. This is also probably a big part of why I prefer classic mega man over X overall, despite its more basic and slower paced movement - maybe not every time, but more often than not, levels there tend to have a central mechanic(s), that's played around with throughout the level: changed around, made harder, combined with other mechanics, there's mechanical progression there, and as a result each levels feels distinct and satisfying, instead of mostly interchangeable enemy corridors with platforms and walls. I'm happy to say Gravity Circuit follows the classic way, and executes it beautifully. Each level is distinct in terms of mechanics and enemies, and the progression of those mechanics throughout the level is extremely well done. Then the final levels used the segments from the 8 main ones, which is a simple trick, and some may even dislike that and prefer the final levels to be more distinct, but to me it just tied the game together mechanically beautifully. Final levels are noticeably longer and more challenging too, but using the aforementioned great movement (and moveset) I've mastered throughout the game, blazing through a gauntlet utilizing all the mechanics I've mastered throughout the game at their toughest level, with the aforementioned amazing soundtrack - as corny as it is, I remember just thinking "man, I'm having so much fun right now" with a big smile on my face as I was playing through it.
Only real complaint is a nitpick at best, since it's optional, but thought it deserved a mention. At some point after launch they added a way for you to unlock different color palettes, which unlock additional abilities, like an air-dash for example. As fun as those can be to use, finding out they were added after the fact made them sort of cheap, and I've refrained from using them from that point on. The levels weren't designed with those abilities in mind, so having them can kind of break them, and make the whole "blazing through the level" feeling less satisfying. Same sort of applies to the double jump (which was around since launch, so I did use on my playthrough), which in general tends to be pretty overpowered in platformers where it's an optional upgrade, since that means that the whole game needs to be designed around the player potentially not having it, which can make it trivial if they do (and unless the player is doing a self-imposed challenge, they will tend to go for the double jump as early as possible because of how powerful it is). But again, both the palettes and the double jump are just abilities you can easily choose not to use, so if that's my biggest complaint, that's saying something.
Seriously, I think this is one of the best platforming experiences out there. And at this price point, if you like platformers at all – you owe it to yourself to play Gravity Circuit.