I played the first game on the Vita and I enjoyed it at the time, despite its flaws. Playing it again on the PS4 however has been a different story, for a Vita game I was impressed with the open world environment, pleasant aesthetic and interesting use of the Vita's features, on PS4 however none of that is present and the games flaws are laid bare.
The combat isn't very good.
The narrative isn't very good.
The world is empty.
To some extent I'm still charmed by the game. I like Kat and therefore I want to like the game and series, but the gameplay just isn't especially remarkable. Combat is brain dead, and the movement systems aren't especially interesting after playing around with them for a short while. As I say, the city itself is barren with nothing to do beyond the main quest and some arbitrary side missions (that do not relate to a narrative).
Making matters worse, many of the mechanics feel off or janky. There are plenty of gravity manipulation missions using props that just feel awkward. I remember one where I had to get a bomb from a bin to prevent it from detonating in a certain area. I was fighting the camera the entire time, trying to drag these items out of this skip. I couldn't select what I wanted to pick up, or guarantee where it would go when I threw it, it was irritating and reflected the poor gameplay design of this particular mechanic.
Combat is little better, aim at the enemy and mash the attack button until you win. You can dodge if it pleased you, for most enemies relentless aggression is all that's required. You can upgrade your health and just tank the damage that even bosses dish out, and still win the encounter. It makes the game dull and feels as though they eschewed difficulty due to fears that it would expose the games relatively poorly considered mechanics.
At the same time. I still like the game, I like Kat, and I like the universe. I think the writing is quite poor but the world and its characters are interesting. The gameplay is poorly considered at a mechanical level, but moving around is still entertaining and despite the absence of difficulty I still manage to enjoy myself to a degree, merely by moving around the world. With that said, it's a shame it's not a better game. The series is difficult for me to recommend.