Introduction
Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart is a platformer action game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It saw a release for PlayStation 5 in June 2021.
Video Review
Review
Ratchet and Clank are attending a ceremonial parade dedicated to them and their heroics, even though they’ve been “retired” for years. Life is alright, and they’ve been enjoying it, but they also miss the adventure. Little does Ratchet know, Clank was building a device known as the “Dimensionator” to help him find the home of the Lombaxes. Unfortunately, Dr Nefarious crashes the parade and steals the device, then takes them all to a different dimension, so he can finally win!
The story is beautifully crafted, and the emotions run high, considering the fate of every dimension lies in Ratchet’s hands. Though this time, you get to also play as a new character, who also happens to be a Lombax, Rivet. The alternate dimension version of Ratchet. It was fun finally seeing Ratchet meet another Lombax, but he’s also changed a lot over the years. As you play through the story, you learn about his new goals and how he doesn’t care for things he used to. But the story is a high octane time, and it never really let up.
For the time you play as Rivet, you end up learning quite a bit about her. How she’s fought Emperor Nefarious, to how she lost her arm and got a robot arm, to finding out that she’s not as hard as she may let on. Heck you even learn some weird overarching lore for the entire series that made me laugh a little, considering it’s so easy for the references to be made to a game from years upon years ago.
The gameplay is just as hectic as the story is and feels just as good as the rest of the games in the series. As you traverse the worlds, you get to destroy almost everything in your path to get bolts, which are then used as currency to be able to buy weapons of mass destruction against your foes. Combat felt great, especially switching from weapon to weapon to level them all up. The best part is, they level up from damage they deal, not kill totals. But what this was truly missing is seeing the weapons transform into new big weapons when they hit max level.
The platforming is some of the best it’s ever been in the series. From a few wide open areas that you get to speed around in by using your thruster boots, or riding weird bugs, to tight corridors, it is a ball. When things started going sideways and I was grinding rails and swinging from a hook to then run on a few walls before I finally made my way to safe ground, my adrenaline was just pumping. Honestly it felt like the game took many inspirations from Crash Bandicoot and cranked it up a notch. Anytime I missed a jump, I knew it was because I did something wrong, like double jumping instead of gliding. Or not double jumping even! Heck during one planet you get to ride what is essentially a dragon! It was friggin awesome!
As awesome as the level design was though, I felt like there just wasn’t enough of them. When compared to older games anyways. It even felt like there was something missing. Sure you have the arena, which is normal, but there were no races, or skill points to do on each planet. Sure there were golden bolts and hidden platforming “challenges” called Pocket Dimensions, but it just couldn’t capture what the old games did. You have puzzle sections as Clank and Kit, where you guide ghosts of yourself to an ending, kind of like Lemmings, but this was basically just a mechanic from A Crack In Time, so it wasn’t new.
My favourite thing to do in the game though, was to play as Glitch, a little robot that enters virus infected computers, and you just walk around as a spider bot destroying everything! It helps that Glitch is adorable, and the sections aren’t overused at all, but I wish she was in the game more than these few sections. Why never mention her!? Though there were a lot of side characters that didn’t get much time, and then one or two that got way too much time. It kind of sucked.
Rating
Pros:
- Awesome Weapons
- Platforming Is Better Than Ever
- Glitch Is An Awesome Character
Cons:
- Weapons Don’t Transform
- Some Side Characters Don’t Get Enough Screen Time
- Not Enough Side Content
Summary
Ratchet And Clank Rift Apart is a fantastic return for characters I love. It adds more awesome characters and deepens the lore of everything. It was an awesome hectic experience the whole way through, but I just wish they had some of the old love and activities that the series used to have. I mean I know it’s different love, but give me transforming weapons!
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Game & Developer Information
Developer Website: Insomniac Games
Developer Socials: Twitter
Publisher Website: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Publisher Socials: Twitter
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