Author: Rich Meister
Ratchet and Clank have been around for almost two decades at this point. The latest entry in the series is smart enough to tackle this out of the gate with a parade celebrating the duo’s exploits, but even if there have been a few missteps along the way, a Rift Apart feels anything but stale.
Through both its visuals and gameplay, including the use of the PS5’s Dual Sense controller, it builds a truly next-gen experience. The clever writing Insomniac is known for weaves a fun tale on par with a Pixar film that both pays tribute to the series roots and feels welcoming to newcomers.
Ratchet and Clank a Rift Apart (PS5)
Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: Sony
Released: June 11, 2021
MSRP: $79.99
Let’s start with the most impressive stuff. Ratchet and Clank a Rift Apart is one of the prettiest video games I’ve ever played. On top of that, the performance and performance ray tracing modes that lock you at a solid 60 FPS make the hectic shoot ‘em up action platforming better than it has ever been. If you’re an experienced member of Q-force or a newcomer, it’s easy to pick up, and even when a million little Zurkons are exploding around you, the framerate doesn’t skip a beat.
Another point for the performance of this release is that, as promised, load times are pretty much nonexistent. There’s a quick buffer when moving from planet to planet, but there’s virtually no downtime, and each world is more extensive than anything the series has done in the past. Some of these areas are so sprawling they would feel like a slog to get through without Ratchet’s new jet boots that let you skate over most surfaces at high speed.
The Story is surprisingly well written; even on the emotional end, things resonate, and that’s coming from me, a guy who doesn’t care about Ratchet or Clank as characters. I like them well enough, but to me, they’ll always be the guys making toilet jokes before blowing up a herd of poop monsters.
The plot picks up with Ratchet and Clank being sucked into another dimension courtesy of long-time foe Dr. Nefarious. In this new reality, the evil Emperor Nefarious rules the galaxy. Our heroes have to team up with Rivet, a new playable character, and Lombax counterpart of Ratchet, voiced by the fantastic Jenifer Hale, to take down the two evil geniuses. Rivet is quite possibly one of the best characters added to the franchise in a long time, and I hope Insomniac sees fit to make her a mainstay in any future entries.
While Rivet rocks a hammer instead of a wrench, her move set is virtually identical to Ratchet’s, and weapons and upgrades are shared between the two; it’s a bit disappointing that there’s no variation in playstyles, but it does mean you don’t have to focus on upgrading two sets of weapons as you swap back and forth between the two Lombax heroes.
Speaking of weapons, Rift Apart’s arsenal feels as good as you would hope. Most weapons are a familiar spin on things we’ve seen before. Still, intelligent use of the Dual Sense adaptive triggers makes good use of the half and full press functionality to change up firing rates or how you can effectively aim certain weapons. On a personal level, I’m disappointed at the absence of the good old Sheepinator.
Level design makes good use of the multiverse shtick by introducing mechanics that have Ratchet and Rivet jumping between alternate versions of the same planet to reach their respective goals. It makes for clever level design that takes advantage of those quick load times to swap the environment around you in an instant.
The overall world design feels pretty distinct from planet to planet; Rivet’s home planet, for example, is filled with a furry little race of midwestern accent wielding construction workers all named Mort; you’ll also encounter an archive planet inhabited by a prophet named Gary and a pretty crazy interstellar truck stop with a battle arena.
The world of Ratchet and Clank is crazy. Still, even when things seem foreign, they never feel disjointed, and the perspective of both Ratchet and Rivet feels distinctly different, and the storytelling overall is better for it.
Verdict: Ratchet and Clank a Rift Apart is familiar and new and one of the most technically impressive and genuinely fun games I’ve played in a while. In some aspects, the weapons and upgrades may feel scaled back from previous entries, but the more curated experience comes out feeling stronger. The story is surprisingly touching for a series that used to thrive on jokes about plumbers crack and manages to do a solid job of not alienating newcomers while being full of references to the duo’s past.
Buy it
[This review is based on a retail build of the game purchased by the reviewer]