Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Developer: Insomniac Games

Release Date: 06/11/2021

Available On

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It’s good to see Sony’s classic franchises being brought back. After the original game’s remake, I knew something was coming along, and I was right! We get a brand new next-gen exclusive Ratchet & Clank game without the baggage of the PS4 holding it down. The franchise returns to its familiar roots, which are both good and bad, and I’ll explain why.

This time around, Ratchet is finally wanting to find other Lombaxes in other dimensions. They get the idea of using the Dimensionator, but it’s taken by Dr. Nefarious. Yeah, I was a little happy to see him return and a little disappointed that we didn’t get an original villain for this game. Nefarious is funny and all, but I wanted to see someone new. We only get a couple of new characters here, but we finally get a new Lombax! Rivet is a fantastic female character with a great voice actress, and she has just as much nuance and personality as Ratchet has. I would love to see her stay and even get her own spin-off. The other main character introduced is Clank’s interdimensional counterpart, Kit, who is a female robot.

Sadly, like all the previous games, the story isn’t all that deep and plays out like a Saturday morning cartoon. There’s no real back story to anyone, and we just get the moment-to-moment action for the present time, and that’s it. It’s a pretty shallow story, with Kit and Rivet’s backgrounds not really being told or talked about. This has always been an issue with the series’ stories, and I wish they would change things up in that regard. The series’ main beat of going from planet to planet and whacking away at the same few enemies hasn’t changed either. There are about 9 planets in total, with some collectibles you can get for trophies, unlockables, and galleries. If you’ve played any single game in the series, this one will be familiar.

There are some puzzle areas thrown in that Clank is usually used for. These meta-dimension puzzles see you trying to get mini-Clanks running on the correct path to unlock a door. There are four different kinds of orbs that can manipulate the clunkers and various platforms. You can speed things up, slow them down, weigh them down, or make them lighter. They aren’t super challenging, but they are still kind of fun and break up the shooting. Another new mini-game is Glitch Sequences. You play as a spiderbot that goes inside a computer and can shoot at things. These play like the regular Ratchet and Rivet segments, but there’s no platforming as you have to stay on the ground. They aren’t super exciting, but they break up the pace. There are new vehicle elements added, such as rocket boots. You can skate around and boost at will, as some planets have large open maps, but they are far from the open world. The exploration is mostly for collecting collectibles.

The main show is the weapons, as that is what Ratchet & Clank was always famous for. Yes, there are over a dozen weapons here that are different and unique from any other game. The DualSense controller is well utilized here for secondary fire. You can soft-press to “ready” a weapon that used to be the primary fire, and the secondary is a full press of the trigger. The haptic triggers are used better here than in any other PS5 game I have played so far. That also includes the new rumble feature. You can “feel” every weapon, and it really adds to the game’s experience. However, I did feel they went a little too heavy on the gloved weapons. Some weapons feel more like gimmicks than others. I wound up sticking to about a half-dozen go-to weapons. I found there wasn’t a good balance this time around, like there usually is. You need to switch weapons based on your needs. Close-quarters weapons such as the Executioner, which is like a shotgun, There are a couple of weapons like this. And then you have area-of-effect splash damage weapons like the Warmonger and Houndrill. There are some passive weapons that do damage over time or stun enemies only and don’t do any damage.

The enemies are pretty repetitive this time around. You get the same six red robots and then the occasional animal type thrown in. They repeat a lot and don’t really have different defenses, so you can usually just blast them all as they come. There are frequent boss fights, but many repeat, so they can get old kind of fast. I felt the enemies weren’t as inventive this time around, and it shows as they bring back some older enemies from the first game. I just feel the weapon and enemy designs were a bit off this time around and not as creative, but far from bad or ruined. I do want to mention that the level layout is also the same as before. Swing from orbs, jumping around, smashing boxes for bolts, and using them to buy weapons and upgrade them. Using it, you can level them up, which unlocks more upgrades, and you can level yourself up, which increases your health. While this formula is tried and true, it can feel old to long-time players, and if you didn’t like the series before, this game won’t change your mind.

There are some great cinematic scripted events, and the pacing is well done. There’s something satisfying about this series that makes it feel like a classic PlayStation game. They did get that magic down pat, but if this is a new trilogy, I hope they have more in store for the sequel. Visually, this is one of the best next-gen games to date. With performance RT at 60FPS, the game looks fantastic. There are the usual VRR options, and you can play in full 4K at 30 fps, but a game like this needs to play at 60 fps. The game just looks amazing, and the team has been able to do what they really want. Comparing this game to the first on the PS2 is like a whole new experience.

Overall, Rift Apart takes the typical Ratchet & Clank formula and brings it to the next generation with little change or fluff. There are a couple of mini-game segments to mix things up, the characters and voice acting are spot on, and the humor is there despite not being fully pushed this time around. I wish we got a new villain, and Rivet and Kit aren’t explored enough. The story itself is also a Saturday morning cartoon with little depth. The weapons are neat but not well-balanced, and overall, the old Ratchet formula feels a bit stale here despite being perfect.