Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Review - Get On My Dimension
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Insomniac Games returns to its roots with the latest entry in the Ratchet & Clank series. If you're like me and have drowned yourself in the trailers and previews for the PS5-only Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, you'll find it's undeniably a pretty game. In fact, it’s likely the most visually appealing title on the system so far.
But if you put aside the eye candy for a moment and dive into the experience, you’ll find that Rift Apart is also an entertaining adventure, with gameplay that can easily welcome newcomers and satisfy veteran fans, plus quirky characters that successfully bounce off the game’s heroic duo.
At the start of Rift Apart, Ratchet and Clank have been the galaxy's top heroes for years. To commemorate their deeds, they're given a celebratory parade, which serves as a quick trip down memory lane, showcasing even their early beginnings. But the fun quickly halts as they are attacked by the cartoony villain Dr. Nefarious. This leads to Ratchet and Clank being thrown into another dimension. In this parallel world resides its only living Lombax, Rivet, who is also fighting against her version of Nefarious. This springboards a journey to not only return home, but to save multiple dimensions from collapsing on top of each other.
Rivet & Clank: Rift Apart
During most of the campaign, Ratchet and Clank remain separated. They have their own missions while paired with other characters. This approach gives both characters a lot of room to show more of their personality as they interact with new and familiar friends along the way, but the hijinks fail to synthesize into new ground for them. It just feels like another day on the job for the team. But this time around, it’s not just Ratchet and Clank’s story, as newcomer Rivet has just the same amount of gameplay and screen time as the original duo, and with good reason, as she’s the highlight of Rift Apart.
Rivet quickly became my favorite character. Her personality really shines thanks to the amazing voice acting by industry veteran Jennifer Hale, and the animation work done by the folks at Insomniac that bring this Lombax to life. She has a sense of goodness and toughness, but also a vulnerable side, owing to the circumstances she’s experienced in her dimension. It was such a treat to watch her on screen that I wouldn’t mind a spin-off of Rivet’s adventures.
Thankfully, there are other characters like Rivet that really put a smile on my face, as her world hosts counterparts of well-known characters in the series, like Rusty Pete and Captain Qwark. We even have Ms. Zurkon and Zurkon Jr., who serve as the game’s weapon and upgrade store. The supporting characters stand out more in Rift Apart, which is a relief as I wasn’t too keen on how Insomniac handled them in 2016’s remake of the original Ratchet & Clank, which was greatly lacking in this department.
In terms of story and characters, Rift Apart elevates the series with entertaining cutscenes and comedic dialogue to keep players invested. Combat, on the other hand, remains the same third-person shooter-platformer seen in previous series entries. The phrase “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?” can apply here, so if you’re looking for a drastic change in gameplay, you won’t find it in Rift Apart, as it plays exactly like previous titles with slight changes, such as the ability to dash or quickly teleport by tapping rifts to travel from one point to another, giving players more mobility during all the chaos.
Choose your weapon wisely, or just don’t think about it
Ratchet and Rivet are given a plethora of weapons to choose from (to a point where the amount of weapons on hand can max out over two weapon wheels). What's great is that each one feels great to use, from the Drillhound that sniffs out enemies and explodes on impact, to the Toxiary Sprinkler that freezes enemies in place by growing plants on their bodies. It’s an arsenal of unique and absurd weapons that fit well with the quirky tone of Ratchet & Clank.
Any of the weapons you pick up can be effective in almost all situations, so it’s more of your call on what type of weapon you would like to use at that given moment. The amount of enemies in one area can get so crazy that, every now and then, you will find yourself going through every single weapon available in order to move forward, as there always seems to be just the right amount of ammo, making the player want to plan out what to use first and what to save for the latter part of the encounter.
Outside of all the shooting, you are given the option to explore every nook and cranny of each planet you visit in the story. These areas can range from small to large open spaces with a few secrets to collect in order to unlock new features, like changing the appearance of Ratchet’s weapon, displaying damage numbers as in an action RPG, or equipping a complete set of armor in order to get a slight bonus.
There are also puzzle segments only Clank can solve, and a short shooter mini-game where you play as an adorable program called Glitch, who helps clear out viruses locking up a computer system. These sections are greatly appreciated, as I found they help balance out the pace of the campaign, preventing any sense of combat repetitiveness from settling in.
A showcase of the PS5's power
The visuals for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart are stellar in almost all regards. Insomniac Games have outdone themselves, as the impressive lighting and crazy character detail makes a lot of scenes screenshot-worthy, with a sense of depth in their game space that gives players a pretty good idea regarding what each location is all about, as every planet has a distinct theme.
From all of Nefarious City's bright neon lights that suggest it’s a city that never sleeps to the dangerous swamps of Sargasso filled with exotic creatures waiting to ambush you at any moment, each area is stunning in its own little way, and it’s great that we get fun ways to traverse each location as you do side objectives or hunt for that golden bolt.
What I couldn’t get over while playing the game is how the visual quality remains consistent while Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart flexes its main concept - characters jumping from one dimension to another, changing the world around them instantly without skipping a beat, even through insane set pieces, like Ratchet or Rivet rail grinding through multiple dimensional rifts, or being tossed onto another arena by a boss mid-fight. There are even levels where you have to change your surroundings by interacting with a crystal in order to progress. The transitions remain seamless, and it never gets old.
Even with this visual extravaganza's effects popping off one after the other, there were close to no frame drops, but I did experience random technical hiccups during my 12-hour playthrough, as I had a couple of game crashes, and even fell through the world more than once. I’ve seen NPCs twitching as they clip through other nearby NPCs, and there was even a point where dying resulted in my PS5 completely freezing, necessitating my shutting down the system in order to get it back up and running again.
These issues weren't frequent enough to have made me feel alarmed or even frustrated. Glitches like these can happen. It’s worth noting that during my time with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, I was playing the game without the day 1 patch scheduled to come out before launch day, which includes Performance mode (60 fps) and general improvements to the game’s stability. So it’s hard to say if the patch will reduce the technical issues described for those playing the game at launch.
When it’s all done and dusted, Rift Apart may just be capable of making a new generation of Ratchet & Clank fans. This game has a lot of heart, as it makes you go through various emotions that eventually leave you thrilled with the whole ride and asking for more. Either as an adult or a kid experiencing the series for the first time, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will show you why many have stuck around with the series for this long since it first appeared in 2002, and why you'll see more of it for years to come.
9/10
Highlights
(+) One of the most visually stunning game on the PS5 so far
(+) Jumping from one dimensional rift to another never gets old
(+) Rivet is a star and deserves her own game
(+/-) Missed opportunity to add a new side to Ratchet and Clank
(-) Not much change in the core combat systems.
(-) Bugs and sudden crashes that I hope are fixed in the day 1 patch
What I’ve Played
Completed the game in Resistance Leader Difficulty with a 93% completion rating in Fidelity mode (30 FPS)
Going through Challenge mode (New game+) in Performance RT (60 FPS)
Collected 13/25 Gold Bolts
First playthrough game time: around 12 hours
[This review is based on a PS5 review code provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment Singapore.]
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