A worthwhile entry in the Ratchet & Clank series, but too brief to make much of an impact.

With its short length, everything good about the PS3 Ratchet games gets to shine without any filler. Unfortunately, being a DLC-sized entry that followed two poorly received spinoffs is one of the reasons the game failed to leave a lasting impression on most players, and in the eight year wait for a continuation of the story, which we weren't even certain was coming after the PS4 reboot, it was something of an unceremonious ending for Ratchet's story. Into the Nexus doesn't do a whole lot to progress the overarching story, and A Crack in Time had a much stronger ending that could have even worked as a conclusion to the entire post-PS2 narrative. Into the Nexus and Rift Apart both retread themes that were already resolved by the end of A Crack in Time.

I will give this game credit for trying some novel ideas, though. I thought the villains were decent and a breath of fresh air when the series is otherwise insistent on recycling Dr Nefarious at every opportunity. I also liked the jetpack levels and the sidescrolling Clank levels.

For some reason Into the Nexus has some really noticeable framerate issues when most of the other Ratchet games run a lot better, which made the gameplay feel less smooth than the other games in the series.

I also think Ratchet looks really weird in this game after A Crack in Time nailed his character design.

It's not one of the best Ratchet games, but it's still fun enough to play at least once if you're a fan of the series.

I need everyone who has written off Into the Nexus to give it another shot immediately. The negatives right off the bat, it's really short, the opening sequence is a slog, and the ending is sort of anticlimactic. But everything in between the very beginning and very end is absolutely delightful. The arsenal is extremely unique and fun, the planets, while there aren't many, are varied and fun to explore, and the Clank nether-verse segments are the second most fun Clank gameplay in the series behind A Crack in Time. I understand why people were disappointed when this game came out, but looking back, it was such a fresh relief after a trio of pretty mediocre spinoff games.

It's not a bad game but it's really basic for the serie and does the minimum that you'd ask from a R&C game. The game is too short to be really interesting and feels a lot like a filler game which is a shame for a the last game that was considered canon until Rift Apart. The feeling is even stronger because the game follows the release of All 4 One and Full Frontal Assault which are TERRIBLE games. I completely understand why Ratchet fans were really worried of what would happen to the serie after the game. It has a worse gameplay than A Crack in Time that came out 4 years prior, worse weapons and worse maps. It has also a frustrating story that seems to repeat what the previous two main games told, we already knew Ratchet's decision to stay in the same situation if changing would make people suffer. But well juste like QFB, I won't say no to more Talwyn Apogee.

I know people dunk on this game's story being short but Insomniac had stated before launch that Into the Nexus was meant to be an epilogue to the Future series and not exactly a full-blown Ratchet & Clank title, so heading into this game with that in mind, I did had a lot fun to the point I Platinum'd this game, thought the new gravity platforms were enjoyable, the return of arena battles gave me a little smile, the jetpack sections were you fly aroung big scenerys collecting diamonds and defeating enemies while airborne were an interesting addition, though not everything is a winner, Clank's Netherverse puzzle sections were kinda dull.

To add to that, I was happy that Insomniac went back to develop a more traditional R&C entry after that odd experimental phase with All 4 One and Full Frontal Assault, even if it still carries that cartoonish character design that I was never a big fan of.

Another fun Ratchet & Clank adventure, with no ambition beyond being just another Ratchet & Clank adventure. Into the Nexus doesn’t stack up to the series’ best entries and doesn’t do much to stand out either, which explains why it came and went with little fanfare. The game’s most unique feature is the puzzle sections in the titular Nexus (it’s actually called the Nether, despite being called ‘Into the Nexus’ the word ‘Nexus’ is never said once in the entire game), which take boatloads of inspiration from VVVVVV and are a lot of fun but there are too few of them. In fact there’s too little of Into the Nexus. The whole game feels rushed, not in a ‘buggy and unfinished’ kind of way but in a ‘moves too quickly for its own good’ way. Into the Nexus ends just as soon as it begins, by the time it really enters its groove it’s reaching its conclusion. Had the game been longer it probably would’ve left a bigger impression on me, but as it stands it kinda went through one ear and out the other. A fun but disappointing end to the Future Saga.

I can't pretend to have any knowledge this way or that, but this game feels like it was supposed to be a PS4 launch title, couldn't make it, and then was stripped way back and released as it was for PS3. It runs absolutely horridly pretty much all the time, chugging hard. That being said, the lighting/atmospheric effects are amazing and it generally is one of the absolute best looking PS3 games I've ever played.

There is just nothing here, unfortunately. There's so little substance, you get blasted through in just a few hours. You can feel they intended this to be the last one. I'm sad that they didn't get (what feels like) their desired chance to cap it off on PS4 with a fully realized game, because this one could have been really great. I guess the franchise returns to form with Rift Apart, but I can't speak on that quite yet.

The traversal tools in this game are nice, but just lacking in polish. The jet pack upgrade controls well, and the segments using it are fun. But Ratchet just kind of flops bored looking through the air when using it. The hoverboots are back, but you have them for like 2 hours of the game tops. They also (UGH oh my GOD) share right trigger with your clank movement options, so sometimes you launch into like a super super jump because you activated the boots for a split second. There is no slow and fast mode like in Crack in Time either, so if you want to adjust before a ramp you need to stop entirely. But this introduces the issue that sometimes you initiate your boots on a hoverboot ramp and actually end up just doing a clank long jump instead of a booster jump. I know I am explaining this like complete shit, but trust me when i say that even with the short time you spend with the hoverboots they had me mad as fuck.

I guess the narrative is okay? They make a point of killing off some comic relief characters (not a spoiler because that describes nearly every R&C character) which I didn't appreciate.

Clank platforming segments were good? Some of the gravity puzzles were sort of inexplicable and you could kind of lock them into a failed state it seems.

The arena is nice. It actually implements some new challenge types. Nice! Like all other things in this game, there could be much more.

You can pretty easily get the RYNO before the final boss in this, which is crazy. I don't think I have ever fought the final boss with the RYNO in any other playthrough of any Ratchet game in my entire life.

The little gravity tube platforming things are fun, and the game proceeds to do pretty much nothing with them.

Finally, and the greatest sin of this game, is that you can't play with the original R&C control scheme. Can't do it. You have to do third person over the shoulder shooter targeting with L1, and you can't even switch the function of buttons and triggers. You can't really rebind shit, which is a HUGE miss imo. I like that pretty much every non-weapon tool in Ratchet's kit has a dedicated button, but how much better is that really than like, idk, using the dpad as a quick select for them? It works just fine in Crack in Time, there's no need to reinvent the wheel, Insomniac!

So much of this game is just barely not there, and, like I have probably said 13 times already, it's a shame. The art direction in this game is like, astoundingly good. Everything looks so nice. There's some genuinely really fun platforming/gunplay reaching heights unseen in the series since Going Commando. But the whole thing collapsed under its own weight. This one died in the incubator for FUSE, dude. Fuse. From here on be the age of Ratchet uncertainty - the overall failure of the remake and movie tie-in project pushed Insomniac toward just filling Marvel licenses. We've not seen hide nor hair of Ratchet this decade, and leaks indicate that he might not be around again until I'm in my 30s. I grew up with Ratchet, and I miss him. That's kind of how this game left me feeling.

The epilogue to the Ratchet and Clank Future series. This game serves as a way to tie up some loose ends and provide some closure to the PS3 Ratchet games. At least until Rift Apart came out.

On the story side of things, this game has Ratchet and Clank tracking down two villains named Neftin and Vendra. They plan to bring a race of dangerous beings knows as the Nethers over to their dimension. That's basically all I can say without delving too much into spoilers. The tone of this game is quite different from previous Ratchet titles, taking on something a little more dark and somber. It's honestly a bit jarring at points, but I actually quite like it.

The gameplay is basically a diet version of A Crack in Time. It reuses a lot of weapons from past titles while sprinkling in some new ones here and there. The hover boots make a return, and the Clank sections in this one are pretty good! They go for a more 2D puzzle side scroller approach. Though this game is VERY short! Don't go in expecting a full length game here. It makes for a very short and sweet experience.

There are some negatives. For one, the frame rates in this game can get quite bad at points. I can't recall a Ratchet game ever dipping in frames like this before (aside from Deadlocked HD port but we don't talk about that). Also, I don't know if this is just me but this game is rather...ugly? It's hard to explain but everything looks as if it's been dipped in like, lip gloss? I don't know, play it and see for yourself. Maybe I'm just crazy. I feel like Full Frontal Assault had this same issue.

This game is a solid Ratchet and Clank experience. Honestly, it would be one of the best games in the series if it were just a little bit longer. A couple of planets more would go a long way. Either way, if you were a fan of Tools of Destruction and a Crack in Time don't skip this one! It caps all the PS3 Ratchet games off nicely.

UN CORTO RETORNO A LO CLÁSICO

Tras experimentos raros como Q-Force o Todos Para Uno Ratchet se despidió de la PS3 con una entrega que regresaba a lo que ellos fueron siempre, un juego de aventuras, plataformas de acción.

El problema de esta entrega es que no sé por qué se siente como si fuese una demo porque simplemente son unos 5 planetas, dando una aventura funcional pero extremadamente corta.

Como aportación, las nuevas zonas de gravedad 0, los puzzles de Clank y las secciones de vuelo libre fueron novedades bastante interesantes en esta entrega.

I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed Into the Nexus, given the incredibly tough act it had to follow on from with A Crack in Time as well as the lackluster nature of the last time they tried to do an epilogue game with Quest for Booty. However, Into the Nexus is a short yet sweet little adventure with some great puzzles and platforming.

The story this time is alright; it doesn't exactly start very promising, but it does improve as it goes on, and the villains this time are quite likable and are afforded a reasonable amount of depth given the truncated length of the game.

Of course, what really shines here is the new gravity-based puzzle and platforming sections scattered throughout. After the wonderful use of time manipulation in gameplay from the last game, I suppose Insomniac felt they had to at least try to do something just as radical so it doesn't feel like it's just back to basics now.

For Ratchet, you jump between platforms with gravity boots and glide across tractor beams. It all feels fun to play around with, if not a little derivative of Portal 2, but I don't hold that against them.

The Clank sections are also interesting, clearly taking inspiration from indie puzzle-platformers like VVVVVV and Limbo as you manipulate gravity in every direction to traverse the trap-filled caves of 'the netherverse'.

These new features make the game feel especially fresh compared to other games in the series; however, they're not used nearly enough to my liking, and much of the game is just bog-standard Ratchet & Clank instead. That would be okay if they didn't show so much promise with these new mechanics and puzzles, only for them to not be used nearly enough, especially given the short length. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's 'half-baked' or anything, but it is a shame that such inventive mechanics as these are more distractions to break up the standard gameplay you've come to expect than an integral part of the game from beginning to end.

Still, it's a fine enough game and a worthy adventure in its own right. It has potential to be much more, but what is given to you here instead is still good fun.

7/10