I've read a lot of things about this particular remake and its movie counterpart, including that it's a toothless, written-by-committee, executive-driven take on a not-entirely-kid-friendly IP that robs it of its sharp wit and charm.

Having played it for myself, though? I found it to be... pretty much exactly that, yeah.

This really is not it.

I mean, I had my issues with the characterization of Ratchet in the original game, labeling him as an unlikable dickhead whose character growth and resolution came much later than they should have. While I stand by much of that, albeit not quite as harsh in hindsight, I vastly prefer that version of Ratchet to the one we get here. The same goes for pretty much every other returning character.

What's especially frustrating is that it's an overcorrection to some extent, since I'm aware that, looking back on it, Insomniac shares much the same opinions on the first game as I do in terms of how its characters come across. So in this remake, they're replaced with the modern versions of them from the current games. Ratchet is a generic paragon of virtue with aspirations of being a galactic hero, while Qwark is a coward masquerading as the hero Ratchet aspires to be. Not to sound overly dramatic, but it's kind of gross? It throws away the necessary messy beginnings these characters originally had, with Ratchet being a douchey mechanic and Qwark being a bumbling yet devious pawn.

The gameplay is okay. I mean, it really is just Ratchet & Clank 1 again, but with much less intriguing environments to explore and some little QoL additions from other games in the series like lock-strafing. It does the job well enough, but doesn't exactly leave a lasting impression, especially compared to the rest of the series and even more so compared to the original.

The major cutscenes are just scenes from the movie, which aren't great on their own but are made slightly worse by the 'Gameplay recording paused' notification that comes and goes every time a new movie clip starts.

Some of the voice acting, too, is just baaad. Bella Thorne as Cora, the not-Talwyn stand-in character, is probably the worst offender. No offense to her, but every single line sounds phoned in to an almost impressive degree. It's truly a bizarre creative choice to bring in celebrities, considering the staple series characters are reprised by their original voice actors too, but I digress.

I could go on, as I do have more cons than pros about the 2016 remake, but you've probably heard them dozens of times from dozens of other people by now. Gameplay-wise, it's an okay-ish remake of the original with a few decent sections and the Pixelizer, which is easily the highlight, but is otherwise well worth skipping or just playing the original again.

4.5/10

I was a big fan of Ratchet & Clank on the PS2, so I picked this game up because of nostalgia, but... it REALLY wasn't what I expected; I mean... the graphics are very good and the character models look nice.
Also, the combat feels varied thanks to the great weapon variety and unique weapons, like in the older games in the series.
Unfortunately, however... I've already ran out of positive things to say about this game.
Ratchet & Clank disappointed me in many many ways.
First of all, the pacing is absolutely awful; the main story gets somewhat engaging only in it's last hour, the rest of the game is completely forgettable and nothing really happens.
The character development and interactions are non-existent, the rest of the game is an experience that doesn't have any depth and there's barely any content apart from the main story.
The movie cutscenes are implemented in the worst ways possible, making the pacing even worse than it already is.
The humor is surprisingly horrible for the most part, which I didn't expect at all.
Also, the mission design, the puzzles and Clank's sections are all extremely monotonous, repetitive and boring, which negatively affect the gameplay loop of the game. As for the gameplay itself, you can finish the entire game just by holding down the attack button to kill the waves, and the aiming feels very stiff for some reason.

Pros:
+ Beautiful visuals
+ Varied combat system
+ Impressive weapon variety

Cons:
- Major pacing issues
- Completely unmemorable main questline
- Absent character development and interactions, and unfunny humor
- Lacks depth and content
- Movie cutscenes
- Dull gameplay loop

Narrative: 1/10
Gameplay: 4/10
Content: 2/10
Characters: ?/10
Music: ?/10
Graphics/Audio: 8/10

Final Rating: 3/10
- Bad -
Ratchet & Clank is a very underwhelming game in my opinion and it disappointed me immensely because I loved playing Ratchet & Clank on the PS2, so I expected this game to be at least half as good as the older games.

Do I recommend it?:
Yes... but only for children.

Esse é claramente um bom jogo, não vou dizer que é melhor que o rift, mas que ele é bom e cumpri o seu dever é, eu joguei esse jogo ano passado, e cara, eu curti muito, a gameplay do jogo é muito boa, a história é legalzinha e legal e faz você ficar vidrado no jogo, os personagens são carismáticos e legais, o gráfico cartoonesco junto com realismo faz esse jogo ser maravilhoso até os dias de hoje, claro que com seus defeitos, a gameplay foi o ponto forte pra mim nesse jogo, que gameplay sensacional, teve uma parte no jogo que eu peguei a Rhino ( arma mais forte do jogo ) e cara......... eu peguei ela quando eu tava na última missão da história do jogo é cara.... o último chefe não teve nem tempo de respirar direito, com esse ponto que eu disse aqui vale muito a pena jogar o jogo, uma experiência muito boa e divertida, logo depois vou fazer Review da sequência do jogo.

Ratchet and clank is a good 3D platformer. 3D platformers are one of my all time favorite genres, and this one is solid. The platforming itself is pretty mid, and the story isn't anything special either. This game really shines in its combat and weapons. The amount of choice you have in combat is extremely vast, there are sooooo many unique weapons that are really fun to use. The enemy variation is decent, the bosses are fun, I really like the main characters. Overall this game is not amazing but its just a good game nothing much about it. 7/10

Reviewing every game i've fully completed #49

My first Ratchet & Clank game.
The game was really fun and I finished it in two sittings. The different weapons really added up to the experience; Switching between weapons mid combat to adapt to different enemies made the combat engaging. My only gripes with the game are:
1) Enemies do heavy damage even on Normal difficulty which made the game seem harder than it is
2) there is no projectile indicator
3) adding a dodge button would have made the combat more interesting IMHO
4) bosses are tanky and you have to dump all your ammo on them
Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable experience and I'm now interested in trying out the original series.
I don't know if the game is good by Ratchet & Clank standards but I'll give it an 8.

As an adaptation of the Ratchet & Clank movie, this game is very good and is a far better experience than actually watching that movie. It’s a beauty to look at and while it doesn’t bring much new to the table in terms of gameplay or story, it’s a good straightforward R&C adventure which I’m always down for.

As a remake of the first Ratchet & Clank game however, it’s more than a bit disappointing. I can’t help but feel as if this game is missing the sauce that made that first game special. In the original R&C, Ratchet’s kind of a dick, especially to Clank. Seeing the two of them bond and Ratchet step up to the role of hero is part of what makes that game great. In Ratchet and Clank 2016, Ratchet becomes friends with Clank basically right off the bat, and that’s only one of the things that makes this game feel like the original with all of its edges sanded off. It just has very little personality to speak of.