I've played a couple of other Ratchet games but none of them ever really hooked me to the point of wanting to beat them. Except for some reason this game did hook me. I couldn't even tell you why, it seems to still follow most of the formula from the other ones but maybe just more refined. I do really enjoy the loop of gathering bolts to buy stuff and using weapons to upgrade them, the weapon upgrades are really fun since they can end up doing crazy shit.

Wish I could say the exact reason this game resonated with me but at the end of the day at least I was able to enjoy it and beat it.

Platform: PlayStation 5
Date Started: March 3rd, 2024
Date Finished: March 6th, 2024
Time Played: 11 Hours

"You think a crushing defeat is all it takes to stop me?"

Ratchet & Clank must be one of the most consistently great and enjoyable franchises I have played (minus the PS4 reboot thing), and Rift Apart is no exception! Continuing on the story and introducing a couple excellent new characters, this adds a lot whilst still maintaining the feeling of those PS2 classics!

The story here is an engaging one, although I'm not the biggest fan of "multiverse" style stuff, with the cast being the main highlight carrying it through. It creates plenty of huge set piece scenarios that are always fun, however I think that the rifts were ultimately kind of a gimmick. They, most of the time, just act as fancy grappling hook points or story set pieces, so I think more could have possibly been done game-play wise with their implementation. Additionally, you end up fighting the same types of enemies and mini-bosses throughout the whole thing, but, ultimately this didn't really impact my enjoyment all too much.

With a vast array of great weapons, slick gunplay, lovely characters and genuinely amazing graphics, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a worthy entry into the franchise, and a really great time from beginning to end!

I'm a childhood fan of the yellow lombax rat guy and I expected not to like this game simply because of how "clean" it must be (especially after ratchet 2016).

well. fuck me, it was REALLY damn good. probably the best gameplay in the series. the movement with the hoverboots gets particularly insane, I was flying through the game and skipping platforming or puzzles like it was nobody's business. the environments are drop dead gorgeous and give me enough of a reason to go back and immerse myself in this world. I always loved r&c world design and this entry does not let you down on that.

some negatives though: forgettable weapons, TERRIBLE sound effects, unremarkable soundtrack (david bergeaud my father I miss you so much), and that thing where characters respond all witty all the time like they're in a superhero movie.

Fun. Furry. Forgettable.

Okay, maybe that's a little harsh, but I've never been a huge Ratchet guy, and a lot of the rift technology that this game hangs its hat on was present in Insomniac's next game, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, that I just so happened to play the week before this one. It still has its moments, and was impressive at times to behold the sheer amount of enemies, bolts, and bullets on-screen, but this is a franchise that still feels somewhat disposable to me.

And, after this?

I'd just rather a Rivet game.

7/10

Not only is this an insanely gorgeous visual experience that takes full advantage of the PS5, but it is also one of the best games of it's genre that I ever had the pleasure of playing. Every single aspect of solid 2016 game is done so much better in every way possible. The gameplay is a pure joyful blast from start to finish, it never gets old and they always know how to keep things fresh and interesting. Both combat and platforming are in perfect sync to each other as a game like this should be.

But what really surprised me in all of this was just how lovable the characters are, both Ratchet and Clank have a lot more to work with which is great to see, bur Rivet and Rit are the absolute standouts and I loved them so much. I can't see a new game of the series without them now so don't you dare to do any stupid thing, make the four of them a team forever. I absolutely adore "Rift Apart", it is a must play in every way. A joy to play for every minute on screen and a powerhouse of what the PS5 can do. It doesn't matter if you're new to the series or not, just make sure to don't miss this one, and I'll be sure to revisit this more times despite already having the Platinum trophy.

mmm yes I love perpetually pressing jump and dash as I circlestrafe around and hot swap between all my guns, almost as much as the platforming sections I get to autopilot through inbetween even, puts me right into the FunZone™, but there's no Mick Gordon OST that sounds like someone ripping a fart so I'm afraid I can hardly recommend this GPU benchmark to my fellow topfragging fiends, letterboxd kino connoisseurs who enjoy works such as Into the Spider-Verse or Zootopia will find a lot to love here though.

Rift Apart provides a joyous arsenal of weapons and a story that combines non-stop spectacle with endearing characters.

As with any Ratchet and Clank game, combat plays a huge role. You are given tons of weapons to purchase and upgrade, along with countless opportunities to take them for a spin. The game does a great job of encouraging you to use it's spectacular arsenal of weapons by pretty drastically limiting the amount of ammo you get and carry. Particularly later on in the game, when the fights can get longer, you'll find yourself needing to use three or four weapons minimum. The difficulty in this game comes more from ammo management than tough fights. Many of the weapons work well to support other weapons, further encouraging weapon swapping. I often used the Topiary Sprinkler -- which turns enemies into plants that can't move, and followed up with the Headhunter (sniper) to pick away at the unmoving lawn ornaments. Overall my most used weapon was certainly the Executor (shotgun) as I found it a diabolically efficient way to mow down heaps of weak enemies or giant brutes.

You upgrade weapons by finding Raritanium throughout the environment. There's enough lying around that it rewards your exploration and it's addicting to click away at the upgrade screen to make all your favorite weapons even better. There are other collectables to find, like gold bolts that unlock armor, spybots that grant you a super weapon when you find them all, and each world contains a tiny, hard to find, stuffed animal for the completionists out there.

There's so much shooting in this game, and even with the extensive diversity of guns, I still found my enjoyment wearing thin in the second half especially as the frequency of long fights picked up. This game was at it's best when you are freely exploring interesting worlds, meeting new characters and completing a variety of quests to move the story forward, while shorter fights are constantly being mixed in. That is the flow for much of the first half of the game. The latter half of the game meanwhile, felt a bit more like one big shooting gallery after another, facing off against enemies I'd already taken down hundreds of times. Sure this was still fun, but less fun. Of course, even when the story had wrapped I wasn't exactly eager to put the game down. I ended up going back through nearly every level to pick up collectables I had missed and I even grabbed the platinum trophy.

Surprisingly the thing that really kept me going the most was the story and my investment in the characters. Rivet was a fantastic addition and even though her gameplay is basically just a palette swap from Ratchet, her personality and place in the story was quite enjoyable. There are so many fun and weird characters, and my limited experience with the previous entries in this franchise didn't hold back my enjoyment of them at all. Mort, Pierre and Gary were highlights and while some of the dialogue felt a bit stiff and awkward, particularly during action gameplay, the plot was roaring and I loved soaking up as much as I could from the world. It's hard to think of a game that packs so much story, fun gameplay, and breathtaking environments into a tight 10-hour package.

Ratchet and Clank is an absolute spectacle on the PS5 with beautiful colors and controller integration that brings you as close as possible to the arsenal of weapons. There was a bit too much shooting and not enough exploration and platforming for my taste but it's so rock solid at what it is trying to do that my annoyances were short-lived.