Fair warning: this game is Steam Deck verified but at present it shouldn't be. I had several crashes, the screen was extremely fuzzy half the time, and more then once the environments forgot to load, including part of the ending cutscene. Probably the most "memorable" glitch came from how I completed a quest that gave me a schematic for the ultimate weapon... except I didn't receive it yet the quest was still completed. I then learn how to load backup saves on the Steam Deck, so I guess I have that to show for this incident. I've heard using a actual PC is more then fine, so maybe avoid this on any "diet PC".
Then again I've played Skyrim on PS3 for over a hundred hours, this kind of unstable game is nothing new to me, nor is playing a game on the worst possible platform (Oh Hi Bloodstained Ritual of the Night on Switch).
Ratchet & Clank is a series I hold very near and dear. A childhood franchise that I played to Hell and back in the day when getting a new game was a rare and exciting time. I loved every game I played: 1, Going Commando, Up Your Arsenal, Deadlocked, Tools of Destruction, and A Crack In Time. I've played each of them at least four times. I distinctly remember being so upset that our Tools of Destruction disc got scratched, and it'd be a crap-shoot if the next planet loaded or not. Despite all of that, Crack in Time was the last new Ratchet game I played. I can't remember the exact reason, maybe I was really into another franchise at the time, or maybe even back then I recognized that the newer games didn't look too appealing. I was going to play Rift Apart whenever I got a PS5, which still hasn't happened.
As mentioned, the way I played this was completely unideal, but I still was able to stick with it. Was it nostalgia for the older games? I don't think so since the combat felt pretty different. It felt more restrictive with going into this "battle mode" where you can only shoot relative to the camera rather then your character's direction. That messed with me more times then I'd like to admit, but wasn't long before I was able to adjust. They also added their own invincible dodge, which I was mixed at first. It felt a little too forgiving with being able to dodge right through attacks with pretty generous timing. Bearing in mind that I stuck to the hardest difficulty through the whole game, I did find myself struggling a few times in some of the more hectic battles. The game still keeps the strafe flips from the older games and it then hit me why they did this. The phantom dash is invincible, but you can't shoot and are committed to a direction. Strafe jumping is much riskier but your offense is unimpeded and have more control in mid-flight. These games have never been masterful in combat encounters, but this little bit of decision making added a lot to the fun of these shoot-outs. Especially since enemies are surprisingly very aggressive at max difficulty. Some may even lead their shots, so sometimes I'd be punished by not thinking how I'm dodging attacks.
It helps that, apart from a few too many scripted sequences, I feel this is one of the better paced games in the series when it comes to action. I was never left feeling wanting before we were back to fighting, something the Future games struggle with I feel. There's not a ton of extra game modes to contend with, just some light dimensional puzzles and hacking shooting games. Neither go on for too long, though I personally wish the puzzles were a bit more challenging. Then again, it does bring up something that may be harder for me to contend with: I'm not the audience to these Ratchet games. Not anymore, that is. More then ever did I noticed all the dialogue the characters exchanged during gameplay that felt very forced. Pointing out the obvious repeatedly for the mission objectives, not really giving the player much to think about where to go or what to do. I have a map, but it's mostly used for collectable hunting (to be fair, I did get everything in this game which was pretty fun). Character's talk to themselves all the time almost like I was a kid, but they are not talking to me, but to the main audience. I watched a video on this game where it was laid pretty plainly that this series has many different audiences, with no way to please all of them. The scathing commentary on capitalism from the first four games (well, Up Your Arsenal wasn't as prominent with that commentary) is pushed aside for their own themes of self-doubt. To some of the older fans this feels like a series that has lost its edge. And frankly it has, because it changed. But what would be accomplished returning to those themes? What else does Ratchet & Clank have to say about this exploitative system that we are trapped in that it, or literally every other story about capitalism, hasn't covered yet? Hell it's not like those are completely absent from the modern games in this series, in this very game I overheard a NPC saying "Only 40 hours till my next break". Some of that theming is still there, but that's no longer their focus. Because the team is done with that kind of story. You can only do the same thing for so long before getting sick of it.
Huge tangent aside, even for a younger audience maybe you could have had a option to tone down the tutorialization on what to do. They have done a great job with all the accessibility features and options given. I especially like the option to skip the puzzles, which makes repeat playthroughs much more smoother, so adding more options to cut out some fluff would make the ride more enjoyable. But once I accepted that I'm playing a game intended for younger audiences, yet still at the capacity to be played by all ages, I appreciated the story and characters more. I think Rivet is a great addition. I like the subtle differences between her and Ratchet where one is more of a hot-headed newbie, while the other is veteran hero who feels he's been out of the limelight too long to be relevant. I've heard a few people were annoyed that the two share the same equipment with no meaningful gameplay differences, and to be blunt I really don't care. There is a in-game explanation but it doesn't explain everything, and I really don't need it to. It makes the game smoother without limiting the player. Obviously I won't talk about them in detail, but I thought the plot twists and reveals were handle well. One way they handle a particular reveal was damn clever, even when you were expecting something to happen.
I have no good way to transition to this... but the platforming is probably the best in the series. The phantom dash combined with the hoverboots that feel intentionally over-tuned as well as a more forgiving wall-jump had me doing things that felt like I was cheating. There were a lot of instances of "This probably won't wor- Wait it worked?!" And that is a incredibly gratifying feeling that I haven't felt playing this series before.
If things smooth out on the "Diet PC" end of things then I'll bump this to a four, potentially 4.5 if they resolve everything. Or perhaps I'll bite the bullet on a PS5 or a actually good PC. Either way, I said earlier that this franchise has lost its edge, but I feel its gain something else to fill that void.
And they really had to lock the Bouncer weapon to New Game Plus, huh?? I can't tell if that's insidious or brilliant, I'm leaning towards the former
Then again I've played Skyrim on PS3 for over a hundred hours, this kind of unstable game is nothing new to me, nor is playing a game on the worst possible platform (Oh Hi Bloodstained Ritual of the Night on Switch).
Ratchet & Clank is a series I hold very near and dear. A childhood franchise that I played to Hell and back in the day when getting a new game was a rare and exciting time. I loved every game I played: 1, Going Commando, Up Your Arsenal, Deadlocked, Tools of Destruction, and A Crack In Time. I've played each of them at least four times. I distinctly remember being so upset that our Tools of Destruction disc got scratched, and it'd be a crap-shoot if the next planet loaded or not. Despite all of that, Crack in Time was the last new Ratchet game I played. I can't remember the exact reason, maybe I was really into another franchise at the time, or maybe even back then I recognized that the newer games didn't look too appealing. I was going to play Rift Apart whenever I got a PS5, which still hasn't happened.
As mentioned, the way I played this was completely unideal, but I still was able to stick with it. Was it nostalgia for the older games? I don't think so since the combat felt pretty different. It felt more restrictive with going into this "battle mode" where you can only shoot relative to the camera rather then your character's direction. That messed with me more times then I'd like to admit, but wasn't long before I was able to adjust. They also added their own invincible dodge, which I was mixed at first. It felt a little too forgiving with being able to dodge right through attacks with pretty generous timing. Bearing in mind that I stuck to the hardest difficulty through the whole game, I did find myself struggling a few times in some of the more hectic battles. The game still keeps the strafe flips from the older games and it then hit me why they did this. The phantom dash is invincible, but you can't shoot and are committed to a direction. Strafe jumping is much riskier but your offense is unimpeded and have more control in mid-flight. These games have never been masterful in combat encounters, but this little bit of decision making added a lot to the fun of these shoot-outs. Especially since enemies are surprisingly very aggressive at max difficulty. Some may even lead their shots, so sometimes I'd be punished by not thinking how I'm dodging attacks.
It helps that, apart from a few too many scripted sequences, I feel this is one of the better paced games in the series when it comes to action. I was never left feeling wanting before we were back to fighting, something the Future games struggle with I feel. There's not a ton of extra game modes to contend with, just some light dimensional puzzles and hacking shooting games. Neither go on for too long, though I personally wish the puzzles were a bit more challenging. Then again, it does bring up something that may be harder for me to contend with: I'm not the audience to these Ratchet games. Not anymore, that is. More then ever did I noticed all the dialogue the characters exchanged during gameplay that felt very forced. Pointing out the obvious repeatedly for the mission objectives, not really giving the player much to think about where to go or what to do. I have a map, but it's mostly used for collectable hunting (to be fair, I did get everything in this game which was pretty fun). Character's talk to themselves all the time almost like I was a kid, but they are not talking to me, but to the main audience. I watched a video on this game where it was laid pretty plainly that this series has many different audiences, with no way to please all of them. The scathing commentary on capitalism from the first four games (well, Up Your Arsenal wasn't as prominent with that commentary) is pushed aside for their own themes of self-doubt. To some of the older fans this feels like a series that has lost its edge. And frankly it has, because it changed. But what would be accomplished returning to those themes? What else does Ratchet & Clank have to say about this exploitative system that we are trapped in that it, or literally every other story about capitalism, hasn't covered yet? Hell it's not like those are completely absent from the modern games in this series, in this very game I overheard a NPC saying "Only 40 hours till my next break". Some of that theming is still there, but that's no longer their focus. Because the team is done with that kind of story. You can only do the same thing for so long before getting sick of it.
Huge tangent aside, even for a younger audience maybe you could have had a option to tone down the tutorialization on what to do. They have done a great job with all the accessibility features and options given. I especially like the option to skip the puzzles, which makes repeat playthroughs much more smoother, so adding more options to cut out some fluff would make the ride more enjoyable. But once I accepted that I'm playing a game intended for younger audiences, yet still at the capacity to be played by all ages, I appreciated the story and characters more. I think Rivet is a great addition. I like the subtle differences between her and Ratchet where one is more of a hot-headed newbie, while the other is veteran hero who feels he's been out of the limelight too long to be relevant. I've heard a few people were annoyed that the two share the same equipment with no meaningful gameplay differences, and to be blunt I really don't care. There is a in-game explanation but it doesn't explain everything, and I really don't need it to. It makes the game smoother without limiting the player. Obviously I won't talk about them in detail, but I thought the plot twists and reveals were handle well. One way they handle a particular reveal was damn clever, even when you were expecting something to happen.
I have no good way to transition to this... but the platforming is probably the best in the series. The phantom dash combined with the hoverboots that feel intentionally over-tuned as well as a more forgiving wall-jump had me doing things that felt like I was cheating. There were a lot of instances of "This probably won't wor- Wait it worked?!" And that is a incredibly gratifying feeling that I haven't felt playing this series before.
If things smooth out on the "Diet PC" end of things then I'll bump this to a four, potentially 4.5 if they resolve everything. Or perhaps I'll bite the bullet on a PS5 or a actually good PC. Either way, I said earlier that this franchise has lost its edge, but I feel its gain something else to fill that void.
And they really had to lock the Bouncer weapon to New Game Plus, huh?? I can't tell if that's insidious or brilliant, I'm leaning towards the former