Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is breathtakingly gorgeous and has easily the best gameplay in the series to date.

It's also a much needed redemption after the embarrassment that was the 2016 reboot. It's the best game in the series since A Crack in Time, but it's hardly had any competition, between the 2016 reboot and experimental spinoff entries like All 4 One. The only decent game in that time was Into the Nexus, but that one was a DLC-sized game that couldn't really compare to full-sized entries like A Crack in Time.

Rift Apart finally continues the story from where Into the Nexus left off back in 2013. Which is good, because we'd been waiting for so long, but at the same time, it does bother me a bit that the story of the lombaxes and the dimensions started in 2007 with Tools of Destruction, and it still hasn't reached its conclusion. Yes, that's right, Rift Apart isn't the end of the story. It's a little exhausting at this point. I would honestly have been totally happy if it had ended with A Crack in Time because that game ended so nicely.

I did bristle a bit at Rivet's constant snark at first, but she began to grow on me. Ratchet, however, I found disappointingly flat, and Clank's severe self-doubt became very grating because if my memory serves me correctly, he already overcame his lack of confidence in one of the previous games. Writing has never been the strong suit of Ratchet & Clank, but I found the characters particularly dull in this game compared to others in the series. I also seriously wish Insomniac would finally put Dr Nefarious to rest. He was funny the first time. That was nearly 20 years ago. There's nothing more to explore with his character and his motivations are the same shit every time. Surely someone has enough imagination to come up with a new villain!

Aside from the story, though, everything about this game is immensely polished and it's an absolute blast to play. The graphics are jaw-dropping and I enjoyed the focus on exploration in some of the levels. The series' trademark combat is the smoothest it's ever been, but the new addition of the phase shift makes it even better. Being able to use the hoverboots at any time once you receive them is also a big upgrade over previous games. Rift Apart's weapon roster is refreshingly strong, introducing some cool new weapons while bringing back old favourites. I did find, though, that some weapons were redundant as they did basically the same job as something else, so I think a few could have been axed from the lineup and not missed.

In summary, Rift Apart is an essential Ratchet & Clank game, and I'm glad to see this series is still carrying the torch for PS2 style action games, even though its edges have been gradually rounded off over the years.

An almost perfect sequel that fixes every problem I had with the first game.

Strafing was a master stroke addition to the series, but more importantly than anything else, Ratchet is now fast and responsive and only moves when you're actively giving inputs, fixing every problem the first game had with platforming and combat. The health upgrades, weapon upgrades, and armour are also welcome additions. On top of all of that, the game has a banger soundtrack.

I don't have much to say about the gameplay besides that it's still tons of fun and I love revisiting this game every couple years.

My only criticism is that in trying to be bigger and outdo its predecessor, like many other platformers of the time, it's a tad bloated and not all of the new features are good. The arena was good enough to become a mainstay of the series, but other additions like the vehicle races and Giant Clank battles range between okay and annoying. Ship battles are a good idea, but feel a bit awkward to control in this game, and were improved in later entries. The collectathon exploration levels are another idea with a lot of potential, but needed fleshing out more. The desert environments these levels take place in are very dull and become monotonous fast. The PS3 Ratchet games executed the idea much better.

There are also a few too many weapons. Some of them aren't very useful and it's better to save your bolts, but new players won't know ahead of time which ones to skip.

But taking all of this into account, I think this game did a better job of growing and evolving the series than its contemporaries such as Jak and Sly did. Although those series introduced some very unique and interesting ideas too, the new mechanics added in this game were a lot less awkward and clunky than some of the new mechanics in those games, making this one much more replayable for me.

Going Commando is my second favourite in the series after Deadlocked and these two are by far my most replayed games in the series.

A return to basics that excels amazingly at them.

The loss of sliding and the charge shot took me a little to get used to, which honestly wasn't even a problem when the rest of the game was so well designed, as well as perfectly recapturing the vibes of the NES era.

First phase of the final boss may have been the boulder to my Sisyphus, but this was a really fun game.

I'm so glad we have a fourth version of Persona 3, meaning there's an even greater likelihood that OG Persona 3 fans will tell me I played an inferior version! Hooray!

Where do I even fucking begin with this one? It's difficult to summarize my thoughts on a short game, let alone a massive RPG I spent over 100 hours in. Once again I must preface this by stating I'm still coming into this as a relatively new fan of the series. I was introduced to Persona (and SMT at large) through P5 and after falling in love with both it and later its enhanced version, I quickly jumped at the opportunity to play P4G once it was released on modern platforms. And like 5 before it, 4 became another all-timer for me. So I can't really speak in regards to how Persona 3 Reload operates as a remake since I have no prior experience with this title. I held off on even playing P3P since I knew this was coming anyways. All I really know is that in both the original release and FES you couldn't control your teammates' actions in combat. I understand the artistic decision in this case, but playing an extensive JPRG in that fashion just sounds like a huge hassle. But I'm happy to report that Persona 3 Reload had me hooked from beginning to end.

The aspect of P3 that immediately stood out to me the most was the team dynamic. Both P4 and P5 have very similar structures; you face a series of challenges where you help people in need, who are each gradually added to the team as the game progresses. Slowly but surely you build up a close-knit group of friends over the course of each game. P3 is quite different, in the sense that you, the protagonist, step into an already ongoing plot. The SEES organization was formed and has been battling shadows in Tartarus long before the game even began. Your character just happens to be the missing piece of the puzzle in order for them to make real progress. And from then on new teammates kind of show up with basically zero fanfare and join the team just...because they have personas. Not saying that's necessarily a bad thing, just that it's different. It's a refreshing turn of events considering 4 and 5 unravelled in very similar ways. It certainly made the story more unpredictable. And as for that story, I often hear it described as the best in the series. I'm inclined to agree...at the very least it has easily the best ending of the three I've experienced. From a purely thematic standpoint, there's so much to chew on. It didn't quite make me cry like one particular moment in 4, but I was definitely starting to well up during the final cutscene. The level of bittersweet pathos is pitch perfect. I think I still prefer the overall experience of playing through P5, but P3's script undeniably shines the brightest.

Gameplay wise, this is about as good as turn-based RPGs get. If you ask me, P5 set a gold standard for both stylish UI designs and moment-to-moment JRPG combat. P3 Reload meets that gold standard and then some; bringing with it vibrant blues that wash over you at every moment and the battle shift mechanic that I sorely missed in P4. As for the collection of social links, I'd call it a mixed bag. Some are incredibly memorable and really touched me (Kamiki, Maiko, Yukari, etc.) while others left something to be desired (looking at you, Tomochika). And some, like Suemitsu, started off deceptively unpleasant but soon revealed strong emotional resonance by their endpoint. However due to my experience with 4 and 5, I was very surprised to find that none of your male teammates are social links. Which in turn made me feel less connected to Junpei and Akihiko in particular. The team does have those charming, optional hangouts in the dorm which can unlock special abilities, but it does leave something to be desired. I suppose this is just a case of the developers trying to remain true to the original. They weren't S-links then so they aren't S-links now. At least they fixed it so that you don't have to date every girl you max out to 10.

So what's there left to say? I guess I didn't touch on the soundtrack, which absolutely meets the S+++ tier standard set by this series as a whole. A wonderful collection of tracks that is sure to stick with me for years to come. Climbing and fighting my way through Tartarus, despite the monotony, never became boring for me. As for small problems, I do wish there was more to do at night, particularly during the final months of the game. Most of the S-links are during the afternoon and I had maxed out my social stats by around mid-September, so my evenings were fairly uneventful leading up the conclusion. And while I think the cast overall did a fantastic job, Koromaru was very clearly a person making dog sounds, which was a little distracting. Sadly not every VA can be Frank Welker. Also the lack of weather effects left me scratching my head. Again, this could just be a case of remaining true to the original, but after 4 and 5 implemented weather systems and the changing of seasons, the eternal sunshine of Tatsumi Port Island felt...somewhat off. January brings with it a slightly new colour palette, but very rarely do the characters even mention the colder temperatures. That's more of a nitpick and not a real issue, but finding things wrong with this game is really difficult for me. I'm basically splitting hairs here.

What a game. What an ending. What an experience. Now I sadly must continue the long and arduous wait for the inevitable release of Persona 6.