Even though I played both of the Ratchet & Clank quadrilogies (classic and Future, that's including Deadlocked and Into The Nexus), I really had no desire to play R&C PS4. The tie-in movie intrigued me, but upon the release of both it and the game, middling-to-negative responses from the public repelled me from the game for a good while. Eventually Sony gave the game out for free as a promotional stunt during the early days of Covid-19, and I only just now got around to playing it.
I've come to realize that there are technically two types of audiences for this game: people who are longtime fans of R&C, and those who are just now getting into the series with this title. I feel it's an important distinction to make, seeing as this title is a reboot/remake of the PS2 original. People who hold the originals close to their hearts will be eager to see how their childhood series has evolved (or be ready to go over it with a fine-toothed comb). If you have a couple hours to burn, I recommend watching two different videos: TheGamingBritShow's video for the perspective of comparing it to the original, and The Golden Bolt's video for the sake of getting the whole picture on the development cycle and fan reception.
As for my opinion of the game itself, it's actually pretty dang good. All the weapons, new and old, are incredibly satisfying to use and upgrade. Level design balances exploration and shooting quite nicely. The game looks fantastic. Each planet is brimming with life and detail, and the characters are all animated with appealing squash-and-stretch. Granted, these are all aspects that Insomniac's team always gets right. I would be seriously concerned if any of these felt off. The music is passable, but it consists of more "cinematic" orchestral pieces, and has already left my mind as I type this.
The story and writing is definitely the game's weakest aspect in my eyes. Firstly, they definitely overcorrected Ratchet's character from the PS2 original. There, he was more assholeish than he needed to be, but it did make the bond he eventually forms with Clank more meaningful in the end. In the PS4 title, Ratchet is a complete goody two-shoes from beginning to end, him and Clank just accept becoming friends instantly, no questions asked. The retroactive introduction of the Galactic Rangers is an interesting idea, but we don't spend enough meaningful time with them for me to care. The story is definitely weighed down by being a movie tie-in. Actual scenes from the movie are spliced in-between the regular cutscenes, and it causes the story's pacing to be jarring and all over the place.
If there's one thing that brought my experience down tremendously, it's that everyone needs to shut the fuck up. It felt like every time the story-related background dialogue or "funny quips" finished playing, the game rolled the dice on what random character would chime in next, as if they weren't allowed to have dead air or something. Whenever I decided to bring out Mr. Zurkon, I immediately regretted it 10 seconds later because he's not funny, and he never stops talking. Why does the weapons dealer constantly badger me about buying/upgrading weapons, as if that's a part of the game I'm likely to forget. Ratchet approaches an ammo vendor and says "Oh hey, an ammo vendor, we should see if they have new weapons available." Well, guess what Ratchet? I was gonna do that anyways, because you can top off your ammo/health at all vendors! So you don't need to tell me this ever! Characters are constantly stating the obvious, and even pester you if you so much as decide to mess around and explore during a major objective. Stop telling me to move forward as if I'm on some kind of time limit, I know there isn't one, there never is. The whole "untrustworthy narrator" shtick is funny, but I don't need to hear "Try as he might, Ratchet could not breathe underwater" every single time I start to run out of air. Every time someone states the obvious, I feel more and more like I'm being talked down to, and it's not fun.
For me personally, Ratchet and Clank on PS4 is a great game bogged down by a bunch of shit that I really couldn't care less about. On the off chance that I one day continue playing this game in challenge mode, I will be doing so with the dialogue volume turned all the way down, and with the subtitles turned off.
I've come to realize that there are technically two types of audiences for this game: people who are longtime fans of R&C, and those who are just now getting into the series with this title. I feel it's an important distinction to make, seeing as this title is a reboot/remake of the PS2 original. People who hold the originals close to their hearts will be eager to see how their childhood series has evolved (or be ready to go over it with a fine-toothed comb). If you have a couple hours to burn, I recommend watching two different videos: TheGamingBritShow's video for the perspective of comparing it to the original, and The Golden Bolt's video for the sake of getting the whole picture on the development cycle and fan reception.
As for my opinion of the game itself, it's actually pretty dang good. All the weapons, new and old, are incredibly satisfying to use and upgrade. Level design balances exploration and shooting quite nicely. The game looks fantastic. Each planet is brimming with life and detail, and the characters are all animated with appealing squash-and-stretch. Granted, these are all aspects that Insomniac's team always gets right. I would be seriously concerned if any of these felt off. The music is passable, but it consists of more "cinematic" orchestral pieces, and has already left my mind as I type this.
The story and writing is definitely the game's weakest aspect in my eyes. Firstly, they definitely overcorrected Ratchet's character from the PS2 original. There, he was more assholeish than he needed to be, but it did make the bond he eventually forms with Clank more meaningful in the end. In the PS4 title, Ratchet is a complete goody two-shoes from beginning to end, him and Clank just accept becoming friends instantly, no questions asked. The retroactive introduction of the Galactic Rangers is an interesting idea, but we don't spend enough meaningful time with them for me to care. The story is definitely weighed down by being a movie tie-in. Actual scenes from the movie are spliced in-between the regular cutscenes, and it causes the story's pacing to be jarring and all over the place.
If there's one thing that brought my experience down tremendously, it's that everyone needs to shut the fuck up. It felt like every time the story-related background dialogue or "funny quips" finished playing, the game rolled the dice on what random character would chime in next, as if they weren't allowed to have dead air or something. Whenever I decided to bring out Mr. Zurkon, I immediately regretted it 10 seconds later because he's not funny, and he never stops talking. Why does the weapons dealer constantly badger me about buying/upgrading weapons, as if that's a part of the game I'm likely to forget. Ratchet approaches an ammo vendor and says "Oh hey, an ammo vendor, we should see if they have new weapons available." Well, guess what Ratchet? I was gonna do that anyways, because you can top off your ammo/health at all vendors! So you don't need to tell me this ever! Characters are constantly stating the obvious, and even pester you if you so much as decide to mess around and explore during a major objective. Stop telling me to move forward as if I'm on some kind of time limit, I know there isn't one, there never is. The whole "untrustworthy narrator" shtick is funny, but I don't need to hear "Try as he might, Ratchet could not breathe underwater" every single time I start to run out of air. Every time someone states the obvious, I feel more and more like I'm being talked down to, and it's not fun.
For me personally, Ratchet and Clank on PS4 is a great game bogged down by a bunch of shit that I really couldn't care less about. On the off chance that I one day continue playing this game in challenge mode, I will be doing so with the dialogue volume turned all the way down, and with the subtitles turned off.