I think what impresses me most about Rift Apart, a game that blows me away in pretty much every way it possibly could, is how strongly it sticks to the same goals the series has had since the PS2. It's very confident that the same mix of straightforward collectathon action platforming with a bunch of different guns with a ton of character in levels that provide a bit of freedom for exploration (but are still pretty linear) linked together by big cool setpieces that worked in 2002 also would work in 2021.
It goes without saying that they were right. While years of convenient streamlining and tightening are clearly visible in the final product here, the core is exactly the same as ever and somehow that never comes off feeling particularly "retro". Make the action platforming tighter and more engaging and make the big fancy setpieces bigger and fancier, and you've got a game that feels at home in the modern gaming landscape despite not really sharing all that much DNA with anything coming out today with any budget to speak of.
The game as a whole falls into place. The arsenal is full of all the inventive, odd, and satisfying weapons you'd hope for, all enhanced by the Dualsense's haptic and adaptive trigger capabilities giving much more room for them to feel distinct from one another in your hands. There's all kinds of sick movement options that on the highest difficulty are required mid-combat to constantly restock on health and ammo, with the arena flow often reminding me of the best moments in the nu-Doom games. Levels are alive with an overwhelming amount of things happening in the background at any moment to a degree that seems like it should be impossible even on the capable PS5 hardware. The rift gimmick is used to its fullest extent sparingly, keeping the wonder of being thrown into whole new environments mid-fight special. Character designs are beautiful and the characters themselves are infinitely lovable and warm. Every interaction is so sickeningly sweet and I can't get enough of it. Everything works.
And even if it doesn't seem appealing to you, I think anyone with a love of animation owes it to themselves to give this a shot.
It goes without saying that they were right. While years of convenient streamlining and tightening are clearly visible in the final product here, the core is exactly the same as ever and somehow that never comes off feeling particularly "retro". Make the action platforming tighter and more engaging and make the big fancy setpieces bigger and fancier, and you've got a game that feels at home in the modern gaming landscape despite not really sharing all that much DNA with anything coming out today with any budget to speak of.
The game as a whole falls into place. The arsenal is full of all the inventive, odd, and satisfying weapons you'd hope for, all enhanced by the Dualsense's haptic and adaptive trigger capabilities giving much more room for them to feel distinct from one another in your hands. There's all kinds of sick movement options that on the highest difficulty are required mid-combat to constantly restock on health and ammo, with the arena flow often reminding me of the best moments in the nu-Doom games. Levels are alive with an overwhelming amount of things happening in the background at any moment to a degree that seems like it should be impossible even on the capable PS5 hardware. The rift gimmick is used to its fullest extent sparingly, keeping the wonder of being thrown into whole new environments mid-fight special. Character designs are beautiful and the characters themselves are infinitely lovable and warm. Every interaction is so sickeningly sweet and I can't get enough of it. Everything works.
And even if it doesn't seem appealing to you, I think anyone with a love of animation owes it to themselves to give this a shot.