Having never played a Ratchet & Clank game before, I didn't expect much of it, presuming it to be a fun but childish action game. And there is some truth to that sentiment, but what I got wrong was how incredibly fun it would really be and how likeable I would find the characters.

Ratchet himself I had for some reason presumed to be a manic snappy video game protagonist so I was much more interested in the considerably cooler looking Rivet (Ratchet's hat truly is silly), and she didn't fail to endear with her gung-ho attitude and pure coolness, but Ratchet (and Clank as well) surprised me with their depth of emotion and kindness. It was really when Ratchet met Kit and I could see what kind of a person he truly is that I fell in love with him and his cheery compassion. After that it didn’t matter anymore who I was playing, I was in it for the whole nine yards.

The story itself might be a bit silly still (especially the cartoony villain whose name I even feel silly writing), but it’s fun enough to keep one entertained and there’s enough depth to the relationships between the characters and their regrets and doubts that it manages to occasionally resonate. I won’t be singing praises for its story, but I’d love to spend more time with these characters. I might even go back to play some older Ratchet and Clank games, just to see how the guys hold up.

As for the gameplay, what starts a bit chaotic, stays chaotic, but in the best way where you’re not just button-mashing but using your various weapons to control the chaos. There were times when the screen was so filled with effects that if I had not been playing it myself, I wouldn't have understood what was going on. The weapons are all fun to use and even the most generic of them are drawn in a new fashion that adds novelty to them. The feeling of shooting a gun has been optimised to such an extent that there wasn’t any of the big selection that I didn’t like, only those I preferred over others.

I love it when a game surprises me like this. What started as trying out an acclaimed game that I expected to consider fine, turned into one of my all-time favourite games and a series I’m now looking forward to. So nice :)

Reviewed on Jun 04, 2023


2 Comments


9 months ago

So happy to see new people getting into my favorite childhood series! As a warning, Ratchet actually is the kind of jerk protagonist you were expecting in the very first game but a cool thing about the series is that he grows as a person into a heroic and kind character you genuinely care for by the end of the PS3 entries (and he's already much more likable come 2). The first game also plays pretty differently from RA but I still love and recommend it, and the 2nd one really gets on track with the action gameplay. I hope you enjoy the rest of R&C! :)

9 months ago

Thank you for the warning! :P I'm very excited about trying out more R&C. In the past few years, I've gotten more into console gaming (only played on PC before that) and have overall been enjoying trying out the famous series that I could only hear about earlier (of course I chose the "best" time as more and more gets ported to PC these days :D But so far I have no regrets). Every time it's been great to go through "Oh yes, I see why people love this" :D