Rift Apart is primarily remarkable for two main traits, the first being the level of detail on display and the second being how quickly you blaze through it. You might notice that these strengths don't exactly complement each other. Whether you are zooming along on hoverboots, grinding on rails, or riding on an alien snail or dragon, you're always blazing past the environment at a clip that implies that all of the money on screen doesn't actually matter. Combined with the fact that game doles out weapons faster than one can become accustomed to them and it starts to feel as though Rift Apart is a Dudley Dursley simulator, and the player is a meant to become so spoiled that no individual gift feels particularly special.

Still, despite this being my first Ratchet & Clank game, I've long known that the weapons are a core part of the series identity, so I was rather disappointed to find that said weapons aren't about creating or exploiting systemic interactions or countering specific enemy types. Instead, the fun comes from choosing what type of cacophony you want to create at any particular moment and watching it play out. Unfortunately Rift Apart wastes a lot of its premise as an individual entry in the franchise as well. The SSD is only fully brought to use in one planet, it doesn't feel like Ratchet and Clank are truly tested by their separation, and Rivet doesn't have a distinct mechanical identity but instead has just a truncated character arc. Put together, the game makes for a very digestible experience, but not an especially memorable one.