I really want to like this game. It has the classic Ratchet gameplay that I've always loved since I was young, and Rift Apart's base combat is among the best in the series. The game is also a graphical showpiece for the PS5. Demon's Souls and Returnal look fantastic, but this game's graphics are on another level. The variety of locations really sells that graphical power, as you travel from bustling cities to bright mining facilities. Jumping between these locations with the new rifts is the first time I've been sold on this generation as a sizeable leap from the last. These aspects of the game do a good job of distracting you from several major flaws that are present throughout its entirety. Many of these issues aren't unique to this game, but a few of them are, and they really make me worried about the future of the series.
The biggest flaw is the enemy variety. This is at its worst with the bosses, but the regular enemies are guilty of this too. I couldn't tell you when I first realized I was fighting the same giant robot boss for the the fourth or fifth time because it happens so many times that I lost count. If you take out all the variants of bosses, there are only around 5 unique bosses in this game. The worst part is that none of these bosses are particularly fun to fight. It's so disappointing that a game so beautiful is stuck throwing the same robot and T Rex at you over and over again. In a game with such diverse worlds to explore, the bosses should reflect those worlds in some way. The regular enemies stoke similar feelings in me. I understand that this is a universe with an iron fisted emperor, but that isn't an excuse to make 3/4 of the enemies boring orange dome robots. This is one of the longer Ratchet games, and the lack of enemy variety really hurts when you're getting to the end of the second act. It all feels like they were playing it too safe with the enemies, and that feeling extends to every other issue I have with the game.
The more I think about the story in this game, the more it baffles me. It's a feeling similar to what I felt when I played the PS4 remake of the original game. It messes with a formula so simple that I was essentially rewriting events from the game in my head as they happened. It's so easy to see a world in which the story in this game could have been good, but not even the dimensionator could materialize it. Ratchet and Clank has always relied on the same basic themes of bonds the importance of friendship rather than the concept of "destiny". Rivet is introduced as an alternate universe version of Ratchet. She never met her universe's version of Clank, and there are so many interesting ways to take that plot point. You could explore how Rivet's life is a lot harder, but that she pushes through it anyway because of her unique ambitions. You could also go the opposite way, and show how empty her life is because of her solitary adventures. While Ratchet faces off against the buffoon that is Doctor Nefarious, Rivet lives in fear of the much more threatening Emperor Nefarious. I always think about the attic scene in Uncharted 4 when it comes to characterization in a video game. That scene shows a side of Nathan Drake that is almost entirely absent from the rest of the series. It's only when he's alone that these feelings get fleshed out. Rivet never gets a moment like this. You never get to see how Rivet lives, or what she believes, or what her deeper ambitions are. Her characterization reminds me too much of Ratchet's in the PS4 remake. She's just good because she's good and that's that. She doubts the honesty of Clank for like, one level, and then believes him instantly. Wouldn't someone like Rivet be a little more on edge when it comes to trusting anyone? This point is more of an issue with the overall plot. Ratchet and Rivet come in contact very early in the game, and this hurts their characterization and gameplay immensely. Once Ratchet and Rivet contact each other, all characterization is thrown out the window. The story becomes a checklist where characters are driven by the plot instead of the other way around. Before that happens, I was actually getting invested in Rivet and Clank's relationship. It reminded me a lot of the original Ratchet and Clank, and that made me love this series in a way I haven't since A Crack in Time. The story is at its worst when it comes to Kit, Clank's alternate dimension counterpart. First of all, I think this type of character shouldn't have been in the game at all. I think any way you slice it, Rivet would have been much more interesting without Kit. It feels like Kit herself doesn't even want to be in the story, as she continues to bring up this manufactured drama that ends in a pining to go back to her home planet. It reminds me of bad movie writing, and that makes sense when you look at the writers for this game. I love that two women were the lead writers, but it's incredibly evident from their portfolio and their work on this game that they tried to make their own bad comic book movie here. This is all ignoring the lack of character this universe has been plagued with since Deadlocked. A Crack in Time is my favorite game in the series, but even that game is missing the grime that the PS2 Ratchet games had. That was a world where everyone looked out for themselves, and people had motivations beyond "I'm good" and "I'm evil". I'm not saying Chairman Drek is a revelation when it comes to character writing, but he runs circles around Emperor Nefarious. As a final side not, I feel like Doctor Nefarious has stumbled his way into being the iconic Ratchet and Clank villain. To me, he's one of the weaker villains in the series, and he just happens to be in two of the strongest games. It truly annoys me how Insomniac insists on putting him in like every Ratchet game now.
I'd like to end this on a more positive note, and talk about Blizar Prime. Blizar Prime is one of the best levels in the entire series, and I would almost say sells the game by itself. A mining planet destroyed by machinery gone haywire, Rivet has to swap between the blasted off remains and an universe where it hasn't been destroyed. Seeing a planet enveloped by the void of space come back to life buzzing with energy is jaw dropping in a way few games are. There are levels like this in games like Titanfall 2 and Dishonored 2, but this one is on another level when it comes to true childlike wonder. It's moments like these that make Rift Apart worth it even with its flaws. The pure joy of shooting a giant laser through a crowd of robots is enough to almost outweigh any negatives.
The biggest flaw is the enemy variety. This is at its worst with the bosses, but the regular enemies are guilty of this too. I couldn't tell you when I first realized I was fighting the same giant robot boss for the the fourth or fifth time because it happens so many times that I lost count. If you take out all the variants of bosses, there are only around 5 unique bosses in this game. The worst part is that none of these bosses are particularly fun to fight. It's so disappointing that a game so beautiful is stuck throwing the same robot and T Rex at you over and over again. In a game with such diverse worlds to explore, the bosses should reflect those worlds in some way. The regular enemies stoke similar feelings in me. I understand that this is a universe with an iron fisted emperor, but that isn't an excuse to make 3/4 of the enemies boring orange dome robots. This is one of the longer Ratchet games, and the lack of enemy variety really hurts when you're getting to the end of the second act. It all feels like they were playing it too safe with the enemies, and that feeling extends to every other issue I have with the game.
The more I think about the story in this game, the more it baffles me. It's a feeling similar to what I felt when I played the PS4 remake of the original game. It messes with a formula so simple that I was essentially rewriting events from the game in my head as they happened. It's so easy to see a world in which the story in this game could have been good, but not even the dimensionator could materialize it. Ratchet and Clank has always relied on the same basic themes of bonds the importance of friendship rather than the concept of "destiny". Rivet is introduced as an alternate universe version of Ratchet. She never met her universe's version of Clank, and there are so many interesting ways to take that plot point. You could explore how Rivet's life is a lot harder, but that she pushes through it anyway because of her unique ambitions. You could also go the opposite way, and show how empty her life is because of her solitary adventures. While Ratchet faces off against the buffoon that is Doctor Nefarious, Rivet lives in fear of the much more threatening Emperor Nefarious. I always think about the attic scene in Uncharted 4 when it comes to characterization in a video game. That scene shows a side of Nathan Drake that is almost entirely absent from the rest of the series. It's only when he's alone that these feelings get fleshed out. Rivet never gets a moment like this. You never get to see how Rivet lives, or what she believes, or what her deeper ambitions are. Her characterization reminds me too much of Ratchet's in the PS4 remake. She's just good because she's good and that's that. She doubts the honesty of Clank for like, one level, and then believes him instantly. Wouldn't someone like Rivet be a little more on edge when it comes to trusting anyone? This point is more of an issue with the overall plot. Ratchet and Rivet come in contact very early in the game, and this hurts their characterization and gameplay immensely. Once Ratchet and Rivet contact each other, all characterization is thrown out the window. The story becomes a checklist where characters are driven by the plot instead of the other way around. Before that happens, I was actually getting invested in Rivet and Clank's relationship. It reminded me a lot of the original Ratchet and Clank, and that made me love this series in a way I haven't since A Crack in Time. The story is at its worst when it comes to Kit, Clank's alternate dimension counterpart. First of all, I think this type of character shouldn't have been in the game at all. I think any way you slice it, Rivet would have been much more interesting without Kit. It feels like Kit herself doesn't even want to be in the story, as she continues to bring up this manufactured drama that ends in a pining to go back to her home planet. It reminds me of bad movie writing, and that makes sense when you look at the writers for this game. I love that two women were the lead writers, but it's incredibly evident from their portfolio and their work on this game that they tried to make their own bad comic book movie here. This is all ignoring the lack of character this universe has been plagued with since Deadlocked. A Crack in Time is my favorite game in the series, but even that game is missing the grime that the PS2 Ratchet games had. That was a world where everyone looked out for themselves, and people had motivations beyond "I'm good" and "I'm evil". I'm not saying Chairman Drek is a revelation when it comes to character writing, but he runs circles around Emperor Nefarious. As a final side not, I feel like Doctor Nefarious has stumbled his way into being the iconic Ratchet and Clank villain. To me, he's one of the weaker villains in the series, and he just happens to be in two of the strongest games. It truly annoys me how Insomniac insists on putting him in like every Ratchet game now.
I'd like to end this on a more positive note, and talk about Blizar Prime. Blizar Prime is one of the best levels in the entire series, and I would almost say sells the game by itself. A mining planet destroyed by machinery gone haywire, Rivet has to swap between the blasted off remains and an universe where it hasn't been destroyed. Seeing a planet enveloped by the void of space come back to life buzzing with energy is jaw dropping in a way few games are. There are levels like this in games like Titanfall 2 and Dishonored 2, but this one is on another level when it comes to true childlike wonder. It's moments like these that make Rift Apart worth it even with its flaws. The pure joy of shooting a giant laser through a crowd of robots is enough to almost outweigh any negatives.