Review- Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart

 Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart is the first game in the series that I have ever played and finished, but it is certainly not the first multiverse story I have ever experienced. In the past 5 years, the prominence of alternate universes has only skyrocketed in the media we consume. If you want a heartfelt story that throws every concept at the wall, then Everything Everywhere All at Once is likely to satisfy your multiverse craving. And if you want a show that feels like it’s constantly resetting the status quo of what stories can be told with a multiversal premise, then Rick and Morty might fill that niche. It’s this idea of filling a niche proposition in the multiverse space that I was most curious about going into this game. What aspect of Rift Apart’s gameplay and/or narrative helps it to stand apart amid the (possibly) overpopulated premise of multiverse stories? The answer is that, through endearing characters you connect with instantly, through new technological leaps not possible in previous generations, and with creative gameplay scenarios Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart is able to lead players through a remarkable gameplay experience that they are not going to forget.

 

Starting off with the story, the words that come to mind when I think about it in its totality are endearing and adventurous. The premise is this: Ratchet & Clank’s parade thrown in their honor is interrupted by their long-time nemesis Dr. Nefarious, as he seeks to wreak havoc with the dimensionator, a device capable of opening a portal to new and altering universes from our own. The ensuing battle breaks the dimensionator, causing rifts to open up, threatening to tear both dimensions apart, and now I see where they got the name. The titular heroes are separated, and as Ratchet, the so called “last Lombax” gets his bearings in the new dimension, Clank meets Rivet, another lone Lombax from this new dimension and Ratchet’s “dimensional counterpart” as Clank puts it. The game is a world jumping adventure that puts our 2 groups into different and engaging story scenarios as Ratchet & Clank find out about this new dimension and just how much it differs from their own. Rivet is the undeniable star of this game; she fits like a glove in her interactions with our well-established heroes while at the same time bringing a more serious demeanor to the duo’s dynamic. Insomniac created a character that feels like she was meant to be here, and I cannot wait to see what they do with her next. I’ll stop talking about any story details now, since I want anyone that reads this to be as surprised and delighted as I was by later story revelations, but one thing I certainly knew going in was just how much of a technological leap this game was, so why don’t we talk about that next.

 

There is normally always a talking point around next generation consoles that games that come out for these new consoles seem to look unsurprisingly “last gen”. Games like Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag for the PS4 or Spider-man Miles Morales for the PS5 both looked nice on the new consoles when they first came out, but both were equally playable on previous generation hardware and had only minor graphical setbacks in comparison with “new gen”. Rift Apart does away with these last gen notions almost immediately with the universe-hopping that it utilizes in its gameplay set piece moments. Thanks to what’s under the hood of your PlayStation 5, things like the CPU and SSD, in one second you can be fighting some enemies in a public square, and immediately you are transported to a random pirate ship with absolutely no downtime in gameplay. The fast load times give Insomniac so much leeway that they are able to really get crazy with this idea of being transported to new worlds. An example to this point is a planet that has been destroyed, looking like how we imagine Krypton or Alderaan to appear. That is until the player hits this big purple crystal, in which case they are transported to a different universe, one where the planet is still intact. An entire new level was loaded and playable nearly instantly, and the gameplay loop of this planet is hitting these crystals to unlock new paths to progress to your goal. All of this gives players a more unique experience and none of it could have been done on a PlayStation 4. On small note at the end, but the game just looks beautiful as well. The graphical fidelity we can achieve with these modern consoles is insane and I can not wait to see what Insomniac is able to do with Spider-man 2 with it also being a next gen only game.

 

A game can have a wonderful story and excellent technology backing it up, but none of that matters if the gameplay undergirding these elements is terrible. Thankfully the opposite is true in Rift Apart’s case, as the gameplay is both in the moment compelling as well as properly paced to always highlight large set piece encounters. Imagination is a hard concept to capture, but once you use a topiary grenade to turn a boss into a large hedge sculpture, you’ll see what I mean. Assisting Ratchet and Rivet are a variety of guns and grenade abilities that each come with their own gimmick and playstyle. This excellent addition also comes with my only real complaint with the game, which is the lack of variety and distinction in terms of gameplay between Ratchet and Rivet. Rift Apart will have you switching from one perspective to the other throughout the story, and so, in an effort to streamline progression, all weapons and currencies transfer from one character to the other. In a story about the multiverse, about the distinction and differences between the two dimensions, Ratchet and Rivet are left feeling basically the same from a gameplay sense. Insomniac was able to have Miles Morales, a guy with mostly the same spider powers as Peter Parker, feel unique from a gameplay perspective in his solo game, and I just wish they were able to achieve the same with Rivet. The same type of lack of variety can be said for most of the boss encounters in the game as well, where the game offers the endless possibilities as a different dimension, and most bosses are the same 3 or 4 robots. Besides these minor issues though, the gameplay feels engaging and downright thrilling in its set piece encounters. One level will have you running away from aliens like you’re Leon Kennedy running away from Mr. X, and another will have you racing on a snail to take down a giant flying centipede. We all remember that one game as a kid that made us fall in love with games, and I have no doubt that this game will be the game for someone out there.

 

In totality, Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart is an excellent video game that is creative in its gameplay and endearing in its story. It is an absolute must play, and at only around 10 hours long, it does anything but outstay its welcome.