Shane
Our heroes are celebrated with an extravagant over the top parade for their achievement of peace and the defeat of Dr. Nefarious.
But you can’t keep a good villain down.
As a surprise for Ratchet, Clank has built a Dimensionator, a gadget that opens up rifts between dimensions for faster interstellar travel and beyond.
The idea is to gift it to Ratchet at the parade so he can find his family. Clank’s surprise gift to his lifelong buddy Ratchet is thwarted by Nefarious and his goons as the fumbling self absorbed baddie learns of the Dimensionator’s existence and wants it for himself.
But Nefarious is never that good to sweep in and accomplish a goal and through what is both the intro section and the heroic celebrations the Dimensionator is destroyed taking the Universes with it.
Opening up rifts all over the Galaxy.
Welcome to Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.
If you’re familiar with the Ratchet and Clank series then you’re in for more of what you remember within a beautifully rendered, glorious 4K romp not just around planets but alternate dimensions.
For those new to the series, game play is adventure, action, puzzle play and RPG wrapped up in an on going narrative that’s addictive.
In one of these alternate dimensions, ‘another’ Nefarious reigns supreme, aka the Emperor.
Within this new world (for us) a lone female Lombax called Rivet enacts a solo campaign against Nefarious’ oppressive rule.
As you’d expect it’s not long before Rivet, Ratchet and Clank get intertwined between the two dimensions, each entering the others worlds in order to gain parts to rebuild the Dimensionator to restore the Universes as they were, as well as bring down both Nefarious for good. Hopefully.
Rifts open up everywhere, some of which you’ll use to traverse from one area of an environment to another. This action enables you to access otherwise inaccessible areas – but is generally game specific.
A few new robots come along for the wild ride that is Rift Apart and via mini puzzle games you’ll play as these to forge your way through the game.
Side quests, hidden goodies and more await you – Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is a game both worth and advisable for exploration. A map with key points, your objective and items of interest is accessible via the touch pad on your PS5 controlpad.
A familiar cast of characters such as Rusty Pete, Skidd McMarx and more reprise their roles, but with a difference given their inter-dimensional counterparts.
Zany and over the top weapons have been a main stay of Ratchet and Clank games and Rift Apart has a butt load of them.
Ricochet, Topiary Sprinkler, Mr. Fungi, Negation Collider and more with a few familiar ones. Weapons can be mapped to a button on your PS5 controller and selectable on the fly. New gadgets too which you’ll need to successfully play through the game.
Each weapon can be upgraded using Raretanium that you have found throughout the planets and dimensions and new arsenal can be purchased via Ms. Zirkon, an armory vendor who appears in almost every dimension or planet.
Armour can also be gained, usually through completing side-quests given out by NPCs. Also upgradeable by way of completing mini-dimensional pockets
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is not an open world title, they never have been, but given the scope of the differing planets, environments and that they change when a dimensional crystal is hit its as large as any open world game.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart sure makes use of the PS5s capabilities.
Not just from a visual point but also audio. From a soundtrack put together by the legendary Mark Mothersbaugh (from 80s band DEVO) through to 3D Audio enabled. If possible I recommend playing with the PS5 Pulse 3D headphones.
The PS5’s haptic feedback controlpad is also an integral part of play.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart has it all. Favorites from prior games, an interweaving story full of twists and surprises, new characters (including Rivet who is one badass Lombax) and diversified play.
Rift Apart is the Ratchet and Clank you imagined, you hoped for but then much more, exceeding expectations.
Released: June 2021
Rating: PG
Platforms reviewed: PlayStation 5
Genre: Action
Developer: Insomniac
Publisher: Sony Studios