Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Review

Released on the PlayStation Store for free this month, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is... Different. It's one of those games that plays around with a lot of experimental mechanics to pay homage to other genres and video game history; though it doesn't always come together in ways that are ideal, but thanks to some clever writing and fun nods to the original series, I could easily see myself putting 20 hours into this title.

The story follows Captain Qwark as he tries his best to foil Chairman Drek's evil plans for rifts all over the galaxy, alongside old friends like Ratchet and Dr. Nefarious. Of course there will be surprises along the way especially when you get 3 more unlikely heroes from different worlds who join your party.

The main game is split into episodes that are each about 2 hours long, and there's a lot of content to unlock if you want to 100% the game. You can play through as just Ratchet or Captain Qwark for example but the full experience requires all 6 characters in your party. Each character has unique playstyles and uses different weapons and items, so having multiple characters is really important if you want to get full enjoyment from this title.

Starts off slow but it gets better later on (Rating: 5/10)

After playing episode 1, I was immediately confused about what this game wanted to be, because it felt nothing like past Ratchet & Clank games at all; the platforming was... Incredibly bland, the shooting felt floaty and overpowered while being mostly forgettable, and the dialogue was incredibly cringey. I almost wrote this game off as a waste of time but decided to play episode 2 anyway just to see if it got better... It did.

Right from the start you'll notice some significant improvements; the platforming is much better with various jump height modifications provided by new gadgets, the movement in general feels more fluid thanks to improved controls, decent enemy variety makes combat more interesting along with all new weapons that are actually worth using now (especially if you have both fire and ice weapons at your disposal), there's even a 1 vs 1 fight battle system where you can face off against super tough enemies! And those are just the first 10 minutes.

The dialogue and tone is still clunky at times but it's definitely a big improvement over episode 1, with some genuinely funny moments and plenty of self aware jokes that reference other games; this was my favorite part of the game by far. There are also story missions for each character which lets you spend more time with them and uncover different parts of the overall story; these were just OK, nothing too special but they help keep things fresh so there's not much to complain about.

It took me about 9 hours to beat episode 1 & 2 as both Ratchet & Captain Qwark (episodes 3-6 are locked until you complete those), and I feel like this is a decent length especially when you consider that there's a ton of side content to do along the way including plenty of mini-games and arcade style games that are surprisingly fun.

To summarize, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is more of an experimental platformer than a traditional 3D platformer but if you go into it with an open mind you'll have some fun. This game showed me that Insomniac was capable of making a good game again (after what I consider to be their worst installment in years), so here's hoping they can make something great next time... Maybe one day we'll get another proper R&C sequel?