Since its reveal last June, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart has been one of 2021’s most anticipated titles—and with good reason. It resurrects one of gaming’s longest-running series, and serves as a showcase for the PlayStation 5’s power. Insomniac Games’ newest title encapsulates the next-gen experience thanks to its stellar presentation, immersive haptic feedback controls, and blazing-fast load times. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is the PlayStation 5 game you’ve been waiting for since launch day.
Enter the Multiverse
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a direct sequel to 2013’s Into the Nexus. In it, the iconic duo once again attempts to thwart the machinations of their long-time nemesis, Doctor Nefarious. This time, the dastardly robot’s schemes threaten the galaxy and the wider multiverse. Ratchet and Clank have their hands full with Nefarious and his robotic minions, but new allies arrive to offer assistance.
Rift Apart introduces Rivet, a female Lombax hailing from a dimension ruled by an “Emperor Nefarious.” As the other playable character, Rivet controls exactly like Ratchet. The two share the same weapons, along with whatever upgrades you’ve unlocked for said weapons. Although it would’ve been cool to play as characters with two distinct playstyles, it was smart to go with a universal control scheme. This way, you’re able to concentrate on mastering the enjoyable base mechanics.
Platforming is largely unchanged from previous installments. You navigate dangerous terrain by jumping, hovering, or using a tether as a grappling hook. The tether also lets you latch on to dimensional tears. Doing so zips you across the map in the blink of an eye. This not only helps you cross insurmountable chasms, but also gives you an advantage during combat. The new dimension-hopping mechanic meshes well with the traditional controls. Overall, Rift Apart’s platforming is a joy thanks to the game’s tight controls and fluid animations.
In addition to platforming, you also navigate levels by grinding rails or mounting animals. Rail-grinding is a series staple, so it’s good to see it largely unchanged. It’s a blast jumping from rail to rail to avoid whatever obstacles lie along your path. These sequences also account for some of the game’s most cinematic moments. Riding creatures, such as giant snails and dragons, is equally entertaining. Unlike Earth snails, Rift Apart’s giant, land-based mollusks dash you across the map at breakneck speed. Dragon-riding is reminiscent of rail shooters like Panzer Dragoon, and provides the same sense of awe.
Tools of Destruction
Gunplay is the other half of the gameplay equation. Your arsenal includes alien equivalents of machine guns, shotguns, and sniper rifles. Zanier weapons release bolts of lightning, killer mushrooms, or even miniature black holes. Weapons level up with frequent use. This bolsters their attacks and opens new upgrade nodes.
With a resource called raritanium, you can unlock weapon enhancements, such as extra ammo, increased blast radius, or longer duration for specific weapon effects. You’ll find raritanium across the maps and after defeating mini-bosses. As a result, you’ll almost always have plenty of the material to upgrade your favorite weapons.
Enemies come at you in vast numbers, forcing you to constantly stay on the move. Strafing, jumping, dashing, and using dimensional tears let you escape the constant, incoming fire. But you aren’t helpless. You’ll rain death on your foes with your own weapons, causing the hordes of robots and monsters to explode in spectacular fashion. The crisp graphics and booming sound effects further enhance the thrilling combat. Don’t let the Pixar-like art style fool you; Rift Apart is every bit as intense as any shooter on the market.
Small, hacking-focused mini-games provide a respite from the action. One game lets you control Clank within a virtual environment to fix dimensional anomalies. The goal is to guide your “possibilities” (represented by a Lemmings-like army of Clanks) to the room’s exit. You place different colored spheres on the ground to help your possible selves. Green orbs speed up your doppelgangers, while red robs hurl them over obstacles. The puzzles become increasingly difficult as you progress, though they aren’t as brain-twisty as the puzzles in Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time.
The other mini-game lets you control a miniature spider-robot, Glitch, that Ratchet sends into corrupted computer terminals to eliminate viruses. This mini-game is effectively a 3D, twin-stick shooter. Since you’re a spider, you can crawl along walls and ceilings. This creates a cool sense of vertigo as the world flips and spins around you. It’s awesome locating the central virus hubs and their protective shields as you must think in three dimensions. You’re free to skip the mini-games if you want, but you’d be missing out on two unique, fun-filled gameplay elements.
A Galaxy of Riches
Besides raritanium, each planet contains many, hidden golden bolts, spy bots, and armor pieces. Gathering a certain number of these collectibles opens perks, such as increased melee damage, experience points, and earned bolts. You can also lower the damage received from specific enemy types. Armor pieces are purely cosmetic. This is a departure from previous titles, but it gives you the freedom to don whatever armor pieces you want without hampering your stats. Half the fun of finding hidden items is figuring out how to reach them since most are in (seemingly) inaccessible areas.
Finishing the campaign unlocks Challenge Mode, Rift Apart’s version of New Game Plus. You’ll earn additional bolts and unlock further weapon upgrades during this second run. Enemies are also more challenging, even on normal difficulty. That said, your weapons, upgrades, and collectibles carry over from your finished game, so you’ll have an advantage from the jump. Collecting a requisite amount of golden bolts unlocks perks, such as infinite ammo and weapon skins.
Next-Gen Controls and Presentation
Rift Apart makes full use of the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. The rumble varies from subtle to overpowering. For instance, you’ll feel slight thumps when walking with magnetized boots, and massive quakes when using heavy weapons. Some weapons, such as the buzz blades, emit sounds through the controller’s speaker. Though there are bombastic moments that make the controller violently tremble, they aren’t as common as you’d expect. Rift Apart is similar to Returnal in its more subtle use of the DualSense’s features. As a result, the controller enhances the experience and doesn’t become intrusive.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart’s presentation is on par with 2018’s Spider-Man. It’s like playing through a big-budget, Hollywood blockbuster. Every alien world comes to life in vivid detail. Visual effects, such as fog, volumetric lighting, and ray tracing make you stop to take in the scenery. From junkyards, jungles, asteroids, and prison planets, locales teem with visual delights. Music and sound effects also draw you into the world, especially if you’re wearing headphones to take advantage of PlayStation 5’s 3D audio capabilities. It’s clear that Insomniac spared no expense in the presentation department. Rift Apart is a visual and audio feast.
Like Spider-Man: Remastered and Spider-Man: Miles Morales before it, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart features three visual modes. Fidelity Mode lets you play the game at 4K resolution and 30 frames per second. Performance Mode, on the other hand, lets you play at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second, but it disables ray tracing. Performance RT mode features a variable 4K resolution at 60 frames per second with ray tracing enabled. The game looks and plays great on all three modes, but Performance RT is the way to go if you want to experience high frame rates and ray tracing. Unless you’re counting pixels, you won’t notice the difference between standard 4K and variable 4K.
The music and sound effects pull you into the game world, especially if you’re wearing headphones to take advantage of PlayStation 5’s 3D audio capabilities. Distant sounds, such as screeching alien birds, bubbling lava fields, and noisy city streets, provide convincing ambiance. The concussive blast of weapons and the subsequent explosions they create amplify the action. Though things can get noisy, the exceptional sound mix ensures you hear every tiny sound.
Unfortunately, the game locked up after we finished the campaign and returned to find collectibles. Our review code didn’t include the upcoming day-one patch, so it’s possible this issue won’t exist in the final version. It’s a minor bug that didn’t detract from the overall experience, but it’s worth noting.
Multiversal Savior
Taking full advantage of PlayStation 5’s capabilities, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is the definition of a next-gen title. It impresses with stunning visuals, immersive audio, clever haptic feedback, and enjoyable characters and locales. Although Rift Apart continues the previous games’ narratives, it is an excellent jumping-on point for newcomers. Simply put, Rift Apart is a must-own title for PS5 owners, and an Editors’ Choice pick.
