Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart Review: An Interdimensional Journey You Shouldn’t Miss

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart Review: An Interdimensional Journey You Shouldn’t Miss

Review Verdict: This game is a technical masterpiece that utilizes all the features of the Playstation 5. The game is a quick romp across multiple worlds that are brilliantly designed to be plot devices with mechanics to keep things from being a mindless platformer while you blast away at your foes.

The only downside to Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is that the adventure is over too soon; even if you decide to max out your arsenal and get all the collectibles. That being said, if you own a PS5, this is a game you shouldn’t miss out on.

Pros

  • Excellent pacing and story-telling
  • A showcase of all the features of the PS5

Cons

  • Limited replay value

Ratchet and Clank has been a staple of Sony’s library since 2002 but, despite owning each of their console releases (except for the limited edition ones), this is actually my first time to jump into this successful franchise. It’s been getting a lot of hype from all the gaming media outlets — both internationally and locally — so I was really excited when we got a copy of the game.

If this is your first time playing a game in this franchise like me, our friend — Chris Garcia from OneMoreGame — says it’s like Crash Bandicoot with a gun. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a title I played either so I would describe it like Uncharted with a Pixar/Cartoon twist if that makes any sense.

Captured in Fidelity Mode

The Story in a Nutshell

I’ll try not to spoil too much but, in a nutshell, Rift Apart starts with a parade for our heroes to celebrate the peace that has been achieved through their many, many adventures. As a present, Clank presents Ratchet with a “Dimensionator” — which as the name implies, is a gadget that can blast into different dimensions — so that he can find other members of his race since Ratchet is the last Lombax in the universe.

Rift Apart Doctor Nefarious
Captured in Fidelity Mode

It doesn’t take long before the mayhem begins, caused by the bumbling Doctor Nefarious, who gets his hands on the device. In the chaos, it gets damaged and leaves them all stranded in a dimension where a version of Nefarious reigns supreme.

In this new dimension, we get introduced to Rivet — the leader of the resistance against Emperor Nefarious — who also happens to be a Lombax.

I’m sure you’ve read or heard this from other outlets who have had the chance to review this game before we did, but Rift Apart plays out like an animated film filled with a lot of memorable characters, and comes as a welcome break from all the seriousness of all the other titles we’ve been personally trying to clear from our gaming backlog.

Captured in Fidelity Mode

Making Use of All that Muscle

As mentioned above, this game is a technical masterpiece from Insomniac Games that flexes all the muscle of the Playstation 5.

As expected, the graphics were stunning whether you choose to play it in Fidelity Mode ( which caps the frame rate to 30fps but is pure eye candy), Performance RT (which sacrifices some of the visual elements but allows you to experience the game at 60fps) or pure Performance mode.

Captured in Fidelity Mode

I chose to play the first half of the game in Fidelity Mode that really gave life to the various worlds you visit in Rift Apart but switched over to Performance RT when larger battles started happening. The devil is in the details between these two modes, of course, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the visual; regardless of which option you end up going for.

Captured in Performance Mode

Aside from the pretty things you’ll see on screen, another element that levelled up the experience was the haptics from the DualSense controller. It not only added to the atmosphere of the set pieces in the game but it gave the variety of weapons that you use its own unique feel; making it more satisfying when things go boom.

Speaking of set pieces, each world you visit in Rift Apart will feel very different and I’m not just talking about their looks. While the general formula of run, jump, and shoot is prevalent throughout the game, each world has its own unique set of environmental challenges and mechanics to help you get around.

Captured in Fidelity Mode

Of course, all the doodads you get such as the Hover Boots, Hurlshot, and Rift Tether certainly make things a lot more interesting but, thankfully, these mechanics and others are so well integrated into the game that they don’t feel overused.

You’ll also be presented with a couple of puzzles along the way; either to help progress the story or to get some armor sets. They aren’t too hard to figure out but solving them still gives enough satisfaction. The great thing here is that none of them are repetitive or feel tedious to go through.

There’s also a good amount of collectibles in the game but they’re pretty easy to get. While I’m still working on the Platinum Trophy for Rift Apart, it’s definitely something that’s going to be easy to achieve with another night of prancing around the galaxy.

Not everything was sunshine and daisies though. We did run into a couple of issues where menus would freeze, requiring me to close the game and restart it, but they didn’t happen a lot and since loading times were really fast, they’re not that annoying and I’m pretty sure they’re already cooking up a patch for it.

Wrap Up and Conclusions

I had tons of fun playing Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. Despite this being my first entry into this franchise, it didn’t take a lot of time before I was invested in seeing it through and wanting to see more of our heroes in the future. That’s a testament to the clever writing and everything else coming together to give the entire game a great pace. Not once did I feel like it dragged on for too long or I was doing something repetitive and the only reason I had to backtrack was to get a collectible that I missed.

The only issue here is the replay value. It took me about 5 days to finish the main story of this title; playing at a very relaxed pace of about 2 to 3 hours a day. While I do still have to finish gathering all the collectibles and upgrading my weapons, there isn’t much left to do after I jump into the Challenge Mode that opens up after the game.

That being said, I still think it’s worth the Php 3,500 or $70 that you’ll have to pony up to play it. Insomniac Games, the cast, and everyone else involved in this title really put on a clinic here and you can bet that I’m going to be pre-ordering the next title in this franchise.

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