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‘Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart’ review

Kyle Chua

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‘Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart’ review

CYBER-RATCHET. Rift Apart's Nefarious City challenges Cyberpunk 2077's own neon-doused world

Screenshots by Kyle Chua

An out-of-this-world Pixar-esque experience

If 2016’s Ratchet & Clank reboot put the franchise back on the map, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart straps a rocket to it and blasts it to space. Rift Apart builds upon that old school, action-platformer gameplay and gives it that next-gen polish, taking what could have been a fairly standard release to one that’s out-of-this-world – pun intended.

This is the best showcase of the PS5’s capabilities yet and, in my opinion, the console’s best exclusive right now. 

What usually catches everyone’s attention about Rift Apart is how good it looks. And, boy, does it look good. This game is pure eye candy from start to finish, boasting densely-packed environments that are bustling with activity; a dizzying amount of particle effects that can swallow your screen at any one time; and some of the most impressive-looking character models to ever be put in a game. Oh, it also has the best fur effects, too, bar none. 

FUR-TASTIC. Ratchet takes home the best anthropomorphic hero of the year award

It also takes full advantage of the PS5’s shiny, new hardware, with ray-tracing providing enhanced lighting and realistic reflections; nearly nonexistent load times that make interdimensional travel completely seamless; and visuals that output at a dynamic 4K resolution, allowing everything to have crisp clear quality to them. 

For lack of a better word, the game is simply Pixar-esque, a high production value experience that’s filled with grandiose spectacle and a ton of heart.

Lombax charm

Rift Apart’s story is probably its weakest point, with much of the plot being about as straightforward as they come: returning villain Dr. Nefarious gets hold of a weapon that can collapse dimensions on each other and it’s up to Ratchet and Clank to stop him.

DR. NEFARIOUS. The green-headed villain deserves a seat in the same council as Despicable Me’s Gru, and the Powerpuff Girls’ Mojojojo

It’s the basic setup to send our titular heroes into another swashbuckling adventure. And, it’s fine, for the most part. However, what ultimately won me over is the quirky charm of the game’s colorful cast of characters. 

The standout is Rivet, the new playable protagonist. Rivet is Ratchet’s alternate dimension counterpart, a female Lombax with a cybernetic arm. Like Ratchet, she has a fiery can-do spirit and a flair for the heroics, but deep inside, she feels broken. These internal struggles and the way the characters face them make the story more compelling than how they may seem on paper.

While the game retains much of the core gameplay from its 2016 predecessor, Insomniac has incorporated the concept of alternate dimensions in the combat, traversal, and puzzles, shaking the formula up a bit. 

In combat and traversal, Ratchet and Rivet can use the Rift Tether and Phantom Dash ability. The former lets you pull yourself towards an open rift and transport yourself to that location while the latter lets you phase through obstacles and dodge attacks. These new abilities are welcome additions to the gameplay, expanding your options for evading, moving around, and gaining a strategic edge on your enemies. 

RIVET. The new character is someone we’d love to see more of in future franchise installments

For example, there are usually rifts in areas of combat. You can use it to either get up close and personal with your enemies or as means of escape if things get hairy. What’s more is that you can chain these abilities together. You can jump, Phantom Dash, then tether into an open rift. And it just fits so well with the core Ratchet gameplay, almost as though they were meant to be there from the very start of the franchise. 

Also, these moves are flashy-looking, adding to the fun. That effect when you almost pull in the screen when you use the Rift Tether just feels so fresh.

Interdimensional chaos

This being a Ratchet and Clank game, there’s a whopping number of weapons to add to your arsenal and wreak havoc with throughout your adventure, and each of them feel unique in their own way. 

The Topiary Sprinkler, for instance, is a turret-based weapon – essentially a water sprinkler that sprays out a substance that causes plants to grow on your enemies, making them unable to move.

Meanwhile, the Ricochet, lets you bounce a shot on different enemies, kind of like pinball. Then, there’s the Negatron Collider, a gun that charges up and fires a beam of energy that can damage multiple enemies at once. 

All of these weapons are upgradeable, which can slightly alter what they can do. There’s a nice progression to the upgrades, and it really makes you feel like your weapons are getting stronger and stronger. It also serves as a good incentive to traverse the maps and find Raritanium, the component used for these upgrades. 

As for the combat itself, it remains incredibly fast and fluid. Make no mistake about it, it’s still a shoot-and-strafe kind of game, but everything just feels so refined, with the new abilities, weapon types, and the smart use of the features of the DualSense controller. 

CHAOTIC. No shortage of giant bosses in this one

Weapons have always been some of the most fun parts of Ratchet & Clank games, and Rift Apart keeps that tradition alive.

Like its stablemate Returnal, Rift Apart cleverly uses the adaptive triggers to have different firing modes for some weapons. For example, when using the Burst Pistol, if you press the trigger halfway, it fires shots one at a time while pressing it all the way lets it fire continuously. 

The haptic feedback here is excellent as well. It manages to capture a lot of the in-game actions through these distinctive patterns of rumble, whether it’s running on metal-plated floors or grinding on a rail; at times, the effect is so subtle but having it just adds so much to your immersion. 

Rift Apart’s semi-open worlds are also particularly noteworthy. Though the game retains the linear progression of previous entries, there are numerous instances where you’re actually free to roam the gorgeously rendered planets to take in the sights and uncover collectibles. A lot of the planets even have optional missions for you to complete, which of course, helps pad out the game’s length. 

DENSE ENVIRONMENTS. Ratchet’s worlds teem with so much life, and showcase much variety from prehistory landscapes to this overcrowded future metropolis

There are only a couple of minor flaws that I think are worth noting about the game: the crashes and the length-versus-price. 

Although a huge part of the game feels polished, I did run into a handful of hard crashes in my playthrough. These crashes forced me to do a hard reset on my PS5 as there were occasions where the console completely froze. I also experienced this in Marvel’s Spider-Man, another Insomniac game. It’s worth stressing, however, that we played a Day 0 version of the game. Insomniac is releasing a Day 1 patch that could fix all these problems. So they’re not deal-breakers. But they’re worth mentioning all the same. 

Rift Apart’s 15-20 hour length can also be a problem for some when factoring the hefty $70 price tag of PS5 games. I usually don’t mind short games as I always prefer quality over quantity when it comes to the content. But the game doesn’t offer any extra modes after completion, apart from a Challenge Mode, which is the equivalent of a New+, where you carry over all your weapons and upgrades to a brand new playthrough. 

Then again, I really think this is that next-gen experience that can’t be missed. As good as Demon’s Souls and Returnal are, those games are not for everyone. Rift Apart, meanwhile, is.

It features a standalone story that’s accessible for newcomers to the franchise, easy-to-pick up combat, interesting platforming puzzles, exhilarating set piece moments, and some of the most breathtaking graphics I’ve ever seen in a game.

There will also be three graphics modes for the game: Fidelity, Performance Mode, or Performance RT mode. Fidelity focuses on resolution, Performance focuses on 60 frames-per-second (fps) framerate, while Performance RT shoots for 60 fps as well while retaining the sought-after ray-tracing effects.

Performance RT has to be our favorite. This is a game that looks so much better at 60 fps, and we need that ray-tracing, so we could live with a bit of a resolution dip.

If you’re already a fan of the franchise or enjoy action-platformers, this is definitely a must-have. 

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart launches on the PS5 in June 11, 2021. – Rappler.com

Disclosure: Sony provided a review code of the game.

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