Is Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Worth It? Everything You Need To Know

Developed by Insomniac Games, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is the latest entry in the Ratchet & Clank franchise and one of the first PS5 exclusive video games. The game, which follows the events of Ratchet & Clank: Into The Nexus, was announced at Sony’s PS5 summer event in June 2020 alongside Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Returnal, and Horizon: Forbidden West. The game has been praised for its gameplay, visuals, and technical capabilities, but at £70, is Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart worth it? Find out with our guide here.

Story

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is set after Into The Nexus and begins when Dr Nefarious crashes a celebratory parade honouring Ratchet and Clank as intergalactic heroes and attempts to steal the newly repaired Dimensionator, a special device that is capable of opening rifts into other dimensions. Amidst the confusion, Ratchet mistakenly fires the Dimensionator, causing dimensional rifts to open. When the Dimensionator explodes, Dr Nefarious, Ratchet, and Clank are split and sent into an alternative universe ruled by Emperor Nefarious. Ratchet and Clank must reunite, help the dimension’s Resistance, led by a female Lombax named Rivet, in their fight against Nefarious, and repair the Dimensionator to return home.

Graphics

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a gorgeous game that looks just like an animated Pixar film. Everything in the game is colourful, beautifully animated, and features highly detailed character models, whether that’s Lombaxes with dense fur or any of the quirky aliens found throughout the game’s planets. There are nine uniquely designed planets you can explore throughout the game, most of which feature open-world maps that are packed with dense flora, varying wildlife, as well as pocket dimensions, and numerous collectables too.

The game supports four graphics modes, allowing you to choose whether you want to prioritise framerate, visuals, raytracing or a mixture of everything. The three graphics modes include:

Fidelity Mode: Performance capped at 40 frames-per-second at dynamic 4K resolution with raytracing and reflections
Performance Mode: Performance targeted at 60 frames-per-second with no raytracing and reduced scene density and fair strand count
Performance RT Mode: Performance targeted at 60 frames-per-second with raytracing and reflection, but reduced game resolution

Each of the graphics modes available in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart can be switched at any time while playing the game, giving you complete freedom over how you want to play.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart doesn’t differ much from its predecessors, the game retains its shoot ’em up and melee gameplay. You’ll swap between playing as Ratchet and Rivet, as well as Clank in short puzzle-based sequences where he must lead a continuous line of Clank-phantoms through a course, and you’ll occasionally play as Glitch, a spider robot that is tasked with clearing viruses from computers.

There are a total of 20 weapons available to use in the game, all of which can be upgraded, and there are several costume parts you can collect while playing the game, allowing you to create unique suits and customise their colours. The game also includes several traversal methods, like the ability to wall-run, Hover Boots to cover ground quickly, rail sliding, tethers, and you can fly the dragon-esque Trudi across one of the game’s maps.

Gameplay is fun and occasionally puzzling. Swapping between Ratchet and Rivet offers a nice change, although they both play the same, and the Glitch and Clank puzzles and challenges provide a change of pace and some light challenge too. There are enough collectables to keep you busy too, even if most aren’t required for the incredibly easy platinum.

Length: How Long Is Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart?

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart isn’t a long game, and you’ll be able to breeze through it over a weekend with long sessions or over a week. The game’s main story takes roughly ten hours to complete while obtaining the platinum will take around 15 hours. You’ll obtain most of the trophies while playing through the game’s main story, and after completing the game you’ll find that you only have a few trophies left to pop, all of which are pretty easy.

Summary: Our Review

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is an excellent PlayStation 5 exclusive. While the game doesn’t change up too much of the traditional Ratchet & Clank formula, the game’s story is incredibly entertaining, and the instant-loading used when switching between dimensions is groundbreaking. The game’s simplicity and easy and smooth gameplay is a refreshing change from the PlayStation 5’s other exclusives, Returnal and Demon’s Souls. At £70 for a 10-15 hour game, however, we understand why some might be put off, but we highly suggest you give the game a try. It’s gorgeous, humorous, and just downright fun to play.