What is Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart?
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (Rift Apart for the remainder of the review) is a third person shooter and platformer game released in June, 2021 by Insomniac Games for the Playstation 5 and now on Microsoft Windows. Rift Apart is the 17th game to come out in this long running Playstation franchise. You will play as the titular Ratchet and Clank as they try to repair the damage caused by Dr Nefarious who uses and breaks the Dimensionator, causing rifts and dimensional chaos all over the galaxy. Rift Apart is around 11 hours to beat if you focus on the main story and narrative.
Game Review:
For fans of the Ratchet and Clank franchise, Rift Apart feels familiar. The third person shooting is basically the same as the previous 2016 release of Ratchet and Clank. There are a ton of enemies thrown at you that you can obliterate with a variety of wild and wacky weapons. As you do this, you are jumping around the arena avoiding enemy fire from all over. As enemies and environmental objects are destroyed, bolts (the in-game currency) fly everywhere, littering your screen with tiny objects that can honestly be a lot to take in all at once. Rift Apart does not stray from its roots as a chaotic screen filling mess of explosions, but it makes it surprisingly engaging and deep in a way that I simply don’t expect from this kind of game.
Rift Apart tries to be unique from the rest of the franchise by utilizing the technology of the new generation Playstation 5’s SSD. The rifts are the big gimmick that sets it apart; Ratchet can pull himself into these rifts that are opening up to find himself seamlessly in a totally new part of the map, with no loading or stuttering. He can also pull into rifts that lead to other dimensions or areas that do take a little bit of loading but the animation of Ratchet falling through to another dimension is super quick and feels natural to the world they’ve built. Utilizing this technology really makes the idea of bouncing around an arena or world through rifts work, if there was stuttering and the game having to play catch up with the action, it just wouldn’t feel right but the developers utilized those technological resources to bring a fun idea to life.
A big staple of the franchise is the variety and silliness of the weapons. There are a number of weapons for the player to use in Rift Apart. There were about 16 unlocked weapons for me by the time I reached the end of the story, although I didn’t have enough bolts to buy each one so I didn’t get to try all of them. There weren’t a ton of super silly ones but the one that stands out to me is called the Topiary Sprinkler. This weapon acts as a turret that you throw down and it sprays water like a lawn sprinkler. Any enemy hit by the water turns into a plant version of itself and gets stunned while also taking bonus damage from any shots you hit during that time. It’s not only silly but a strategically powerful weapon. As per usual in the franchise, there are upgradable skill trees for each weapon individually that lets you improve its function. And the more you use a weapon, the more upgrades it unlocks.
Although Ratchet and Clank is known for its shooting combat, I don’t think it’s the best feeling gameplay in Rift Apart. In my opinion, the platforming is where this game shines best. The developers give the player a variety of different tools and resources to expand platforming and give the player more freedom. And in some sections the game will blast you off at high speeds that feel incredible. Insomniac knows how to create locomotion in a way unlike any other developers. These sections where Ratchet is blasting off down a chaotic track, with explosions happening all around and the environment constantly being altered by the enemies or characters that are in each context, are my favorite part of the game and where I really felt they built a theme park of a game.
Rift Apart’s incredible gameplay would make a great game on its own, but there is also a charming narrative here too. The game is full of comedy, whether it’s in the quippy dialogue that Ratchet has with the villain Dr Nefarious or it’s in the comments made by NPCs. This is the norm of this franchise. While it certainly adds some light-hearted laughter, I don't think it detracts from the narrative experience the developers were going for. I never got pulled out of the experience because something funny happened when I thought they were trying to be serious. I think the writers found a good balance at making the game serious at points but still funny enough to keep things light.
At the heart of the story in Rift Apart is a story about fear of rejection. There are new characters that join the cast as playable characters (these characters are in the marketing material so I don’t feel like this is a spoiler) that contribute to this fear of rejection narrative. Ratchet wants to use the Dimensionator to search the other dimensions to find his long-lost Lombax family but he fears that either they will disappoint him or that he’ll disappoint them. Rivet, the dimensional counter to Ratchet and a fellow Lombax, tries to convince herself that she prefers to be alone because she is dealing with some trauma in her past. Another new character, Kit, fears rejection because of a dark past that she has and doesn’t feel like she can change from. I think this is an impactful topic to try to address, especially because it can be so helpful for people to see characters deal with these relatable issues, particularly in a game that is designed for kids and to be a grand adventure.
Family Friendliness:
Rift Apart is rated E10+ by the ESRB for alcohol reference, animated blood, and fantasy violence. I would agree with this rating, there are scenes of some violence (villain getting hit with a wrench and villain getting presumably eaten by a monster). I am also hesitant with games that involve shooting but the fact that Rift Apart is played in third person and all enemies you shoot are either robots or alien monsters makes it much more appropriate in my opinion. This game also has some good messaging about family, trusting others, and dealing with fear of rejection.
Features for Parents:
Rift Apart is a PS5 game which means many of the features of the PS5 are available here such as being able to pause and put the console in rest mode. Then when you come back and start it back up, it starts the instance exactly as it was when you put it in rest mode, meaning great for parents who need to put it down quickly and come back later. Rift Apart also autosaves super well, even if you don’t use rest mode you will still be loaded exactly where you saved and shut the game off. The game also has a number of accessibility options in its menus if you need accommodations like text size changes and the like.
Final Verdict:
Rift Apart is a great addition to the long running Ratchet and Clank series and to the Playstation Studios catalog. It provides a more family-friendly and cartoonish game to their catalog of mostly rated M games while still being a fun game for adults. It’s a great game to play with an older kid, either through taking turns or someone watching. The messaging is positive and meaningful while also being understandable for younger audiences. Rift Apart is a must play on the PS5.
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