Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is a Space Adventure Everyone Can Enjoy

Saving the Universe Yet Again

In Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, the Lombax and his trusty robotic pal are back to save the universe again. And this time, they’re joined by a different reality’s version of Ratchet, named Rivet. Playing as each of the three heroes, you’ll need to thwart Dr. Nefarious’s evil doings. This time entails repairing a damaged multiverse and preventing Nefarious from causing even more mayhem. You’ll collect bolts, upgrade weapons, and experience a heartfelt story with this long-standing duo of adventurers. The 16th installment of the series is a beautifully crafted story and game with excellent casting and musical performances.

Ratchet and Clank
image credit: Insomniac Games

Locked and Loaded

While playing as either Ratchet or Rivet, you’ll carry the same set of moves as in previous Ratchet and Clank games. And even if you’re a newcomer to the series, the basic platforming and third-person skill sets will come to you fairly quickly. As far as weaponry, you’ll have your ratchet to swing, though this is much less useful in Rift Apart with the large number of enemies you’ll be facing. You’ll also have a gadget called a Rift Tether. This will allow you to dash while strafing and travel forward in space through rifts.

The rifts are essentially portals, but the effect of the rift moving to you creates a satisfyingly unique visual flair. Where the series has always shined is in its variety of weapons and weapon upgrades. New weapons include the Burst Pistol, Shatterbomb, The Enforcer and the Topiary Sprinkler. The Enforcer is a double-barrel shotgun that takes advantage of the DualSense controller’s adaptive triggers. When you hold the trigger down about halfway, you’ll fire one shot. When you hold it down completely, you fire both. The Topiary Sprinkler shoots bolts of ice and sprouts plants around itself.

Pixarish Fun From Start to Finish

As with Into the Nexus, Rift Apart’s art style is crystal clear and fluid in its transitions. The smooth gameplay keeps you engaged at all times. And what also helps is that there are essentially no load times. Further immersing you are the haptic responses of each weapon which are unique and fun. After beating the game on its relatively low initial difficulty, you’ll unlock and be able to run through again on a challenge mode. This will increase the difficulty of enemies and allow you to further upgrade your arsenal. Aside from the difficulty change, you’ll likely want to experience the story a second or even third time.

Similar to standout animated Disney films, the adventure and character arcs of all the protagonists are fun and sincere. The humor sprinkled in is well done and you can empathize with the emotions of these creatures and beings who look nothing like you. No molds are broken here, but all facets of this game were made with experienced professionalism, which all players will thoroughly enjoy.

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Written by Trevor Forrest.