Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Art package, depicting series protagonist Ratchet and Clank, as well as Rivet, the game's second protagonist; the game's primary cover art is meant to reflect on the game's central theme of 'duality'
Developer	Insomniac Games
Publisher	Sony Interactive Entertainment
Director	Marcus Smith Mike Daly Cameron Christian
Designer	Josue Benavidez
Artist	Jacinda Chew
Composer(s)	Mark Mothersbaugh
Series	Ratchet & Clank
Platforms	PlayStation 5 PC
Release	PlayStation 5: June 11, 2021 PC: July 26, 2023
Genre(s)	Action-adventure, third-person shooter, platform
Mode(s)	Single-player

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is an 2021 action-adventure platform video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5; a PC port by Nixxes Software was released in 2023. It is the tenth main installment of the Ratchet & Clank series, follows 2016's Ratchet & Clank and serves a sequel to 2013's Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus.

Ratchet & Clank takes place in a galaxy which houses multiple anthropomorphic and humanoid alien species, similar to previous titles. In Rift Apart, series protagonists Ratchet and Clank traverse through alternate dimensions as they chase the villainous Dr. Nefarious. Presented from a third-person perspective, Rift Apart combines elements and mechanics of third-person shooters, platform games and puzzle solving, and features a wide array of futuristic and exotic weapons. A new feature is the ability to travel near-instantaneously between planets and combat arenas. Players alter between controlling Ratchet and Rivet, the game's new protagonist whose story intersects with those of Ratchet and Clank.

Development on Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart began after Insomniac received early kits of the then-unannounced PlayStation 5. The console's sold-state drive informed design principles for the team, including its near-instantaneous dimension traversal. The team was headed by creative director Marcus Smith and game director Mike Daly, both series veterans, and its development ran concurrently to 2020's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. As the first full-sized mainline entry in the series since 2009's Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, the team decided to design it for both series veterans and newcomers. Rift Apart was officially announced in June 2020, and released a year later in June 2021. A PC port was announced in May 2023 and released in July of that year.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was well-received upon release, gaining particular praise as an early essential title for the PlayStation 5, and its revival of the Ratchet & Clank series. It was additionally praised for its visuals, art direction, story, Rivet's character, polished gameplay and quick loading times. Criticism was directed at the enemy artificial intelligence, easy difficulty, formulaic design and underutilization of the dimension-hopping premise. It was nominated for and received several year-accolades, particularly for its technical innovations. It was also a commercial success, selling over 1.1 million copies within a month of its release and over 2.7 million copies by February 2022.

Gameplay

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a platform-action video game presented from third-person perspective. The game retains multiple features and mechanics introduced in previous installments, and combines elements of platform, third-person shooter, role-playing and puzzle video games within a linear design structure. Players control series protagonist Ratchet as well as newcomer Rivet as they navigate through a multitude of different environments and levels comprised of combat and traversal-based challenges. Both characters are usually accompanied by a robotic sidekick called Clank, with a female parallel, Kit, introduced later in the game.

Pre-release gameplay footage of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart depicting the utilization of the "Rift Tether", which allows Ratchet and Rivet to jump through dimensions for both story and gameplay purposes.

Both playable characters have access to a growing arsenal of weapons and gadgets to fend-off enemy threats and boss fights. Weapons range from existing weapons from previous and new additions such as the RYNO 8, a weapon that allows the player to summon characters or assets from both previous Insomniac games and from titles made by other PlayStation Studios teams such as Sucker Punch Productions' Sly Cooper trilogy, Guerrilla Games' Horizon saga, and Naughty Dog's Jak and Daxter games. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart also includes several role-playing elements such as weapon upgrades through combat experience and manual upgrading, and health upgrades.

Traversal in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart includes running and jumping as well as other forms of transportation introduces in earlier titles or lifted from Insomniac's work on Sunset Overdrive and Spider-Man, such as dashing, rail grinding and wall running, the last one which allow Ratchet and Rivet to pass over voids or through narrow gaps. Other forms of traversal include various applications for the playable Lombaxes' boots like hovering through environments, and the dragon-like Trudi, which is used for aerial combat segments.

A new core feature introduced in Rift Apart is the Rift Tether, a device that allows Ratchet and Rivet to pass and travel through combat arenas, planets and other locations near instantaneously. The Rift Tether is used during both regular gameplay and story-specific segments, with the former allowing players to control their position while engaging in combat and platform scenarios.

In addition to new and returning gameplay features and mechanics, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart includes a variety of accessibility options for the player.

Release

According to journalist Jason Schreier, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was originally meant to be a launch title for the PlayStation 5. On August 27th, 2020, Sony announced that the game will release within the PlayStation 5's launch window. On February 11th, 2021, Sony announced that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will release on June 11th, 2021.

Reception

Pre-release

Josh West of GamesRadar expressed excitement for Rift Apart, believing it would be the "first must-have PS5 exclusive of 2021", and considering it one of the site's most anticipated titles for the year. Returnal designer Henri Markus of Housemarque and Guerrilla Games studio head Angie Smets similarly listed Rift Apart as one of their most anticipated 2021 releases.

Reviews

• Metacritic: 88/100 (126 scored reviews)
• Destructoid: 9/10
• Easy Allies: 8.5/10
• Edge: 7/10
• EGM: 10/10
• Eurogamer: Recommended
• Game Informer: 9/10
• Game Revolution: 9/10
• GameSpot: 9/10
• GamesRadar: 5/5
• Guardian: 8/10
• IGN: 9/10
• PlayStation LifeStyle: 9.5/10
• PlayStation Universe: 7.5/10
• Push Square: 8/10
• VideoGamer: 8/10

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart received positive reviews. On review aggregator site Metacritic, the game holds a score of 88/100 based on 126 scored reviews out of a total of 136 reviews. It ties with the original game as the forth highest-rated installment in the franchise, and was the seventh highest-rated PlayStation 5 game of 2021. Critics and outlets praised the production values, technological advancements, core gameplay, implementation of DualSense features, weapon design, the character of Rivet and overall simplistic charm, though some criticism was pointed at the underutilization of the advertised dimension hopping mechanic and familiar formula.

Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell summarized Rift Apart as an example of Insomniac's design philosophy of "crunchy action, springy movement, a kind of intangible elasticity of motion" and "playfulness". EGM's Michael Goroff heavily praised Rift Apart as the first game of the ninth generation that "feels like a true next-gen title" to him, and as a "real preview of the [PlayStation 5]'s capabilities". GamesRadar's Rachel Weber felt more invested in Rift Apart than with previous entries, citing her attachment to the story, characters and variety.

PC version

• Metacritic: 85/100

The PC version of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart received positive reviews. On Metacritic, it holds a score of 85/100 based on 34 scored reviews. It was praised for its visual upgrades, mouse and key support and customization options, but was criticized for performance issues present at launch.

Digital Foundry's Alex Battglia praised Nixxes' efforts on the port, noting the graphical options, optimization settings and the technical capabilities of Insomniac. However, he also believed the port "needed a little more time in the oven", citing several graphical and performance issues that suggested it launched before work was finished.

Sales

In the United Kingdom, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was the best-selling game of its debut week, and was the second biggest launch in the series after the 2016 game. It also became the second biggest physical launch of a PlayStation 5 game after Insomniac's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. It maintained strong sales in the country three weeks later. In Japan, it launched as the third best-selling game of its debut week, with 14,663 copies sold. It was the best-selling video game in the United States during its debut month, beating the record set by its predecessor by nearly double.

By July 18, 2021, a little over a month after its release, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart sold over 1.1 million copies. Document and files leaked from Insomniac Games revealed that sales increased to 2.7 million copies by February 2022, which Insomniac noticed made the title profitable for the studio.

Gallery

Videos

Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart - Announcement Trailer

Announcement trailer

Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart – Extended Gameplay Demo

Gameplay demo