*EDIT/DISCLAIMER: The original version of this review stated I did not get every trophy due to the game not giving me the trophies "Fully Stacked" and "Return Policy." Since "Fully Stacked" has the requirement of buying every gun in the game, what you need to do is start a New Game+ in the form of Challenge Mode after completing the game, upon starting which you can buy the last two weapons immediately- assuming you had all the weapons you could get on a first playthrough, of course. So don't worry if you think you should have it, just start Challenge Mode and all shall be well. As for "Return Policy," my best advice would be to get the Void Repulsor to level 5 without spending ANY RARITANIUM ON IMPROVING THE RANGE OR SPREAD OF THE BLAST ATTACK. That helps a lot. Otherwise, should be a safe and stellar ride to the platinum trophy.

Oh. My. Goodness.

WHAT a game to start a PS5 journey with. Every second of explosions made by, decision-making in the stead of, boosting through landscapes with, maneuvering, laughing with, and feeling for these characters was one I'm so glad I took. Not everything was to my taste, and some frustrations were had, but this is one I'm not soon forgetting.

To begin on the technical side from which the game was marketed, it's easy to see the PS5 wiping the dust off of its shoulder with a casual grin as the SSD works its magic. Loading times practically don't exist, especially important considering the dimensional rifts the whole story is based upon. Frequently during a boss fight or scripted sequence, your Lombax will be picked up by a rift in space-time and flung to another planet out of nowhere, effortlessly loading in an entire planet level in no time. Traveling by ship leads to the same results, with cutscenes often transitioning from planet to planet not with the gaming-staple "fade to black and wait ten seconds for the next place to load" as we're all familiar with, but rather an instantaneous screen wipe effect- likely a Star Wars homage in execution. Beyond the loading speeds, every character is rendered and textured like never before. Ratchet's face and especially his cheeks have never been so fuzzy, and every enemy, building, rock, tree, and everything in between is built from a ludicrous excess of polygons- but an excess that never once affected the rock-solid 1080p 60fps action because I don't own a 4K display. What makes the texture work pop more than anything, however, is the lighting. The fabled ray-trace reflections on Clank indeed look gorgeous. The environmental lighting effects varied from a mild feeling of being impressed for most of the game (the afternoon sun of Sargasso strikes a very pretty picture, but one likely possible on last generation), to being genuinely very impressed with the detailed refractions of the Lombaxes' flashlights on dark areas, to the absolutely breathtaking experience of reaching Blizar-Prime. That's a moment I will not soon forget.

But Blizar-Prime brings up a point far more important than the technology behind Rift Apart, something correlated that I'd argue is far more significant: art direction and presentation. Rift Apart is an absolute marvel of a cinematic experience in the top one percent of video games, period; Insomniac Games has proven their capacity for cutscene craftsmanship far beyond the industry. Every animation is crafted with the squashiest, stretchiest, bounciest love of weight and character. Every gun, returning and new, sports a design indicative of a studio that never lost touch with creating the zaniest and most badass armaments in the galaxy; they all handle with a heft and power unmatched in gaming weaponry. The SSD's loading prowess proves itself as a storytelling tool as well, allowing for more unique and cinematic cutscene direction- such as Rivet being very sharply lit up by a searchlight in Nefarious City, only to match-cut to Ratchet instantly on an entirely different planet; that the game opens on this note sets an excellent tone. The cutscenes are storyboarded and blocked spectacularly as well, creating some striking images that heighten the story's most dramatic moments- moments I dare not spoil.

On the topic of the story, I do like to keep my reviews spoiler-free, but it must be said: this is a story with weight, stakes, consequences, humor, emotion, and everything in between. A story worthy of following up A Crack In Time, for sure. I just wish the ending didn't sequel bait us so hard with no guarantee of the next game being anytime soon, ESPECIALLY with how many things cooking in Insomniac's oven right now.

(I couldn't fit it reasonably anywhere else, but the music! It's not as good as the original Ratchet scores on PS2, but Mark Mothersbaugh brought a positively sizzling synth-orchestral fusion heat to this intergalactic barbecue of Nefarious ne'er-do-wells. The leitmotifs are recognizable and potent, the synthetic edge brings a bit of the surreal nature of both space-faring and the dimension-shattering concept to the forefront audibly, and it's wonderful in the moment to pump up the tension and adrenaline. Wonderful stuff.)

As for the game... well. This is Ratchet, all right. Hot diggity dang, is it ever. The DualSense sensibly sensitizes this sensitive soul's sensitive soft spot for sensitive triggers in the smack center of sizable shoot-em-ups.

Also known as "haptics make monkey brain go shoot shoot happy happy Enforcer go brrrrrrr"

It cannot be overstated, and I dare not understate, how much the DualSense's haptic feedback affects gunplay. Every trigger pull of the Burst Pistol reverberates through your entire being as your finger clings to R2 for dear life like a bull rider. The Enforcer's double barrels of death kick back like a horse, blowing you back as much as it does enemy corpses. The Headhunter actually made me like using a sniping weapon; slowing down, zooming in, and popping heads was nearly as satisfying as a real bolt action semi-auto. And though it isn't a weapon, pumping the Hoverboots to maximum speed in every single spot I definitely was not allowed to did wonders for my tiny speed-obsessed ape brain. It makes for one of the most satisfying gameplay experiences I've had in a long time.

The weapon balancing supports this as well. Unlike a game like RaC 2016, every weapon has a purpose- to an extent, anyway. After a while certain categories of weapons, such as rapid-fire, shotgun blast, support, and so on, became apparent in my mind. Each "type"- which the game never specifies on its own, this is purely in my observations of the weapons- is useful and diverse from the last, but within each type the weapons are interchangeable. The difference in practicality between the Buzz Blades and the Lightning Rod, for example, only comes down to how upgraded each one is and therefore which one will get you bigger numbers. Make no mistake, however- I love every one of them.

Of course, my minor grievances do little to hamper the experience overall, but I'd be remiss not to mention them: it's too difficult to get enough bolts and Raritanium to max everything out without RPG levels of grinding at Zurkie's before a NG+ playthrough, and I like doing everything before the final boss; there's a lack of polish and prevalence of bugs that, while incredibly infrequent, just makes them stick out a little bit more; it feels like we don't get enough playtime with Ratchet himself, especially considering how he can't be taken into the arena battles; the side quests and map design, true to Ratchet history, turn me around something fierce (I never want to hear the word Zurpstone again in my life); and Ratchet's hesitations that he grows from throughout the game were rather disappointing for me. When he first hesitates at the beginning of the game, I misjudged the reasoning behind said hesitation and came to the wrong conclusion. Once we got to the real conclusion, I found myself rather disappointed given how much I preferred my idea. I understand that it's purely a me thing, but it's still rather irksome to me. ^^"


But I'm just a stick in the mud. If you've got a spare soul to sell to Satan, get yourself a PS5 and play Rift Apart. It showed me so many new dimensions of gaming excellence I won't soon forget.

While I'm sad that this game will most likely never reach its fullest potential, what's already here is honestly fantastic

Phenomenal main cast of characters, fun and interesting mysteries, and a bunch of things both big and small that warm my Ace Attorney-obsessed heart

It may be rough around the edges, but it's also incredibly sincere, and its love for the series that inspired it is clear to see

I will protect Tyrion and Celeste with my life.