I loved Ratchet & Clank when it first released, playing all of the games released on the PS2. Sadly I diverged from the franchise, not playing one until now with Rift Apart.
The first thing that struck me when firing up this game was the incredible visuals both in-game and through the rendered cutscenes. The worlds, colours and lighting blew me away, with fine details such as the Lombax fur or Clank's shiny surface bringing this world to life beautifully. The controls are extremely tight and it feels great to play, making creative use of the controller's capabilities through the various weapons and movement options.
The arsenal available to you here is fine, but I found myself gravitating toward a smaller handful of weapons and avoiding others. Combat was fun, requiring you to move around the level through the titular rifts to avoid enemy fire and reach more advantageous ground. Enemy variety was fine but I was quite disappointed by the recurrence of multiple bosses, leaving the experience feeling somewhat repetitive.
Level variety was good overall with a number of different gameplay styles switching things up in the form of traversal sections, clank puzzles, a hacking minigame and pure combat.
The story was OK but I feel that it could have had more emotional weight overall. Rivet is a fine addition to the series and I'd like to see her again if we get another game.
This game pulls one of PlayStation's most iconic duos through the rift into the present, offering a familiar experience with some new and novel elements. Where it falters in story and variety, it excels in entertaining gameplay. This is a really solid foundation to build on for a potentially amazing sequel. I don't think this game sold particularly well overall, which is a great shame so I hope we do see one eventually.
The first thing that struck me when firing up this game was the incredible visuals both in-game and through the rendered cutscenes. The worlds, colours and lighting blew me away, with fine details such as the Lombax fur or Clank's shiny surface bringing this world to life beautifully. The controls are extremely tight and it feels great to play, making creative use of the controller's capabilities through the various weapons and movement options.
The arsenal available to you here is fine, but I found myself gravitating toward a smaller handful of weapons and avoiding others. Combat was fun, requiring you to move around the level through the titular rifts to avoid enemy fire and reach more advantageous ground. Enemy variety was fine but I was quite disappointed by the recurrence of multiple bosses, leaving the experience feeling somewhat repetitive.
Level variety was good overall with a number of different gameplay styles switching things up in the form of traversal sections, clank puzzles, a hacking minigame and pure combat.
The story was OK but I feel that it could have had more emotional weight overall. Rivet is a fine addition to the series and I'd like to see her again if we get another game.
This game pulls one of PlayStation's most iconic duos through the rift into the present, offering a familiar experience with some new and novel elements. Where it falters in story and variety, it excels in entertaining gameplay. This is a really solid foundation to build on for a potentially amazing sequel. I don't think this game sold particularly well overall, which is a great shame so I hope we do see one eventually.