Ratchet & Clank — Rift Apart
A Clash of Dimensions and More Classic Adventures with the Favourites as we go onto Another Round of a Fantastical Journey!
Story
After many years of peace, Ratchet is celebrating his past victories and Clank has a special gift to offer him. This is a device called “Dimensionator”. This allows characters to travel between dimensions and will allow Ratchet to finally meet other members of his own species — Lombaxes. However, this being Ratchet and Clank, nothing goes according to plan: Dr Nefarious shows up (as usual) and steals the dimensionator. They then end up in a different dimension in which Dr Nefarious is actually ‘Emperor Nefarious’ as he has already occupied the entire galaxy. The reason for this is simple: In this particular universe, Nefarious wins all of the time. Over here, Ratchet meets his dimensional counterpart and together they attempt to topple Nefarious, fix the dimensionator and return to his own galaxy.
Characters
As per the franchise, there are the two principal characters, alongside others:
- Ratchet (James Arnold Taylor)— A Lombax who has to save the universe once again.
- Clank (David Kaye) — A tiny robot who helps Ratchet in his various quests.
- Dr Nefarious (Armin Shimerman) — A robotic individual who once again attempts to conquer the universe.
- Emperor Nefarious (Robin Atkin Downes)— A dimensional counterpart to Dr Nefarious who wins all of the time and is bored of it.
- Rivet (Jennifer Hale)— A dimensional counterpart to Ratchet. She belongs to the universe where she loses all the time.
- Kit (Debra Wilson)— A dimensional counterpart to Clank. She has an interesting backstory.
Worldbuilding
This was a rich game. From what I can remember of the previous games, this one definitely felt the most rich in terms of lore and the open atmosphere. The universe feels large and vast. Ratchet has the opportunity to explore the history of his race and can explore a variety of planets. Each planet typically has multiple objectives to explore. There is a single compulsory quest line and one or two optional routes to explore. There is a rich diversity in terms of characters, enemies and environments. The childish humour also perfectly complemented the gameplay.
Gameplay
Just like the previous entries in the franchise, this was an addictive fast-paced experience with a lot of action. Bolts are used as a form of currency and can be used to purchase new weapons. Certain minerals can also be located to upgrade said weapons. There was also an arena where you can practice your skills and climb up the ladder to achieve better rewards. The only difference between this and the previous entries was that I had to play as Rivet for a considerable amount of time instead of as Ratchet. Nonetheless, Gameplay Mechanisms and Weapon Upgrade Levels were identical and carried over between the two characters.
Critique
I really enjoyed this game. I knew I was going to have a fun time as the previous games have never disappointed me either. This game, just like its predecessors, is more about the gameplay as opposed to the actual story. Both aspects were great and I will definitely recommend others to try this out. The only caveat is that I felt like I was playing as Rivet for the majority of the time. Whilst I enjoyed the character, I would much prefer to play as Ratchet. He (and Clank) is the figurehead of the franchise and I would prefer this to be reflected in the final product. That being said, I enjoyed the backstories of Rivet and Kit and I would definitely look forward to play with them again!
Afterwords
A radically different genre from the previous video game I played. I normally play more serious and mature titles, so it’s good to play something different once in a while!
