Review: ‘Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart’ reveals a maturing franchise

“Ratchet & Clank” has always been slanted toward children. It’s a family-friendly series that has made its name on cartoonish violence and big personalities. Unlike its peers, though, it has managed to evolve with age.

The puerile sense of humor gave way to more sophisticated jokes, ones that work for children and adults. The storytelling has grown more complex and nuanced. Meanwhile, “Ratchet & Clank’s” graphics have benefited from the improving horsepower of the PlayStation machines, going from primitive textures and polygons on the PlayStation 2 to visuals that are a step below Pixar films on the PlayStation 4.

As the franchise shifts to the PlayStation 5 with “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart,” it’s taking another step forward. At this point, the game has moved on from its Pixar phase and now feels like a project in line with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That is to say the game maintains that sense of family entertainment, but Insomniac adds more spectacle, style and gravity to the adventure.

In this chapter, Ratchet and Clank find themselves as celebrated heroes who wonder if they’re still worthy of that adulation. The two erase that doubt as they find themselves put to the test against their usual nemesis, Dr. Nefarious. The villain and his goons crash the parade honoring the duo and he steals the Dimensionator, a device that lets him travel to other realities.

Players encounter different modes of transportation such as a dragon in “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.” (Sony Interactive Entertainment) 

MESSING WITH ANOTHER DIMENSIONDuring a struggle for the device, it malfunctions and sends Dr. Nefarious, Ratchet and Clank to an alternate world where the villain has succeeded in conquering the galaxy. Obviously, this thrills Dr. Nefarious while the titular heroes face an uphill battle as they rally a resistance force. Ratchet and Clank also meet up with their counterparts Rivet, a fellow Lombax, and Kit, a warbot with a dark past. Although they appear like the female versions of the more familiar duo, the two have their own intriguing backstory that focuses on their own strengths and character flaws.

They’re products of a dimension that’s ruled by Emperor Nefarious, who is a more ruthless and calculating version of the arch-nemesis that Ratchet and Clank have faced in the past. That makes him feel like a worthy and more serious foe as his quest for domination extends to all realities, not just the one he controls.

Rivet, Kit and the rest of the resistance’s campaign against the two Nefarious villains is epic as players venture through nine locales. Each of them are enormous and elaborate with secrets begging to be explored. Players will find spybots that unlock a secret weapon, golden bolts that unlock cosmetic perks and armor pieces that confer bonuses. These collectibles are strewn across selectable levels that are almost like miniature open-worlds, each with their own flavor of gameplay.

The jungle world of Sargasso has vehicle elements as players race across the world atop fast-moving bug creatures called Speedles and they fly aboard dragons. The ocean world of Cordelion has an “Alien” vibe as players have to sneak past and maneuver around Juice, a powerful creature who is impervious to weapons. It hunts players across an abandoned sea lab. The ramshackle planet of Torren IV will test players’ ability to grind across rails as the Fixer, an building-sized robot, tries to smash Rivet and Clank. It’s one of most impressive sequences I’ve played all year.

Rivet, a new hero, tries to fend of the Fixer, a building-size robot, in one of the more epic moments in “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.” (Sony Interactive Entertainment) 

GETTING CREATIVE WITH WEAPONSThe combat remains mostly the same for veterans of the series. “Ratchet & Clank” games have always been about over-the-top weapons that make enemies dance or finds funny ways to inflict their damage. “Rift Part” maintains the outlandish weapon types but Insomniac allows for more interplay between them. Players can use the Topiary Sprinklers to root enemies into place while they use the Apocalypse Glove to send minions to pummel enemies. Elsewhere, the Lightning Rod shoots electricity to stun foes while players can use Ms. Fungal to deliver turret-like mushrooms to blast them from afar.

“Rift Apart” nudges players to experiment with weapons by throwing out enemies that demand different tactics. Some adversaries have shields that block bullets while others swarm Ratchet or Rivet. Insomniac also incentivizes players to use different weapons through a leveling system that unlocks the guns’ potential when they defeat more foes. To actually acquire the stat boosts, players need an element called Raritanium which is acquired by beating powerful minibosses or finding secret stashes. If players beat the game, they’ll find that they can unlock Omega versions of each weapon in the New Game Plus mode, but they’ll also need more bolts to purchase them and use Raritanium to power them up. Having the right armor pieces will help speed this process along.

On top of everything else, the two Lombaxes, Ratchet and Rivet, curiously share the weapons and gear though they don’t meet face to face for half the game. It’s a weird quirk in storytelling along with the idea that the two heroes share the same experience points and progression, gaining more health with each level.

On the traversal side, Insomniac gives players new tools to cross these enormous worlds. Ratchet and Rivet have hover boots that let them glide across stages. They also have the ability to teleport to different areas by grabbing at rifts and pulling themselves through the portal. It’s a way for the Lombaxes to outflank opponents. The developers also combine the rifts with wall runs, grind rails, double jumps and other gear to create obstacle courses where solid traversal skills are needed.

With bigger worlds to explore, Insomniac gives players more efficient ways to travel such as hover boots in “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.” (Sony Interactive Entertainment) 

WEAVING PUZZLES AND ACTIONAlthough “Rift Apart” has plenty of combat and platforming, Insomniac does a smart job of breaking it up with puzzle levels courtesy of Clank, Kit and Glitch. The first two are warbots who have the power to fix dimensional rifts by clearing paths for their possible selves. Yes, it sounds like a bunch of metaphysical mumbo jumbo, but it’s essentially getting automated versions of these robots from one part of a room to another using balls that modify different elements of the stage.

Glitch is a hacking construct that Ratchet uses to eliminate computer viruses that infect gadgets and halt his progress. The Glitch levels are topsy-turvy and have spiderlike programs shooting at the viruses and minions while also taking down their defenses. The hardest part is navigating the mazelike stages because the AI program can walk up walls and ceilings to ferret out the bugs that hang in out of the way places.

Insomniac weaves these elements together to create a compelling adventure that raises the stakes and scope, compared to the franchise’s previous adventures. “Rift Apart” has jaw-dropping moments where the developers harness the PlayStation 5 strengths to create intricate set pieces that feel like they’re straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster.

Insomniac balances the thrill ride with characters that have modest depth to them. Don’t expect Shakespeare or Dickens. Rather, Ratchet, Rivet and Kit all have internal fears they have to overcome in order to save the multiverse. The character arcs feel ham-handed at times but the narrative does enough to convey the right feelings and motivations that players can buy into and enjoy the counterweight to the eye-candy extravaganza of this multidimensional adventure.

‘Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart’

3½ stars out of 4Platform: PlayStation 5Rating: Everyone 10 and up