Is it worth playing Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart in 2025?

Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart was released in 2021 and was one of the first few games to showcase the PlayStation 5's capabilities. Insomniac Games has earned enough goodwill from Sony Interactive Entertainment and fans to develop the next major installment alongside its original Spider-Man franchise.

No one saw this coming, especially after the last installment was a remake released in 2016. However, Insomniac Games felt differently, and the developer has a story worth telling. The team is no longer limited by the PlayStation 4 hardware to visit new worlds without loading screens, leading to a thrilling adventure worth playing in 2025.

Disclaimer: Some aspects of this article contain the personal and subjective opinions of the writer.

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Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart is a mind-boggling adventure

The gaming community was spoiled with a great multiversal adventure during the early days of the PlayStation 5 (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Insomniac Games didn't shy away from the family-friendly franchise and took advantage of the next-generation hardware to prove that there are more stories to tell with these beloved characters. Unlike previous games, Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart takes the heroes on a multiversal road trip featuring visually pleasing environments, smaller biomes, new worlds, and more.

After attempting to stop Dr. Nefarious' unstable doomsday device, the heroes have been displaced across time and space. Clank wakes up on a foreign planet without Ratchet by his side and with a missing limb. He is found by another Lombax named Rivet, who is also a playable character. The duo immediately click as they explore more worlds and fight various enemies with an impressive arsenal.

On the other hand, Dr. Nefarious is pleased with where he ended up: an alternate universe where he is victorious against his enemies and has been hailed as an emperor. The evil doctor immediately takes advantage of his multiversal variant's toys and authority. He declares his subjects to pursue Ratchet and Clank; however, there is a resistance movement that will not go down without a fight.

Ratchet wakes up alone and surmises that the doomsday device opened a rift across space and time. In his adventures, Ratchet recruits a Warbot designed by Emperor Nefarious named Kit, who acts as his new Clank on their adventures. Despite bringing Clank along, Rivet isn't fully buying into his story about hailing from a different timeline and her personal history with his kind.

Eventually, Rivet learns to trust Clank, and they become a formidable pair as Ratchet encourages Kit to be more open and not worry about her programming being a Warbot. Ratchet and Rivet are both Lombaxes, but with different personalities, which makes them both compelling protagonists.

Rivet's history with Emperor Nefarious and his army of Warbots makes her less open to working with others even if they are on the same side.

The true next-gen experience can be seen through combat and exploration, especially as Ratchet or Rivet pull themselves to another dimensional rift, and the environment loads on a dime without stuttering, loading, or performance issues.

Players can hop around platforms to get a better angle on enemy targets by jumping through rifts. The gunplay has improved significantly and is a different experience with a DualSense controller on hand. The haptic feedback allows the player to feel the individual particle effects, and the adaptive triggers require more effort to squeeze, mirroring the use of a real gun.

The combat of Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart heavily mirrors the older games, but this is much more refined and fun. The fast-paced nature of every gunfight encourages the players to always be on the move and never stay still in one spot for too long.

Insomniac Games made it a priority to balance weapon advancements by encouraging players to collect bolts scattered around different areas. Weapons can be acquired through a vendor named Mrs. Zurkon. The best part about the combat is that it can escalate to greater levels, which forces Ratchet and Rivet to grab some necessary upgrades for their weapons through Raritanium.

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Verdict

Rivet and Kit are great additions to the Ratchet and Clank franchise (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart is a technical showcase for the PlayStation 5 paired with a great story. Sony Interactive Entertainment struck gold with Insomniac Games, who bolstered its already great lineup of first-party titles and decided this was a game worth sharing outside the PlayStation ecosystem.

The visuals, gameplay, exploration, and story are all on point in Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart. Lifelong fans of the franchise shouldn't skip this title; they should play it on the biggest display possible for maximum enjoyment.