Critics and fans tend to subscribe to the mindset that the Game of the Year needs to be a trailblazer: innovative, original, unique. In reality, it just needs to be good. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, to its credit, is very good – and it flexes every last sinew of developer Insomniac Games’ technical prowess in the process. This is PlayStation 5 comfort food, processed to perfection and presented in dazzling packaging.
As the second major release on Sony’s new-gen console from the Burbank developer, you could perhaps forgive the sleepless studio for dropping the ball here. Instead, it turned in the first all-new full-length Ratchet & Clank since the critically acclaimed A Crack in Time, and, look, what it lacks in originality it more than makes up for in pure pomp.
The sharp-witted duo that grace the game’s name are as infectiously amusing as ever, with razor writing leading to a number of laugh out loud exchanges. The game, running in real-time on the PS5, outshines the aforementioned feature-length film, and with its dimension-hopping action, it even digs into the system’s SSD in a way that we’re otherwise yet to see.
While the rambunctious action feels largely familiar, the DualSense adds texture to each of the release’s larger-than-life armaments, meaning the game hits different to its predecessors. And that’s all without speaking of Rivet, the newcomer Lombax who’s fast established herself as a star. Yes, Rule 34 may have a thing or two to do with that, but clearly she’s not the only bad ass with a bushy tail anymore.
Note to self: do not mention Rule 34 and bushy tails in the same sentence ever again.
You can read our full Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart PS5 review here.
Push Square's Game of the Year list is primarily decided by an internal staff vote. Our community Game of the Year poll is also taken into account. Feel free to agree or disagree with our list in the comments section below!
You can check out all of our Game of the Year coverage by clicking the link.
Comments 31
I had a ton of fun playing Rift Apart. The game looks beautiful, the characters are fun and the guns are just as zany as ever.
Had a fun time getting the platinum and taking tons of pics in photo mode.
Better than Psychonauts 2? Brave… very brave 🙌
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is amazing. Had lots of fun playing it, and the game looks like a real modern cartoon - insane amount of details, wonderful animations and design in general.
But in my opinion it lacks a little bit of something to become a masterpiece. Can't even say what it is - some more tension and plot-twists, more weapons, side activities or... whatever.
Great game even despite being 10 out of 10.
Bravo, Insomniac!
Kit ended up being the surprise highlight of Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, she was absolutely adorable, her backstory was quite sad, and I loved the dynamic she and Ratchet had over the course of the game. This might sound wrong... but I think I like Kit more than Clank, Kit is just so adorably shy, yet sweet, and I just couldn't get enough of her.
@Tomato_Goose - I agree, as much as I love the game, I still felt it was missing something, I think it's the fact they didn't go all out with the multiple dimension angle, they should have brought back more characters from past games, it needed a few more worlds, and I think it needed a few side villains like Captain Slag & Rusty Pete with Tools of Destruction or Lord Vorselon & The Valkyries with Crack in Time.
Granted I do think they were holding back so they didn't use up too many ideas they might intend on saving for the inevitable sequel, because I do believe Rift Apart is the start of a new trilogy of Ratchet & Clank games.
I enjoyed it a lot but being a huge fan of the series from day one, I felt it was missing ‘something’...
My main criticism is that they recycled a lot of characters and planets from previous games, so it didn’t feel like it really expanded on the lore. But as an introduction to Rivet and Kit, it was very well done. I think they absolutely nailed what they set out to achieve in that regard. And I thought it was clever how they paired the characters up. I loved the whole alternate dimension angle too but they could have gone further.
It sounds like I didn’t like it (I did). Visually it’s an absolute treat and as a introduction to new characters, it’s great. But story-wise and lore-wise it didn’t leave me fully satisfied.
I just wish it was longer and with more twists and turns in the plot. And more Qwark. Always more Qwark.
Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long for the next one.
I'd put this #2 personally. I started a new playthrough recently and it's still just as fun and awe inspiring. Few games that aren't outright built for replayability can make me feel that way, like I can play a roguelike over and over but not action-platformers. I'd put this up there with Mario Odyssey.
Fantastic game, old school fun with outlandish weapons, gorgeous visuals and satisfying gameplay. A proper game designed to provide a pure gaming experience without any artificial padding to extend the game's apparent lifespan, without building the game around a foundation of bloat and grind to encourage microtransactions and time-saving purchases.
It's a AAA game that's become rarer and rarer in today's industry, one that exist only to entertain the gamer without trying to persuade them to part with more money.
It was a decent time, but, in hindsight, it's very disposable and super bland from a writing standpoint. I hope whoever wrote this never works on the series again.
Yay, the only 2021 release that I actually played this year.
It's a really fun game, had a blast with it. The new additions were great, enjoyed the combat and weapons (no Groovitron though 🥲) and it didn't outstay it's welcome.
Look forward to Rivet & Kit.
😉
I enjoyed Ratchet but I also think it should be much lower on the list. Of all that I played this year Ratchet was the most forgettable sadly. Still fun though and very pretty!
Looks like I could be right about that "RED E" clue a couple of weeks ago 😉
Returnal #2
Resident evil village #1
@fR_eeBritney Sums up exactly how I felt about the game. I made a big mistake in playing the 2016 remake right before I went into Rift Apart, and came away feeling the remake was the better game.
From everything I've heard about the game including this site is just not as good as Tools of Destruction and A crack in time, I will continue waiting for it to hit $40 as that's probably the best price for it.
@UltimateOtaku91 So Returnal, Village, Guardians and Kena are left...yeah there's going to be some snubs this year 😅
I finally picked up Rift Apart during the winter sale and am impressed by what a tremendously fun game it is. It’s beautiful to look at and packed with little nooks and crannies to explore off the beaten path. I’ll never understand why a game like this gets dinged for being unoriginal while others are apparently immune to this complaint. Maybe if Ratchet wore overalls, spoke with an Italian accent, and sported a push broom mustache, critics would be more appreciative of incremental improvements to a fantastic formula.
Like playing a Pixar film.
Absolute quality.
PlayStations best platformer and sly cooper is number 2.ps5 best looking game.word up son
@playstation1995 man we need a real sly cooper 1-3 remaster . the sly trilogy with ps5 visuals and gameplay , oh my god , id be too hype !
@Juanalf same . i doubt it’s on the same level as ratchet 1-3 or future . i want to play it when it’s like , $15 . so maybe 2022 holiday .
@Juanalf The best price for a ps exclusive is free on ps plus. Just like all the others have from Knack to Days Gone
@nomither6. Yeah i want a remastered version of sly cooper first.either on ps4 and ps5. and a sly cooper 5 on ps5 will be cool.i got 5 on it.haha.word up son
@Oscarjpc I paid £40 for R&C (missed out on the £25 Tesco deal 🥲) but I still feel like I got my monies worth, despite how short it is.
I would never have paid £70 though. For any game.
Rule 34, with Rivet?!!!!
@fR_eeBritney I've felt that with all of the Ratchet and Clank games I've played. They're good, just not so good you want to run back and pickup the controller every free moment you get. (I know I'm probably in the minority with that view.) Deathloop and Tales of Arise made me think about them, even when I wasn't playing or able to play. The only negative about Deathloop is also a positive, the maps are really easy to learn about when you are going to encounter enemies. Once learned, though, the challenge seems to be limited and especially after you have all the top tier trinkets. I have trinkets now where I can literally teleport while invisible and keep power as long as I don't move. Have to admit that even changed the way I played, for obvious reasons. Ratchet and Clank: A rift apart is a good game, bordering on greatness, but I don't know if I'd call it memorable. That's not to take away from anyone who does, I love to se eother people fall in love with games. It does nothing but help with the industry.
Maybe not original or innovative by any means but I also don't play a Ratchet & Clank game for it to be something other than Ratchet & Clank. One of my favorite games of the year, and PlayStation-wise probably the only game I enjoyed more was Resident Evil Village.
Playing through this right now on my new PS5 I bought on Christmas Eve. This was one of the first purchases I made and my first R&C game.... and so far, it's my favorite PS5 exclusive & the best looking game I've played.... probably ever.
The very early level that's a futuristic, cyberpunk-style level with the flying cars & such.... I've spent so much time just staring at the details in the environment. The skies are just chock full of traffic & there is so much going on, it's truly like nothing else I've ever seen in gaming. It's the one game that I really couldn't ever imagine running on last gen, it's something that really has shown me what is possible this gen.
It's a really easy game & nothing groundbreaking, it may be "short" but it's the one game that has consistently blown me away & made me excited about the future of the hardware. It's the game I will show my friends what the PS5 is capable of.
This was my first R&C game and I really enjoyed it from start to finish.
I hope for more and would say i'll check out the back catalogue but my back log is too long and with 2022 looking like a cracker so not sure when I will get chance!
This was my first PS5 game just two months ago. The visuals just blew me away. A stunning looking game.
Yeah, saw this one coming lol. Ratchet is definitely this years Ghost of Tsushima in that it's another "pretty good but not great" playstation exclusive that's made out to be more than it is.
I think in a couple years after the hype dies down people will see this game for what it actually is. A barebones 3D platformer with a bland story and characters that is visually pleasant to look at
I didn't think it was that great.
Aside from the graphics, once the novelty of said graphics fade... what did it really offer?
It offered a short, shallow experience where previous games in the series offered more to do... at a cheaper price, no less.
And I have to reiterate the point... previous games in the series not only offered MORE to do... but at a CHEAPER price as well.
I was ultimately let down by Rift Apart. It felt so shallow and humorless and tepid compared to previous games in the series.
It says a lot that the most fun I had with Rift Apart was when "Join Me At The Top" kicked in...
... which was during the end credits.
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