In a couple of months, Insomniac Games and Sony will launch the PlayStation 5 exclusiveRatchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Leveraging the power of the PlayStation 5’s SSD and added horsepower,Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apartwill propel the 3D platforming franchise into the next-generation of consoles, offering gameplay features that were simply not possible on older hardware. While it’s too early to say ifRatchet & Clank: Rift Apartwill live up to the hype, chances seem good that it will be yet another great entry in the long-runningRatchet & Clankfranchise.
IfRatchet & Clank: Rift Apartneeds to look to any of the previous games in theRatchet & Clankseries for inspiration, one game it might want to take a look at isRatchet & Clank: Going Commando. Originally released in 2003,Ratchet & Clank: Going Commandois the sequel to the originalRatchet & Clankgame on the PlayStation 2, and it also happens to be quite easily one of the best games in the series.
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Simply put,Ratchet & Clank: Going Commandois the blueprint on how to do a proper video game sequel. It keeps the spirit of the original game while making major strides forward, and that’s something thatRatchet & Clank: Rift Apartshould strive for as well.Ratchet & Clank: Rift Aparton PS5 should take a look at what has and hasn’t worked inpreviousRatchet & Clankgames, address those criticisms, and then add new features to the mix, just asRatchet & Clank: Going Commandodid before it.
Quality of Life Improvements
Something fans will notice when going straight from the originalRatchet & ClanktoGoing Commandois just how many quality of life improvements are made from one game to the next. These may seem like small improvements on the surface, but these quality of life changes go a long way in making the game an overall more enjoyable experience than its predecessor. For example, in theoriginalRatchet & Clank, players have to swap to hardly-used gadgets at certain points to do things like solve a hacking mini-game to open a door. InRatchet & Clank: Going Commando, players are able to swap to that gadget automatically, meaning less time fiddling around in menus.
Embrace the Past
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apartwould do well to make major changes and move the franchise forward into the next-generation, but it must also be respectful of its past. Canonically speaking,Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apartis set after the events ofRatchet & Clank: Into the Nexus, but it will also serve as a soft reboot of the series. Considering this, it may not spend much time directly mentioning events from previous games, but it should havesomethingthere for longtime fans to get excited about.
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commandowas clever with how it embraced the original game. The story starts off immediately where the original game’s post-credits scene ended, and it also incorporates various characters and references from that game as well. Not only that, but the progress players made in the originalRatchet & Clankis actually reflected inGoing Commandoin some ways.
If players have a save file for the originalRatchet & Clankon their console, they can pick up some of their old weapons and gadgets for free inGoing Commando. TheRatchet & Clankseries has all kinds of unique weapons, and it’s nice to be able to use them again in the second game. Clank’s various upgrades are retained in the sequel as well, as are tools like Ratchet’s grind boots and the Swing-Shot.
WithRatchet & Clank: Rift Apartlaunching as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, it is highly unlikely that it will have this kind of connectivity with past games. However, it can still make references and nods to the variousRatchet & Clankgames that came before it.
Address Criticisms
TheRatchet & Clankgames are generally well-received games that have earned acclaim from critics, but they are not without their flaws.Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apartshould acknowledge the issues that people had with previous games in theRatchet & Clankseries and make an effort to rectify them. This wouldn’t be unlike whatRatchet & Clank: Going Commandodid, addressing many of the criticism aimed at the originalRatchet & Clankgame head-on.
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For instance, the firstRatchet & Clankgame is notorious for its low number of hit points and poor checkpoint system. Conversely,Ratchet & Clank: Going Commandogives players numerous hit points throughout the course of the adventure (though, granted, there’s also a lot more enemies to deal with as well) and it also has far more forgiving checkpoints.Ratchet & Clank: Going Commandois still just as challenging as the original game, and in some cases is even more difficult, but this way the challenge feels like something fun to overcome instead of simply frustrating.
Expand on the Ratchet and Clank Experience
The PlayStation 5 is going to make it possible forRatchet & Clank: Rift Apartto do things that were never possible in any previousRatchet & Clankgames. The game could utilize thePS5’s DualSense controllerfor unique interactivity, plus it has already made it clear that it will be using the PS5’s power to do things like instantly load from level to the next. All things considered,Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apartshould be a huge leap forward for the franchise.
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, similarly, was a major step forward. It expanded on what the first game built by adding new features like an XP system for both Ratchet as well as his arsenal of weapons. This XP system was a major new feature that encouraged players to experiment with all the different weapons in the game if nothing else than to see what they would evolve into after leveling up.
It’s unclear ifRatchet & Clank: Rift Apartwill be able to deliver something that is quite as groundbreaking as the XP and leveling system inGoing Commando, but fans will find out in a couple of months time.
Pushing the Visual Boundaries
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apartis set to be the best-lookingRatchet & Clankgame ever made and by a significant margin. It’s clear by theRatchet & Clank: Rift ApartPS5 gameplay footagethat the game is actually shaping up to be one of the best-looking video gamesperiod, and so there’s no question that it’s moving the series forward from a visual and performance standpoint. This was true ofGoing Commandoas well, offering sharper graphics, generally smoother gameplay, and filling up the screen with a ton more enemies at any given time.
Story
TheRatchet & Clankgames aren’t exactly known for being narrative masterpieces, but Insomniac Games has proven it can tell truly great stories with interesting characters, as evidenced bySpider-ManandSpider-Man: Miles Morales.Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apartdoesn’t need to be some Shakespearean-level story, but it would do well to offer something with a bit more substance than some of the previous games in the series.
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commandowas a huge step forward, story-wise, when compared to the firstRatchet & Clankgame. One major thing it did was make thetitular character Ratchetfar more likeable, whereas he was mostly insufferable and mean-spirited in the original game.Ratchet & Clank: Going Commandohelped to better establish Ratchet and Clank as a proper team, and hopefully their bond is explored more thoroughly inRatchet & Clank: Rift Apart.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apartwill also have themysterious female Lombaxfor players to meet as well, and that should open the door for some interesting story twists and turns.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apartlaunches June 11, exclusively for the PlayStation 5.
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