Ratchet and Clank - Rift Apart

About the Game

The cartoony feeling game begins with Clank making a gift for Ratchet that allows them to jump through interdimensional portals. In line with the goofy cartooniness, it is called the Dimensionator! The action kicks off pretty promptly, with the villain, Dr Nefarious, who surely must have changed his name once he chose to go to the dark side, who pops up and steals it, kicking into action the characters, the story arc, and your game play.

There is also a female Lombax called Rivet (her robot companion is called Kit) who is playable for those looking for some gender diversification in their gameplay. You will play as both characters, jumping from one to the other as you jump from location to location – that is to say, some levels require Rivet, while others use Ratchet.

As well as some gender balance, there is disability representation too: Rivet has a prosthetic arm, which is handy when Clank loses an arm and isn’t dealing terribly well with his loss. She helps him to come to terms with his new look, teaching him some nifty one-armed tricks.

You battle a host of enemies, which can be great fun simply because of the variety on offer. The robot-pirates are a bit mechanical, as are the drones, but all enemies, from the dullest to the most exciting burst like juicy fireworks before vaporising into nothingness.

Taken with dinosaur skeletons clattering into nothing, those little orange heads bursting like berries and the gorgeous array of exotic colours (deep vibrant purple, electric blue, red-hot lava and gorgeously textured honey-coloured stone), combat feels rather like a celebration instead of a warzone.

The Nitty Gritty

Aimed at children and younger players, this game still has a good offering for adult players. Try out the various skills on easy the first time round, using grappling hooks, blasting things with lasers, unleashing a storm of bullets and mastering the jump-dash that comes in very handy later on.

Make sure you pick up everything dropped by enemies and keep an eye out for bosses lurking sneakily out of sight, waiting to ambush you!

Cranking up the difficulty means that even the most experienced player will have to keep an eye on your ammo and aim a little more certainly, and this beautiful balance between ease, engagement, and challenge means that you will find that hours have flown by once you get into the ‘zen’ of the gameplay!

As you gather loot, make sure you especially keep an eye out for raritanium: as the name sounds it is rare, and therefore valuable. You will quickly get into the habit of almost absent-mindedly picking up loot dropped during battle or while you explore the game’s map.

What Weapons are There?

As might be expected with child-friendly game there are some hilarious weapons to try out as well as the more traditional ones.

• Topiary Sprinkler: a hand-worn gauntlet that releases miniature turrets that then automatically deploy to take out enemies, a hit on target means that the enemy is turned to a fancy hedge, frozen in place for a moment, giving you time to escape or inflict some unpunished damage on them
• Mr. Fungi: a fun guy (ha-ha, get it?) who dashes about interfering with enemies who are trying to target you, giving you precious seconds to respond, retaliate or run away!
• Shotgun: a more traditional weapon, but one with a brilliant trigger system that allows you to shoot just one barrel, or both, depending on your need at the time
• Cold Snap: Similar to the Topiary Sprinkler in that it freezes your enemies in place, this weapon is not automatic. However, the damage inflicted lasts longer and spreads from enemy to enemy as they touch the ice cube that their compatriot has become
• Headhunter: another more traditional weapon, this is a sniper rifle that you can use to take out enemies from a greater – and therefore safer – distance