4/5 ★ – dum_dum_demish's review of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

Ratchet and Clank rift apart is the most next gen game out right now by a mile. It's not just because of how good this game looks, but how it takes advantage of next gen technology to create new gameplay experiences on a scale we have never seen before. The technical splendor and polish of this games environmental details and how the same care is put into the gameplay and story blew me away from start to finish. Every new environment I visited had me admiring the lighting, ray tracing effects and and the amount of detail packed into these large yet dense worlds. It's rare to play games that have genuinely made me feel like I'm seeing something so graphically impressive that I consider it a new industry standard to strive to that is so far above everything else out there so early into a generation. What really impressed me though is the use of instant load times to allow things like the rift teathers, quantum Crystal's switching dimensions in a second in the middle of gameplay, flying through rift tears in the middle of set pieces and have that all take place on the scale that it does. It's truly remarkable and worth the price of admission alone. This game could have settled with being an amazing technical showcase for the ps5 but thankfully its alot more than that. It's a genuinely fun video game with an entertaining and heartfelt story. The pacing of this game is top notch. Every new planet you go to is themed differently and has different kinds of gameplay styles so you always feel like your doing something new. There are times during gunfights where I felt the gameplay could get tiresome since it's nothing particularly new, but since there is such a huge variety of weapons that are all so creative and fun to use and movement and dodging felt so good, I rarely felt that way, especially when there are so many other kinds of gameplay spliced in constantly through the experience. There are fun puzzle sections you play through as clank, little tank missions as glitch, a battle arena that has new battles available as the game goes on and little platforming challenges hidden in dimensional tears scattered throughout levels further improved pacing and are just fun to do. Collecting golden bolts and robots was really fun, and was extremely rewarding because of the things you can earn for collecting in this game is what you normally pay for in DLC's these days. This is one of many examples of some of the old school game design choices which will either be seen as a welcomed return to form, or a missed oppurtunity to inivate on a series that has had a very similar kind of gameplay for over 15 years. I enjoy the old school gameplay design in those areas but I think it's a fair criticism to desire something more from such a long running series. I think the presentation of the game and the small changes are enough for me to be constantly impressed and satisfied by the gameplay. Enemy animations are amazing and there is a solid amount of diversity in enemies that all feel like different threats. It's kinda like doom in the sense that you need to be switching up weapons depending on the enemies your faces with while prioritizing movement around the battle space, just not as intense. Overall super great. The story is entertaining and interweaves game mechanics into its narrative seamlessly. Most of the characters are great, and the writing is really good a majority of the time as well, with the humor and heartfelt moments landing most of the time. I was genuinely surprised by some of the depth of the characters, and found myself invested in alot of the new ones. I even teared up a few times. However, I feel like this game holds back a little bit in moments and feel like they could have gone even further with its story and characters if It wanted to. I've seen what insomniac can do in spiderman and just because ratchet and clank isnt as known for being as emotionally mature in its subject matter, doesnt mean it shouldn't go for it. Dont get me wrong, there are plenty of moments that I felt were impactful and thoughtful, but I think these plot points and character moments sometimes got resolved too quickly or could have been carried further in my opinion. I think most people will be genuinely surprised by the heart of this games story though none the less. I dont really have any criticism about anything major in the game, it mostly comes down to individual moments. There were some moments of "humor" that made me cringe instead of laugh, but 95% of the time I found this game genuinely hilarious. The flight controls are wack for the few sections you use them but the rest of the game is smooth as butter. The upgrade system seems a little weird but works excellently. I think there might have been some missed oppurtunity, since ratchet and rivet play identically to each other. Overall, this game is as close to flawless as most games get. I do think that although this game had amazing moments, amazing graphics and does amazing things with certain gameplay mechanics, alot of the game is just really good. Alot of the game is playing really well polished and well designed old school platforming action, but it's nothing new in those moments and it's not trying to be modern in those moments either, which is totally fine, but I do think the game missed the oppurtunity to create something even better. That's not really a criticism, and I don't really mean that in a bad way, but I'm just trying to justify why I might be saying this game is flawless but I am not giving it a flawless score. Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart is defintley the game of the year so far. I don't know if it's my game of the year, though. its defintley one of the best games I've played this year, and the number 1 reason to buy a next gen console.