Gaming/Features

The PlayStation 5 has had a peculiar first year. On top of the, y’know, pandemic thing, manufacturing shortages have given the PlayStation 4 a longer coattail. Most new games are still launching on both platforms, while most PS5 exclusives are remasters of older faves. A blockbuster for the PS5 breaks through this June, however, with the return of Ratchet and Clank in a new game featuring the Lombax space mechanic, his boxy droid friend and their giant arsenal of weird space weaponry. With all of the PlayStation 5’s new tricks, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart promises to be the tagteam duo’s biggest adventure yet. Even if the two spend it in separate dimensions.

Since 2002, Ratchet and Clank have battled against mad scientists, rampaging robots and superheroes with questionable scruples. In Rift Apart, a mysterious device called the Dimensionator has fallen into the hands of the robot supremacist Doctor Nefarious, who uses it to find a timeline where he has succeeded in conquering the galaxy. As they attempt to stop Nefarious, Ratchet and Clank find themselves separated across dimensions. Clank ends up joining forces with another Lombax, Rivet, who only knows a world where Nefarious reigns. The three ultimately have to team up to stop Nefarious and repair the fabric of time and space.

Even back on the Play- Station 2, the Ratchet & Clank games have been an impressive showcase for the hardware. Each planet is brimming with activity, featuring freeways of floating cars, towering retro-futurist cities and lush alien biomes. The weapon selections are always broad and zany, such as beams that turn foes into chickens or a disco ball launcher that starts a dance party. Rift Apart introduces a topiary sprinkler which can turn enemies into a hedge sculpture and a “Mr. Fungi” sentry that targets enemies with spores.

The PlayStation 5 is also taking the series quantum. Hopping between realities will be an advantage during play, and leaping between dimensions happens instantaneously without any load time. Rifts can be used to manipulate the environment or seek out vantage points in the blink of an eye. Sony is also excited to boast about Rift Apart’s “ray tracing,” which is a fancy way of saying it will have reflective surfaces. If Sony’s not careful, we might catch a glimpse of the camera crew. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart lands for the PlayStation 5 on June 11.