I was asked to test Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart on PC. It’s been years since it came out. Many praise the game for its divine graphics and easy approach. I had never played the series since it was a Playstation exclusive, so this was my first encounter with the characters and the world. I have to start by saying that the Swedish dubbing that the title automatically turns on is not terrible. nonetheless, English is preferred, and the adventure begins with us becoming part of a ceremony with many dialogues. Firefighters, we seem to have saved the world and I don’t know why. A little research on the internet gave me a better understanding of how, why and what. If you haven’t heard of Ratchet & Clank before, starting with this title can be a bit of an inconvenience.
From the start, it’s clear that things will go wrong, and they do. I will give some more points to the antagonist Dr. Nefarious, a hysterical cliché of the typical mustache-twirling villain. There is not a single picture of him where he is not talking about his diabolical plans and generally being at high speed. He is so hysterical and often unintentionally funny that he steals the show every time he appears. Since we already reviewed this, I won’t go into too much detail about the story. nonetheless, I can say that it amuses me with its delighted quotes. Our villain uses a weapon that breaks the barriers between dimensions. You try to stop this and end up in a rather dark dystopian world. Despite this, there are bright spots and it never gets serious, but mostly funny. The characters are alive and the game invites them to watch. Sometimes it’s a bit like watching a well-made animated movie. Because it looks positive, and a lot of that is due to positive lighting, texture work and well-executed animation down to the hair. The PC version really takes this to new heights with its ability to push the visuals even further.
On the technical side, it runs smoothly on my computer and I’m always on 60 frames per second. The only thing I haven’t been able to turn on is Nvidia Reflex, which turns everything off. Otherwise, it is possible to make this game look better in every way than the console version. The settings are many, and you can adapt them as needed. The mouse and keyboard work so well that I play with it instead of a controller. The fast battles lend themselves well to the precision the mouse can offer. The upgrade system rewards your style by ranking the weapons you use. It encourages experimentation. Although the user interface is designed for a handheld controller, I believe it works well with traditional PC controllers as well.
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I love Insomniac games and their attention to detail in story and design. The humor works very well, and the small details of how the weapons of mass destruction are fired with small cranks or similar create more joy than seriousness in the unfolding drama. The whole adventure is imbued with these forms of comedy. It is somewhat reminiscent of Monty Python or Rowan Atkinson’s play. There’s really no reason for it to be this way, but it is. It’s stupid, so it’s funny. It twists and turns everything that makes sense. I can always appreciate that. We need more Monty Python in our computer games.
If my first encounter with both Ratchet and his little robot Clank is this positive, I wonder what I’ve been missing. Thanks to the configuration of dimensions and travel between them, there are many appearances of characters that veterans will recognize, and for me it will be my first encounter with them. In the end, it did not matter much, because the adventure is easy to follow, and most of it is explained in an almost exaggerated way. Although the design and corridors leading to arenas and enemies is a little too industrialized, the gameplay is smooth and smooth transitions. It’s also very easy, and the difficulty rarely becomes challenging in a rewarding way. I love the conversations and the quick switch between actions and platforms. Nothing lasts too long and it’s almost over before it starts.
One of my biggest complaints is the length. Considering you play two main characters, the game almost needs to be twice as long to do it justice. I barely get to know a character before I see the credits. This is probably what I take with me most of the adventure. Despite the great design, great graphics and great gameplay, the length here is the title’s downside. Experiences in modern times can often be criticized for being too long and without content, this is an example of the opposite. A too short game (about 10-12 hours) that tries too much in too little time. It can also be an indication that I hope for more in the future. I can definitely see the series having a future on PC. Hopefully some older titles will be added to the format. For now, this is a competent platform action game that entertains with humor and impressive graphics. Thanks to its shooting techniques, it can stand alone against competitors such as Spyro, Crash Bandicoot and other newcomers to the platform format.
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If you need an enjoyable game just to sit and be entertained, this is a competent title for this purpose. It doesn’t challenge your intelligence, but it can make you laugh or brighten your day for a while. As far as Playstation ports go, this is one of Sony’s best. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. AMD users fared worse this time, with problems with ray tracing. Some Nvidia features such as Nvidia Reflex cannot be used. Still, it looks great and runs smoothly on my computer. Spider-Man is always the king of ports, but this one needs a bit of polishing before it reaches the same quality. The sound complements the technology very well. Music, voices and effects harmonize and sound very positive. Unlike other titles I’ve played recently, the sound mix is positive. nonetheless, I can feel that the music is a bit anonymous. It doesn’t stick at all and I don’t feel that it grabs me.
In general, it is a positive adventure and a positive port of a couple of years old game Playstation 5. It adapts well to the PC market and delivers brilliant technical graphics on the format. It offers a positive journey through time and space, although it is unfortunately a little too short. The music is not riveting, but the voice acting is amazing and the character acting is all the better. There is attention to detail, and although this is my first encounter with the series, I am more than satisfied. The humor is enjoyable and hits more than it misses. Considering that the competition on PC is a bit different for this type of game, I can recommend the title without hesitation. Aside from the shortcomings I’ve described, I don’t have much else to say other than my first encounter with the series was positive and surprisingly positive.
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