Back in November 2002, Insomniac Games kicked off the Ratchet and Clank franchise, and it quickly became a fan favorite. Players have been embarking on missions across the universe as their favorite Lombax and robot duo for years now, and the franchise has become a staple of PlayStation consoles. This year, the Ratchet and Clank franchise will be celebrating its 20th anniversary, but so far there has been little news on just how the studio will celebrate this achievement. While the studio is focused on Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Marvel's Wolverine, it also needs to give Ratchet and Clank the celebration that it deserves.
Over the past 20 years there have been nine mainline titles alongside six spin-off games and a full-on remake of the original title. That is hours of Ratchet and Clank content that players have been exploring, and it is an impressive feat that deserves to be celebrated. There are many ways that Insomniac Games could honor its long-running franchise, and it needs to be big.
A Future Saga Collection
During the PS3 Era, the Ratchet and Clank series had four mainline titles that were dubbed the Future Saga. These titles included Tools of Destruction, Quest for Booty, A Crack in Time, and Into the Nexus. Each game expanded upon the Ratchet and Clank series in many ways and were mostly received pretty well. The last one in this era of the series launched in 2013, and then the franchise went on a bit of hiatus for a couple of years. Almost every single one of the titles in this saga is available through PS Plus Premium, but they could also benefit from a game bundle.
At the same time that the Future Saga was coming out, the original three titles got a collection for the PS3. As of right now, those three games are the only ones in the series to be bundled together. Game bundles are all the rage with collections like Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Halo: The Master Chief Collection. It would only make sense to release a Ratchet and Clank: The Future Saga Collection for PS5. Players could gain access to these classic titles without having to subscribe to PS Plus Premium, and each game could be upgraded for the PS5 hardware.
A Ratchet and Clank Series Bundle
A bundle of the Future Saga would be cool, but a bundle of the entire series would be even cooler. There are nine mainline Ratchet and Clank games, which is close to the scale of Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Currently, only four of the mainline games are available on modern hardware, but a game bundle could fix all of that.
One of the best ways to honor a long-running franchise is to let players own a definitive collection of the series, and a large Ratchet and Clank complete bundle would do just that. Not only would it give Ratchet and Clank fans a chance to jump back into some of these classic games, but newcomers will also be able to experience this expansive series.
Adding Every Ratchet and Clank Game to PS Plus
There are currently only four mainline Ratchet and Clank games on PS Plus Premium, and that is the only way that players can play them. Due to the lack of proper backwards compatibility on PS5, there is no way to check out the other five games in the franchise without booting up an old console. Right now, players can only play four of the entries in the Future Saga and the spin-off title All 4 One on the PS5. The first game in the Future Saga is not available through PS Plus Premium and the PS2 games are also absent.
One of the easiest things that Insomniac Games could do to celebrate the 20th anniversary would be to release the rest of the series on PS Plus Premium. It is weird that some entries are absent from the service, considering the franchise's strong relationship with the PlayStation brand, but it could be a pretty simple fix. Not only would releasing all the games on PS Plus Premium be a nice way to celebrate the franchise, but it would also significantly boost the value of the subscription tier for potential subscribers. While some players may prefer a different type of celebration, this might be the most likely scenario.
A New Game Announcement
One of the biggest ways that Insomniac Games could celebrate the 20th anniversary would be to announce a brand-new game or remake in the franchise. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart was the latest in the series, and it set up a future storyline where Ratchet would finally explore the Lombax dimension. A new entry in the franchise could explore this story, and maybe close out this chapter of the Ratchet and Clank franchise. The game also introduced variants of the titular characters with Rivet and Kit, and they could benefit from a spin-off title of their own.
Instead of making a brand-new entry in the franchise, Insomniac Games could also announce a remake an older game. So far, there has only been one remake in the franchise, which leaves seven more games that could get the remake treatment, as Rift Apart would most likely not be remade. Remaking one of the classic Ratchet and Clank games could be a pretty fun way to celebrate the franchise, as it would let players experience these older adventures with PS5 graphics. It would also go a long way in letting players experience more of the franchise on the PS5, especially if it was a remake of one of the games that has been left out of PS Plus Premium.
There are so many ways that Insomniac Games could celebrate the 20th anniversary, and fans hope that the studio delivers on a party worthy of the franchise. The anniversary will officially be November of this year, so fans have a bit of time to wait and hypothesis just how the Lombax will be celebrated. In the meantime, they can check out Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart and the Future Saga on PS Plus Premium to get their platforming fix.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is available now on PS5.