Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is the newest entry in the Ratchet and Clank franchise, and demonstrates what Insomniac Games is able to achieve on PlayStation 5 hardware. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart's narrative beats and characters are receiving comparisons to previous games in the franchise, which may be an encouraging sentiment for fans of previous Ratchet and Clank games.
The Ratchet and Clank franchise has always been exclusive to PlayStation and Sony. The original Ratchet and Clank was released on PS2 in 2002, with a franchise reboot of the same name reimagining the game in 2016. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart has received acclaim for its next-generation visuals on PS5, with environments instantly loading through dimensional rifts. Today, a fan has envisioned what the game may have looked like on PS1, which offers a nostalgic look back at Ratchet and Clank's history.
User ziyad_rahman has creatively reimagined Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart as a game for the original PlayStation. The fan uses Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart's key art and other promotional images as the game's covers, and has placed them in a PS1 case. While ziyad_rahman claims that their design was the result of boredom, the images used appear meticulously sized and framed to fit the case. This PS1 game case for Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart has inspired other fans to reach out. One user, the-recyclist, has since stated that they never played the original Ratchet and Clank, and have asked the case's creator if they should.
It is uncertain whether the-recyclist understands that the creator's work is fiction, or if they believe that the images are showing an original PS1 game. Either way, it further emphasizes how well the fan did of imitating a PS1 game case. Though Ratchet and Clank never had an installment release onto the original PlayStation, ziyad_rahman's creation is a realistic enough interpretation that it appears as if an entry did release back then. The fan has even gone to the extent of creating a custom spine label for the case, and has placed appropriate black label borders where they can be seen on legitimate PS1 cases.
Ratchet and Clank has been in PlayStation's family since the PS2, and it is evidently as nostalgic as any other long-running franchise from the system. The back jacket inside the case portrays a tagline and synopsis for the game. The case also depicts system information that is commonly seen on game cases, such as the game being single-player and compatible with an analog controller, as well as the game's developer and publisher.
Insomniac's newest installment proves that Ratchet and Clank is still a PlayStation staple, as it has become a large selling point for the PS5 as an exclusive title.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is available now on PS5.
Source: Reddit