Insomniac's Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is releasing very soon, exclusively for the PlayStation 5, and is sure to be a real showcase for the console. Trailers and gameplay demos so far have demonstrated sensational graphical fidelity and added depth to the combat mechanics. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart looks to have taken the tried-and-true run-and-gun shooting of the series and fine tuned it with this upcoming release. Of course, there's other times of gameplay core to it and the franchise.
Case in point, previews for Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart have featured brief gameplay snippets of vehicular sections. These "blink and you'll miss it" moments have Ratchet (or possibly Rivet) piloting aircrafts in what appear to be dizzying aerial dogfights. While these segments are likely to be spectacular visual displays thanks to the graphical capabilities of the PS5, similar sequences in prior games haven't exactly been the most engaging parts of the overall experience. This is a shame, since the core on foot gameplay appears to be so polished that these aerial dogfights may slightly detract from the overall pacing and quality of the adventure. Now, Insomniac could absolutely nail it, but it's worth keeping in mind how these aerial battles operated in the past.
Aerial Battles in Ratchet and Clank
This is not to say these aerial moments are all bad, as Insomniac does consistently deliver a certain level of polish with its games. The ship battles first introduced in Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando are functional, explosive, and serve as a break between the more core moments of the game. But this is also inherently the issue: they are functional, nothing overly fantastic. It is a feast for the eyes to see an armada of enemy ships be slowly blown out of the sky, but beyond that, these moments aren't as interesting or engaging to play as they are to watch.
It would be fine if the same frantic pace of the on foot moments were directly translated into the vehicle battles, but this isn't really the case. More often than not, these ship sections don't emphasize action as much as the game provides a list of tasks to complete in order to progress. Rather than simply allowing the player free reign to do as much damage as possible, like the arcade action of the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron series, aerial fights in Ratchet and Clank become a bit tedious after a while. It usually amounts to aimlessly flying around a contained area, being forced to destroy a specific number of one enemy or fly through "x" amount of these checkpoints in order to progress.
The Best of Ratchet and Clank
The main meat of the gameplay in the Ratchet and Clank series has, and likely always will be, its precise balance of gunplay and platforming. The most exhilarating moments are when Ratchet (and by extension, the player) are pitted against a legion of enemies, and have to swiftly change between enemies and always stay on the move. The recent Ratchet and Clank State of Play showcase only solidified this further, demonstrating that this core gameplay formula is stronger than ever with the latest adventure on the PS5.
Hopefully, Insomniac has found a way to make the aerial combat more interesting this time around. But based on earlier games including the 2016 Ratchet and Clank movie tie in, expectations in this regard should be kept in check.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart will release exclusively for PS5 on June 11, 2021.