80
TESTED GAMESatchet & Clank: Rift Apart
is, like its predecessors,
an exceptionally polished
kid-friendly adventure in which
our titular intergalactic heroes dart
between hostile planets armed
with an ever-swelling arsenal of
bonkers weaponry.
What sets Rift Apart, well, apart,
is the PS5. The series has always
been a technical showcase for the
PlayStation of the moment, and
by taking advantage of that vastly
powerful hardware (see panel), this
latest romp might just be the mostimpressive next-gen game to
date – even if in many ways it’s
as old-school as they come.
Ratchet is a cat-like ‘lombax’
who, together with his robot pal
Clank, travels through the galaxy
thwarting the evil Dr Nefarious. But
the not-so-good doctor steals the
Dimensionator, a tool that opens
other dimensions...
After tumbling through a few
dimensional rifts, Ratchet and
Clank become separated. You’ll
spend much of your time playing
as new character Rivet, a femalelombax from another dimension
committed to taking down her
own reality’s Nefarious. The trio
soon find themselves working
together to fix the universe.
This breezy story has the energy
of an old DreamWorks flick, with
heart and humour in spades. Some
voices are exaggerated, but you’re
only ever a robot-wisecrack away
from being won over again.
And there are OTT weapons,
of course. The best are the Large
Negatron Collider, a giant laser
beam for wiping out swathes ofbaddies; Mr Funghi, a deployable
army of talking mushrooms; and
the new Topiary Sprinkler, which
fires miniature water-cannons
that turn lumbering mechs into
bushes. You won’t be shooting
all the time, though, and there’s
plenty of platforming action.
This is the kind of game PS5
owners crave: an old-fashioned
single-player adventure but
technically a marvel, with a host
of wonderfully daft weapons to
wreak havoc with.
Matt TateSTUFF SAYS Consistently fun and incredible to look at, this is a PS5 must-have +++++
Ratchet & Clank:
Rift Apart
Going strong since the PS2 era, the Ratchet & Clank series is as synonymous with Sony
as the Mario franchise is with Nintendo – and its PS5 debut is exclusive to the new consolePS5 / stuff.tv/RiftApart
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