Published , by Chris Jarrard
Published , by Chris Jarrard
Over the last several years, the team at Insomniac Games has built a reputation as one of the premier studios in the entire video game industry. From Sunset Overdrive to Marvel’s Spider-Man, Insomniac’s games helped define a console generation. Sony felt strongly enough about Insomniac’s impact on the PlayStation ecosystem that it acquired the studio in late 2019. Following the successful release of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales as a cross-generation product in 2020, Insomniac is now ready to unleash its first game built from the ground up as a PS5 exclusive, Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart.
The newest Ratchet & Clank adventure is the most ambitious the franchise has yet seen. Sporting cutting-edge visuals and a novel dimension-hopping mechanic, A Rift Apart appears to be the first game of its generation to exploit the power provided by the PS5 to provide an experience that would be impossible to recreate in years past. The world got its first glimpse of the game last summer during Sony’s PS5 digital reveal event and as the final release nears, we are learning more about one of the most-anticipated releases of 2021. Here is everything we know about Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart.
After the game’s initial reveal last summer, it was believed that Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart would be releasing sometime in the PS5 launch window. In February 2021, Sony further clarified and made the launch date official. The game will hit retail and digital shelves on June 11, 2021.
Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart will launch with two versions available: Standard and Digital Deluxe. The Standard Edition includes the full game and will retail for $69.99 USD. The Digital Deluxe Edition offers some additional bonuses and content and will retail for $79.99 USD. In addition to the base game, purchasers of the Digital Deluxe Edition will also receive:
Those who opt to pre-order the game from the PlayStation Store will also receive the following early-unlock bonuses:
The pre-order bonus offer expires at 11:59 pm PT on June 10, 2021.
A Rift Apart will see the return of many classic characters from the history of the Ratchet & Clank franchise. Main protagonist (and alleged sole lombax in the universe) Ratchet will be on hand, naturally, as will his best friend Clank. Dr. Nefarious also returns after appearances as the primary antagonist in both Up Your Arsenal and A Crack in Time. New for A Rift Apart is the debut of Rivet, a female lombax with a bionic arm.
The game’s campaign will follow out titular heroes as the dimension-hop across multiple realities in an attempt to foil the plans of Dr. Nefarious. The doctor has a new plan to exterminate all life in the universe after all of reality is thrown into disarray by the malfunctioning Dimensionator device. Players will control both Ratchet and Rivet along the journey to stop Nefarious. To aid in navigating the newly scrambled collection of realities, Ratchet and Rivet will use the Rift Tether to quickly traverse through dimensional portals.
Seamlessly hopping between dimensions with the Rift Tether is a game mechanic made possible by the high speed of the NVME storage drive in the PS5. The new technology can facilitate near-instantaneous load times between game environments and is likely to offer a mind-bending good time in A Rift Apart.
The advanced features of the PS5’s DualSense controller will also be utilized in A Rift Apart. As a franchise known for weapon variety, players can expect to equip a wild variety of firearms. Many advanced weapon mechanics will be controlled by the DualSense’s adaptive triggers. The game will also make use of haptic feedback to increase immersion. Headset users can also take advantage of Tempest 3D AudioTech while playing.
The powerful hardware in the PS5 will also allow for the use of ray tracing to enhance the quality of both lighting and reflections. A dynamic 4K resolution with HDR output will be available for those who prefer maximum visual fidelity. A Performance Mode will also be included that reduces visual fidelity in order to offer smoother gameplay at up to 60 frames per second. The Performance Mode will require an additional download separate from the main game, according to Sony. Finally, a photo mode will be available with multiple filters and stickers to allow players to take the perfect screenshots.
As always, we will keep you up to date on all the latest developments pertaining to Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart as we approach the June 11 launch day. You can count on us for a variety of guides and content to help make your playthrough as awesome as possible, so make sure to check back in once June rolls around.