One of Sony’s biggest flagship titles, Ratchet and Clank is making a comeback on PS4 in an unusual way. Its the game based on a movie, based on a game… It all sounds rather odd but don’t worry, it totally works.In many ways the game is exactly what familiar fans have come to expect, a high energy, action-shooter platformer. But after over a dozen games through the years, Ratchet and Clank has managed to feel completely relevant in today’s gaming world. One of the game’s biggest features is the wall of action that gets thrown in your face right from the start.
Smashing and blasting enormous waves of enemies is one of the games best aspects but Insomniac Games have managed to keep the action interesting all the way through by providing you with different types of enemies as you progress. To make it even better, you get a huge collection of down right fun weapons to chose from, offering up a level of strategy to each engagement. Then insomniac put the cherry on top by letting you chose how to upgrade your weapons so you get the most out of your favorite gun.
As you travel the galaxy fighting evil, you’ll find yourself on all sorts of interesting planets that all seem unique and keep the levels feeling fresh and interesting as you progress through the game. The background action and goings-on are so plentiful that it really helps sell the audience on the story and adds to the world building the developers were going for.
One of my favorite things about games with cartoon/animation based graphics is that you never have to worry about things not looking “real” and yet somehow, Insomniac stepped it up a notch and really invested time into making this game as gorgeous as they could. Ratchet’s Lombax fur is clearly defined, lush detailed foliage is spread throughout the highly detailed levels, doused in beautiful lighting effects that really helps showcase the wonderfully colorful locations you’ll travel to in this incredible and imaginative Galaxy.
The game features many quirky jokes that will make you smile, even if it’s just a little at the cast of almost cliché characters, which is meant as a compliment. The game offers 3 levels of difficulty so that children can enjoy the family friendly action (if there is such a thing…?) or experienced players can ramp up the challenge to make the most of their weapons. Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the games is a door unlocking puzzle that involves placing lasers in the correct direction while trying to avoid blocking your own path to highlight the needed areas. Some of these puzzles are able to be bypassed with a simple button press but if you’re like me, you’ll spend 8 minutes trying vigilantly to earn your passage.
Ratchet and Clank is the most fun I’ve had in this genre since the PlayStation 2 and would highly recommend anyone checking it out. It’s light-hearted comedy will keep you having fun while you pummel your way through walls of enemies. I found a rail grinding feature to have some control issues but with the fluid and fast movement of Ratchet, you’ll easily forget about minor control downfalls. The fun and interesting Galaxy will pop off your screen and keep you wanting more, even when you’ve completed the game.