Ratchet and Clank started out on the PS2 in 2002. Suffice it to say this gaming series has been around in the PlayStation family for many generations on a mostly consistent basis. However, in the jump to the PS4 generation, there was only one game on the platform and that was in 2016.
It was also a remake/reboot of the first game which tied into the movie that also released in 2016. It has been a long time since a new game came out in other words and in that time new players have come of age to check this series out. Old fans might be rusty and anyone new to the series could use some help diving into Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.
10 Everything You Missed Before Rift Apart
There have been a lot of games in this series so it might be hard to grasp what’s going on in this new game. The basic gist of the series is Ratchet is the only one left of his kind in the universe, the Lombax, which is a race that created a lot of the universe’s technology. He meets Clank and the two of them go on adventures together saving the universe, most of which involve Dr. Nefarious. The essence of the Rifts and portals appeared in games before but never in this large capacity.
9 There Are Difficulties
There are five difficulties one can choose at the start of the game. The coolest one of all is called Rookie Explorer. This option makes it so players cannot die during combat, which is great to give more younger and casual players a chance to get into this series. They can still die by falling into lakes of lava or jumping off a cliff’s edge though.
8 You Can Skip Puzzles
There aren’t many puzzles in the game and what is here comes in two forms. There are segments wherein Clank must dive into a pocket dimension in order to use orbs to solve literal puzzles akin to Portal.
There are also more combat-heavy puzzles involving an AI robot, Glitch, diving into digital space in order to shoot down viruses. Both of these things can be skipped with the click of a button.
7 D-Pad Shortcuts
Some games allow players to remap buttons to give them more accessibility options such as inverting camera controls. This game goes a step further by allowing one to customize the D-Pad allotment. By default, this gives players access to swap out four weapons which is nice but the shortcuts can be used for so much more. One super handy tip would be to place the photo mode option here for quick access.
6 Rotating Weapons And Leveling Up
Weapons level up and max out at level five. At this point, they evolve and give the weapon a new ability. This experience is not based on defeating enemies like in most RPGs but instead relies on just doing damage. Unless absolutely necessary do not use a weapon that is maxed out. Instead rotate weapons based on ammo count so that one can better level them up faster.
5 Upgrading Weapons
Besides actually leveling up, weapons can also be upgraded using Raritanium. These crystals can be found defeating bosses, in the Arena, as well as hidden in boxes throughout levels. The more a gun levels up, the more options unlock to then upgrade such as adding more ammo capacity and or spreading the area of damage. One can even hit triangle in the upgrade menu to buy everything for that one gun.
4 Hot Swap Weapons
If one decides to use the D-Pad shortcuts not for guns, there is another method to hot-swapping them. Tapping triangle will rotate between the last two weapons used which is great for creating deadly combos. For example, the Cold Snap freezes enemies in place for a set amount of time. Using a stun-type gun like this with a damage heavy weapon like the Warmonger which shoots missiles is a match made in heaven.
3 Pay Attention To Autosave Marks
There is no way to manually save the game right now. It is possible Insomniac will patch it in at some point but the game only uses autosaves. On one hand, this is nice because the game is pretty good about dishing out checkpoints. On the other hand, it can be confusing if one doesn’t pay attention to the marker at the bottom right side of the screen. Before logging out always make sure it does.
2 Come Back To Planets
There are many reasons to come back to planets that are not outright marked on the map. Main quests and side quests will be in the mission menu but it does not list locations for secrets.
These secrets, such as the Golden Bolts, might require a new ability unlocked later in the game in order to reach them. Before starting the point of no return in the final act of the game, get all of the exploring done and see what one might have missed.
1 Challenge Mode
Challenge Mode is this series’ version of New Game+. It makes the game harder but it also adds new content such as new upgrades for guns. Perhaps the coolest part of this mode is the bolt multiplier. If one does not get hit then they stack a multiplier that gives players “x” amount of bolts times that number. This is handy to max out guns as they get new versions in this mode as well which are infinitely more expensive.