Review copy purchased.
For me, diving into the 2016 reimagination of Ratchet & Clank blind made one thing abundantly clear: Insomniac Games knows how to deliver a damn good time. Its Dreamworks-esque adventure teleports players across the Solana galaxy with practised ease and the polished brilliance of magnificently remastered visuals – and I’m talking much more than Banjo-Kazooie’s Xbox makeover. If you loved Crash Bandicoot N.Sane and are planning to camp outside GameStop/your local video game merchant for the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, play this because it’s a bloody riot. Whether it’s a main roster hero, villain, sideline NPC or weapon (yes, weapon), characters are imbued with such memorable personalities it practically guarantees you’ll fall in love with every oddball in the game. Of course, Ratchet and Clank generally adopt the safe and slightly more boring protagonist trope, but since you’re constantly surrounded by corny, comedic goodness, any majorly potential issues with the narrative vanish.
There’s this kind of omnipresent, invisible aura throughout that makes you think Ratchet & Clank‘s dev team actually made a cartoon precursor to Uncharted or Horizon: Zero Dawn. Yes, it’s a 3D platformer, but there’s a distinct focus on both third-person shooting and RPG elements that aren’t present in Banjo’s or Mario‘s expeditions. Many a time, it comes close to SIE Japan Studio’s action-adventure Knack thanks to generous helpings of beat ’em up gameplay. One starts pondering, you know? Polygon had an interesting thinkpiece on the nomenclature of ‘Mario Kart‘ last year, and it’s from precisely that angle I’m coming – is it still Mario if an overwhelming majority of the cast has been plucked from unrelated franchises? Is a game still a ‘3D platformer’ if it strays too far away from basic jumping and collecting things? Where is the cut-off point? I think what ‘rescues’ R&C from veering off into such nebulous territory is its commitment to platforming and variety of challenges – all of which are fun.
In a brazen display of risk-taking (or calculated genius, you decide) Insomniac throws everything but the kitchen sink into R&C‘s worlds, and as a result, entertainment levels are always maxed out. Adrenalising train-chase sequences with blarg helicopter assassins, vanquishing telepathopuses* in exchange for brains while riding a fab jetpack, and participating in hoverboard races of all things will just put a massive smile on your face. General exploration is, thank goodness, a complete and utter joy, due to one of the most consistently responsive camera systems in a 3D platformer I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. There’s even an option to invert controls for anyone so inclined. No awkward view changes, period. So refreshing. The only thing I’ll fault is the viewing frame in ship-mode can feel a little small, and tilting controls work slightly too fast.
Fundamentals like jumping, gliding and shooting on the other hand are all spot on; manoeuvring either Ratchet and Clank in their respective outings is smooth and satisfying, whether it’s swingshotting from one platform to the next or leaping across grind rails. And as if intuitive design and usage wasn’t enough, the sheer variety (and imagination) present in R&C‘s weaponry is just unquestionably impressive. You can’t sit there and tell me a weapon that makes enemies dance against their will isn’t amazing. You just can’t. Yes, grinding in a second-playthrough of the game to raise every single weapon stat to level 10 isn’t particularly stimulating – it actually becomes rather tedious – but since that’s optional and players aren’t forced to complete that as part of the main game, it’s a tiny caveat. And it’d be remiss to neglect mentioning R&C‘s collectathon aspect, which is also well done. If you’re of the mechanical persuasion, you’ll love going around picking up bolts (used to purchase weapons), raritanium (used to upgrade weapons) and gold bolts – there are 28 of those elusive little suckers, which sadly falls short of Jak & Daxter‘s 2,000 precursor orbs/101 power cell combo, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers.
As a newcomer to the Ratchet & Clank series, I’m aware certain fans of the classic game felt let down by this remaster, rebuking its diluted characterisations and general cringeworthiness. Had I played the original growing up, there is a very, very high chance I would have agreed – particularly since my views on Yooka-Laylee, Playtonic’s spiritual-successor to Banjo-Kazooie, are in alignment with such critiques, and viewing footage from the 2002 version of R&C makes me ache with post-FOMO. So while I can’t offer a nostalgic take, I can say that beyond the cheesy storyline, and lovely but ultimately forgettable orchestral score, there’s a very solid game here. One that’s been endowed with excellent checkpointing and modernised for today’s gamer, but a solid game nonetheless.
*I’m sure the brain scientist on Rilgar would agree ‘telepathopi’ is an accepted alternative.
