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lttp: Ratchet & Clank: Rift to Shreds

semiconscious

semiconscious

Member
CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!


i’ve been a huge ratchet & clank fan going back to the original trilogy. the series has long been my gaming comfort food, & i’ve replayed the 5 main games (& quest for booty) multiple times each…

after a multi-year absence, insomniac returned to the series with the remake of the original, which i didn’t really like. it included story & character changes that, to me, had the overall effect of toning things down, & eliminating some of the heart (not to mention cynical humor) of the original…

because of this, i’ve basically been in no real hurry to play rift apart. but, come the black friday half-price sale, i decided to go ahead & give it a chance…

which, having just finished the game, i now regret. for me, this formerly beloved series is now completely, irrevocably dead. here is why:

contrary to the belief of some, the ratchet & clank series has never been a ‘kiddie’ series, any more than the simpsons is a ‘kiddie’ cartoon. any series whose arch villains included a galactic real estate developer & a biogenetic pet manufacturer isn’t a ‘kiddie’ series. yes, kids can play & enjoy the games, but the target audience has always been every bit as much adult as child. it’s a series that’s always been loaded with sardonic wit, self-aware references, &, um, material of questionable taste (‘up your arsenal’?)…

well, that ratchet & clank no longer exists. the sardonic wit, the self-aware references, the material of questionable taste? all gone, & replaced by (wait for it!) saccharine wholesomeness & endless emotional manipulation, to the point of being gag-inducing ('it was you who ripped my arm off?!'). even stuff that could’ve been cool (like the minnesotan ewoks) is just reduced in the end to heart-warming goop…

my favorite example of this? after suffering through hours of this crap, i get to the point where kit comes to ratchet’s rescue by suddenly transforming into - giant (other dimension) clank! ‘yes!’, i think, ‘okay! here we go!’… but, no… no, instead, we get a short cut-scene, followed by - no! kit’s painful tale of her cursed past, & her overwhelming guilt in dealing with it all. so, yeah, hold the giant clank gameplay, & get me another box of tissues…

i was surprised & disappointed by a number of other issues (why the close-in camera? why so many confined, crowded battle areas? why the consistently ugly, dystopian, industrialized locations? why the extended periods of absent ambient sound &/or background music? why so many instances of ratchet/rivet getting stuck on objects? nefarious without lawrence? & why, after almost a year & a half, hasn’t the starshield boot glitch been fixed? because, yeah, i got it). but all this stuff i think i could've lived with. no, it’s this over-all ‘reimaged’, more sensitized, kinder/gentler, ’now featuring more feels!’ version of ratchet & clank that’s basically stomped my love of the series into the ground for good (& lets not even mention… glitch! so adorable! (shudder!)):



so, ratchet & clank? thanks for so very, very much fun over the last 20 years. will see you in my replays…

&, to close on a positive note, i did enjoy the pocket dimensions & anomaly puzzles, & seeing (other dimension) mr. zurkon ('namaste!') so, there's that…
 
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Daneel Elijah

Daneel Elijah

Gold Member
Same. After so many years and so many games I really regret that Insomniac did not give us a true sequel to the ps3 games.
For me the worst was the fact that Clank did not get a new arm until the end of the game and a mistmatch one just for the lols/mirror the Rivet and kit situation.
It was the first Ratchet that I didn't bother to play the new game+.
If it was a bad game I would forget it but the game has good moments that make the fact that we will probably not have a new one until a least the PS6 sad.
 
Magic Carpet

Magic Carpet

Member
Game was all right but I agree with you sugar sugar thoughts about the character interactions. I
pretty much wanted to drop kick Kitt off a ledge several times.
This was my second PS5 game to play after Astrobot and I have more memories of the pack in game than Rift Apart.
I can really only remember Three planets. The first world, the Minnesota planet, and that flat barren world with the big walking thing You had to jump on. I have a vague memory walking outside in space but the battles are all the same two or three enemies that just blend together.
Future Tools of destruction remains my favorite in the series.
 
remember_spinal

remember_spinal

Banned
Played through it three times got the plat the first time. Really fun game.

The only one i played before this was the 2016 reboot so maybe that has something to do with it. I would kill for some good DLC for it, especially the pocket dimension stuff
 
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Raonak

Raonak

Banned
I thought it was a really fun game.

I do miss the wisecracking of the old games, but I also think the complaint is way overblown since it's such a minimal part of the overall package.
 
Danjin44

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
AeonGaidenRaiden said:
enjoy your PS4, peasant.
Click to expand...
ContentVioletGeese-size_restricted.gif
marie-antoinette.gif
 
NightmareFarm

NightmareFarm

Member
I never expected a decent story going in just like how I didn't expect one from the 2016 reboot. This kind of series doesn't place much emphasis on plot.

However, it was fun had great gunplay and puzzles, beautiful graphics and took advantage of the dualsense features very well so it's a great game in my book.
 
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semiconscious

semiconscious

Member
diffusionx said:
R&C 2016 massacred the story and characters of the original, it’s just really horrible. The shills claimed it was due to the movie, except Insomniac clearly feels that is the right direction for the series. That’s why I skipped this new one, despite it being one of the few PS5 exclusives.
Click to expand...
correct. which's why i'm also bailing out. r&c 2016 & rift apart aren't missteps - they're pretty obviously the kind of r&c games that insomniac now wants to make...
 
64bitmodels

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
yeah all the modern games just feel so fucking unfunny and cringey. it's not like the gameplay has evolved much from Deadlocked or ACiT so why should i play this new watered down stuff
 
LRKD

LRKD

Member
For me the series died on the PS3. It was a clear drop in quality in writing and world building. And they made it painfully clear they didn't care about the original games. Idk what happened, they had a really solid story, wonderful characters. and then I guess they just got some new writers who wanted to make it into a painfully bland, and generic hero story, and did a light reboot for no reason. Everything else dropped in quality too imo, but the writing was what really pushed me away. It has always been a complete shocker to me that the ps3 games were so well received. Like by new fans and journalists I can see, but how fans of the ps2 games could enjoy them is beyond my comprehension :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 
01011001

01011001

Banned
Banjo64 said:
The game play in Ratchet games has basically been the same since the PS2? If you’ve played one you’ve played them all. It’s good/refined platforming gameplay, nothing top tier, but satisfying.
Click to expand...

IMO that changed a bit with Rift Apart. the dash in combination with some of the enemy designs and weapons make it almost like a cartoony Doom like shooter if you play on the highest difficulty, which I would say is a must in this game.

to me Rift Apart is one of the best games in the series because the combat is amazing when you use all the mechanics and weapons in a challenging battle. you get into a similar dance as in Doom Eternal or Doom 2016 with dodging and conserving/looking for ammo
 
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remember_spinal

remember_spinal

Banned
Going from 2016 to Rift Apart i mean…yeah its fundamentally the same but so are mario games. You essentially have the same skill set and the game goals since Mario 64.

Thats how all these platformer games are. They always keep the core mechanics and introduce a gimmick or two
 
LRKD

LRKD

Member
01011001 said:
once again reading the replies I'm reminded noone gives a shit about gameplay. everyone is only talking about the writing... fucking wild
Click to expand...

I feel complaints like these are really weak copes from people who became fans of the series later on, or from people who aren't fans at all, looking in at the series. Like some sort of gatcha moment, but it really isn't. Any longtime fan would be understandably upset if the series they enjoyed had a sudden reboot with significantly worse writing, then before. Whether that is games, tv shows, movies, or even books. Games aren't just gameplay, they are a mixed medium where gameplay, graphics/art, music, and story are often all mixed into one. And if some parts are bad, they should be called out for being bad. Admittedly in some games story isn't even a factor, but in R&C it is. To fans of the original, the story, the characters, the music, and the gameplay were all really good, and mixed into a memorable and beloved game.

So yeah, very few people are complaining about the gameplay... shocker! because for the most part the gameplay is just fine in all the new games. The complaints are mostly about the writing because it has gotten to the point where the writing, story, and characters are unrecognizable compared to the first game. For new fans it isn't a problem, they weren't playing the games back when they had good writing, story, and characters, so for them it's just another platformer. It really isn't "fucking wild", that longtime fans don't enjoy a worse product then what came before it.

Also op pointed it out, but really not enough people complain about how bad the music has gotten in the series
 
CamHostage

CamHostage

Member
I pretty surpised when I read these complaints of all the "sanded off edges" in the new Ratchet games, because I'm wracking my brain trying to think of anything edgy in the early Ratchets... the best I can remember is Mr. Zyrkon telling you how he's going to kill you. Ratchet himself was no great jokester, and Clank was Dadjokebot 5000 with very soft, very lame puns once in a while. In fact, I always found the dick jokes on the R&C titles always senselessly incongruous with the family-friendly vibe of the games themselves. (They changed a few of the titles for Europe, I believe, to no great loss of guffaws.)

Not saying there's not something to this idea of softer comedy and more emo character development, but it never registered for me. People saying they watered down the last two games, that's weird to me considering I felt the series was always all wet in the comedy dept...
 
rofif

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
I really enjoyed the game but I agree. It should not be a kids movie. Ratchet should be kinda witty asshole.
2016 was way worse. Rift apart is better
 
U

unintelligent orange

Member
LRKD said:
For me the series died on the PS3. It was a clear drop in quality in writing and world building. And they made it painfully clear they didn't care about the original games. Idk what happened, they had a really solid story, wonderful characters. and then I guess they just got some new writers who wanted to make it into a painfully bland, and generic hero story, and did a light reboot for no reason. Everything else dropped in quality too imo, but the writing was what really pushed me away. It has always been a complete shocker to me that the ps3 games were so well received. Like by new fans and journalists I can see, but how fans of the ps2 games could enjoy them is beyond my comprehension :messenger_grinning_sweat:
Click to expand...
Cant tell Insomniac to be great unfortunately, they're more interested in making more $$$. Since TOD they have been progressively watering R&C down hard so they can cash the fuck out by appealing to more people, instead of making an actually decent R&C game. The series has slowly lost it's identity, soul and most of it's character. It now looks and feels like an overtly simplified, disney-fied generic approximation - more or less recycled hot garbage each time they put out another.

Honestly, it seems like Insomniac thinks because the gameplay is similar it's enough to be 'R&C' but that's far from the case. Since awhile ago, they've completely lost my trust. As I'm too lazy to write more cohesive sentences I'll just highlight some of the dumb fucking decisions they've made since the PS2 games in point form:

- switching composers from david bergeaud to some bland orchestral crap fans dont like nor remember (david's music was literally such a big part of these games identity, its hilarious they think they could get away with this)
- re-using nefarious far too many times instead of coming up with proper new villains each time
- tone shift. original PS2 games were moody, vibey, even dark in some aspects. what the fuck happened?
- the whole future saga sucked major dick mostly - these games havent felt like they should since deadlocked
- redoing this whole 'ratchet trying to find the lombaxes' story arc nonsense for this fucking long (AND STILL NOT GETTING IT OVER WITH, U FUCKERS). i dont even think they intend to end it, they're just stringing us along endlessly. either that or they dont know how to end it. but it doesnt fucking matter cause they already fucked everything else up x_x
- the humor wasn't trash originally, the writing was actually concise and on point, and it even felt like they were making fun of pop culture at points. whoever wrote the originals was competent. what the fuck happened.
- shitty character tropes such as 'the chosen one' not just once but over and over again. they dont fucking learn
- cringy wholesome-ness being injected into every possible place imaginable. cant have no sharp edges, nope. not in 2023 - gotta round everything out so its real nice and blunt for the fragile minded slaves of the world who should really just grow some fucking skin. ffs

It's actually insulting how they can make something as intelligent as the PS2 games were at points and then follow it up with all the stupidity that's come after. Fuck this company.
 
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01011001

01011001

Banned
LRKD said:
I feel complaints like these are really weak copes from people who became fans of the series later on, or from people who aren't fans at all, looking in at the series. Like some sort of gatcha moment, but it really isn't. Any longtime fan would be understandably upset if the series they enjoyed had a sudden reboot with significantly worse writing, then before. Whether that is games, tv shows, movies, or even books. Games aren't just gameplay, they are a mixed medium where gameplay, graphics/art, music, and story are often all mixed into one. And if some parts are bad, they should be called out for being bad. Admittedly in some games story isn't even a factor, but in R&C it is. To fans of the original, the story, the characters, the music, and the gameplay were all really good, and mixed into a memorable and beloved game.

So yeah, very few people are complaining about the gameplay... shocker! because for the most part the gameplay is just fine in all the new games. The complaints are mostly about the writing because it has gotten to the point where the writing, story, and characters are unrecognizable compared to the first game. For new fans it isn't a problem, they weren't playing the games back when they had good writing, story, and characters, so for them it's just another platformer. It really isn't "fucking wild", that longtime fans don't enjoy a worse product then what came before it.

Also op pointed it out, but really not enough people complain about how bad the music has gotten in the series
Click to expand...

I'm not a new fan, I'm an old fan of the series, and I just don't really give a shit about the writing as I never was a huge fan of it, not in the old games and not in the new ones, I always found it just ok, it was always the gameplay that hooked me and Rift Apart's gameplay is great, and to me that's all that really matters for a Videogame to be good.

a game can have the worst most dogshit writing, but if the gameplay is good the game is also good.
 
DeleteriousObnoxious

DeleteriousObnoxious

Member
01011001 said:
I'm not a new fan, I'm an old fan of the series, and I just don't really give a shit about the writing as I never was a huge fan of it, not in the old games and not in the new ones, I always found it just ok, it was always the gameplay that hooked me and Rift Apart's gameplay is great, and to me that's all that really matters for a Videogame to be good.

a game can have the worst most dogshit writing, but if the gameplay is good the game is also good.
Click to expand...
Gameplay evolution has always been mediocre going from going commando and forward, it was the music and story that made me come back and the setting. However to complain that people don't care about gameplay in a series that has had zero evolution or arguing very little of the gameplay loop since 2003 and that to me just makes it even more meh.
 
01011001

01011001

Banned
DeleteriousObnoxious said:
Gameplay evolution has always been mediocre going from going commando and forward, it was the music and story that made me come back and the setting. However to complain that people don't care about gameplay in a series that has had zero evolution or arguing very little of the gameplay loop since 2003 and that to me just makes it even more meh.
Click to expand...

like I said IMO Rift Apart does evolve the series in terms of gameplay.

not in immediately obvious ways tho.

it's how the battles feel in combination with the new dash ability on the highest difficulty that makes it stand out to me compared to other games in the series.

the combat is super satisfying on the highest difficulty as you're always on the move, constantly dodging and switching weapons while collecting ammo, and it always feels fair and balanced as well.
in older games weapon choice was mostly just a way to mix things up, not necessarily a thing you have to strategize about.

anyone playing the game on anything but the highest difficulty setting is doing a disservice to the game and themselves imo. it feels like that was the way the game was meant to be played, which is rare on higher difficulties as they ofen just come across as cheaply added value modifiers
 
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Roufianos

Roufianos

Member
It felt like a very 'safe space' game. Had no edge or wit whatsoever. Gameplay was awesome but story and characters were super dull.
 
remember_spinal

remember_spinal

Banned
Freeman76 said:
Was going to buy this to really push my new S96B but went for Kena instead after this thread
Click to expand...

Kena is good but thats a mistake. Gaf will always steer you wrong when it comes to being extremely reductive with game discussions.

The best part of rift apart is the gameplay and graphics. You don’t play R&C for a deep story, and Kena’s isn’t really any better.
 
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Freeman76

Freeman76

Member
remember_spinal said:
Kena is good but thats a mistake. Gaf will always steer you wrong when it comes to being extremely reductive with game discussions.

The best part of rift apart is the gameplay and graphics. You don’t play R&C for a deep story, and Kena’s isn’t really any better.
Click to expand...

I didnt go by GAF, this thread only made me look deeper into it and Ratchet looks pretty generic I doubt I would stay interested enough to finish.

Kena Im enjoying enough, it was 16 in the sale and so far ive enjoyed it a lot.
 
U

ungalo

Member
remember_spinal said:
how anyone could NOT enjoy just zipping around on the rocket boots for hours I’ll never know…

Click to expand...
That's the thing with Sony games. Pretty hard to hate them, since they provide a good game feeling. It moves well, plays well. As a casual experience, with a little more try hard if you want. That's a good formula but absolutely harmless.

I played the PS4 remake, they obviously dumbed down everything the first game was. Hard to notice on a superficial level but it hurts when you get the full picture.
 
semiconscious

semiconscious

Member
remember_spinal said:
Kena is good but thats a mistake. Gaf will always steer you wrong when it comes to being extremely reductive with game discussions.

The best part of rift apart is the gameplay and graphics. You don’t play R&C for a deep story, and Kena’s isn’t really any better.
Click to expand...
no one ever played r&c for a 'deep' story. but, as is obvious in thread, many have played r&c for a punchy, satiric, sarcastic story, & not a maudlin, homogenized one...
 
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