PlayStation 5 Critic Reviews

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is the first game I’ve played since the ninth-generation consoles launched that feels like a true next-gen title. Insomniac Games has done everything that it needed to do in making both a sequel to its longest-running franchise and a true next-gen exclusive. While it might not technically be a PlayStation 5 launch title, it feels like one—a real preview of the console’s capabilities. But beyond that, Rift Apart is just an absolute blast to play.

Probably the best Ratchet & Clank game and surely the best PS5 game to date, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is the distilled essence of all the best elements this franchise has given us through the years. A true gaming masterpiece.

I love Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart because it is a fun and beautiful adventure. It's not about setting you loose to stumble across objectives and side activities across an open-world map. And I love those kinds of games.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart delivers a true next-gen experience thanks to its stunning visuals, haptic controls, and blazing-fast load times. Thrilling combat, expansive levels, and memorable characters make this PlayStation 5 exclusive an essential purchase.

If there is one title that feels like it beckons the start of the next-gen era, it is undoubtedly this game. Its flawless presentation and beautiful graphics may be polluted by a glitch or two along the way, but nonetheless, it is an amazing experience that just can't be recommended enough.

Rift Apart is a technical showcase, but it's also one of the finest 3D action platformers since Jak and Daxter. Insomniac consistently proves that the Ratchet and Clank series is a wellspring of potential, and they've delivered a complete experience that's as full of heart as it is surprises.

This is a full-fat, planet-hopping, mystery-filled adventure that PS5 owners will lap up and non-owners will resent not being able to play, perhaps through no lack of trying. Miles Morales and Demon’s Souls were superb launch titles for the PS5, but we’re now through the looking glass. The bar has been set. The PS5 has arrived.

It feels as though Insomniac's writers have taken their cues from more recent Marvel movies, managing the tricky balancing act of cartoon mayhem and emotional payoffs. It made me, a casual lombax fancier, more invested in the series than ever before, and hoping we get to see a lot more of the fabulous foursome soon.

Overall a fantastic new title for the PS5. That console’s now-best available exclusive action-platform game. A perfect hit for those hot summer days of gaming.

In a time when sneering, ironic detachment remains in fashion, Insomniac Games has created the rare modern masterpiece with no convoluted agenda, no subtext — just so many reasons to smile and laugh.