After teasing the character in the debut trailer for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, developer Insomniac Games has confirmed the playable status of the mysterious new female Lombax character. One of the most exciting games shown at the PlayStation 5 reveal event was Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, the latest title in the long-running series that dates back to the PlayStation 2 era. The previous game in the franchise, 2016's Ratchet & Clank was ostensibly a remake of the first game and adaptation of the film reboot.
The new Ratchet & Clank game features the Lombax hero and his robotic sidekick on a new adventure spanning multiple dimensions, and the gameplay trailer showed off the power of the PlayStation 5 to load in brand new areas with nigh-instantaneous speed, allowing the dimension-hopping story to influence the white-knuckle shooting and platforming gameplay the series is known for. Thanks to the next-gen power of Sony's new hardware, Clank's metallic chassis features ray-traced reflections, making the plucky robot look better than ever.
One of the most provocative moments of the trailer shows Clank separated from his friend before landing in a dimension ruled by the evil Doctor Nefarious. He is then confronted by a mysterious female Lombax, a gender-swapped counterpart for Ratchet. Now, a tweet from developer Insomniac Games has confirmed that this new, still unnamed woman will be a playable character in the PlayStation 5 exclusive title.
The lady Lombax comes from a darker, less whimsical dimension from Ratchet, as shown by her design. While she's still clearly mechanically minded like Ratchet, she seems more battle-hardened than the jolly hero. One of her arms is a mechanical replacement, which may have an impact on gameplay, possibly allowing her to carry heavier objects or wield bigger guns than Ratchet.
Ratchet's female analogue is still a mysterious character, and Insomniac has yet to reveal her name. As an alternate universe counterpart to the main series protagonist, maybe her name is also Ratchet. It is a pretty gender-neutral name, all things considered. In addition to kinetic adventure and high-octane action, the Ratchet & Clank series has always delivered stronger storytelling than most of its contemporaries, and the possibilities are endless as to where the story will go in this latest title in the popular series. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is currently without a release date, but with Insomniac's other title, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, scheduled for release in late 2020, franchise fans probably shouldn't expect to see this one until 2021 at the earliest.
Source: Insomniac Games