Today's PlayStation State Of Play Livestream event showed off some of the visually impressive worlds and gameplay of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. The next installment in Insomniac’s long-running platformer series looks to be one of the PlayStation 5’s first true exclusives and promises to take full advantage of the console’s cutting-edge hardware and features.
First announced at last year's PlayStation 5 reveal event, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart features the iconic duo in a new adventure to stop the evil Dr. Nefarious from conquering the multiverse. Along the way they will meet Rivet, a female Lombax from a parallel universe in which the bad doctor has succeeded in his goal of intergalactic domination, as well as traverse several alternate realities seamlessly through interdimensional rifts within the game's many levels. Fans have already been shown a lot of the new and exciting features that Rift Apart brings to the tried and true Ratchet & Clank formula, and now they have a further taste for the new game ahead of its planned release this summer.
During today’s PlayStation State Of Play event, Insomniac Creative Director Marcus Smith narrated 15 minutes of gameplay footage of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Things start out with Ratchet wandering the dystopian alternate reality of Nefarious City, smashing boxes, and asking around for his missing partner Clank. He eventually finds his robot buddy in possession of Rivet, who is currently headed off-world in search of Nefarious as part of a Resistance movement to dethrone the villain. To catch up with her, Ratchet heads off to commandeer a ship at Club Nefarious, showing off his new wall-running ability while Smith explains how the DualSense Controller’s Haptic Feedback and pressure-sensitive triggers allow players to feel the power behind the heroic Lombax’s many trusty weapons. His search concludes with a boss battle against a hulking Nefarious Juggernaut, one that ends with the two being warped to another world through a dimensional rift
Meanwhile, Rivet and Clank crash land on the jungle planet of Sargasso, where Rivet shops for some new weapons and upgrades before heading off to rescue her fellow Resistance members at Nefarious’s factory. After blasting and smashing her way across hordes of insect-like enemies, Clank detects a “dimensional distortion” emanating from a nearby cave. Rivet heads inside to discover yet another rift, one that leads to a smaller pocket dimension. Here, Rivet finds a Smeddle, a crab-like creature she rides out of the rift and towards the factory - where she encounters a pair of Nefarious’s flying minions as the gameplay footage ends.
So far, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart looks absolutely gorgeous thanks to the PlayStation 5’s updated hardware, and the many new features and characters being added bring a whole range of new possibilities for the series. The new worlds on display in today's gameplay footage are teeming with life, the chaotic action is rife with impressive particle effects, and the character models carry emotion and charm on par with recent animated films. Fans will be able to experience all of this for themselves once Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart launches on June 11.
Source: PlayStation/Youtube