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How do you feel about the Ratchet and Clank franchise?

Roufianos

Member
I loved the first few, and also ACiT was a masterpiece.

I don't think the PS4 and PS5 games were particularly good, especially the story in Right Apart which felt like a safe space, Blues Clues story for the woke crowd.
 
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ReBurn

Gold Member
it has never been my favorite franchise but I always enjoyed the games. I think Rift Apart is a great technical showcase for PS5 but it's a pretty average video game.
 
Always like the look of the guns... but whenever I buy the game I cannot stick to them... Even the latest... I blame my ever growing backlog.. but I may just not be that willing since I really dislike what I have played.
 

Xyphie

Member
The ones I've played (Tools of Destruction, A Crack in Time, Rift Apart) have been solid 7/10 games. Good but ultimately kinda forgettable. Perfect games to pick up for $20 on some sale.
 
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S tier action platforming gameplay (Buttery smooth controls, tons of variety, progression loop is addictive as fuck) though the writing has always been hit or miss (recently, much more miss).

Also while the basic formula holds up amazingly well they don't seem to have been able to evolve it like Nintendo have done with Mario for example. It feels like after the second game, if you've played one you've played them all.
 
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ungalo

Member
It's a good PS2 serie, that for some reason is still around while many franchises were dying throughout the years.

I'm replaying the trilogy and definitely the first one is the most remarkable.
 

yamaci17

Member
i feel nothing about it which explains how hallow and empty of a game rift apart was
psychonauts 1/2 has 100x better story telling, real character development, actually tries to tell a story instead of pretending and then have better and more innovative gameplay mechanics and elements instead of copy paste weapons that look different but does the same thing
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
I've always had an fleeting interest but seem to always put other games ahead of it in terms of priority. I thought that this would change when the latest Ratchet n Clank came out for PC. Yet I still haven't bought it. Again for the same reasons...just had better things to do, played games I had more interest in.

I should just buy it and see what I think.
 

SEGAvangelist

Gold Member
Big Insomniac fan here, but I'm pretty tired of the IP now. I would welcome a souped-up collection someday, though. The PS3 games could really use some love.
 

midnightAI

Member
I don't think the PS4 and PS5 games were particularly good, especially the story in Right Apart which felt like a safe space, Blues Clues story for the woke crowd.
Its what now?

(its a great game, dont know what the moaning is about if you like other Ratchet games, one of the best in the series in my opinion)
 

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
I'd argue it has devolved. I'm going through the first three games in the HD Collection and the original game blows Rift Apart out of the water in level design.

Sure, Rift Apart is much larger but also more simplistic and flatter. You don't do much exploration anymore because everything is in plain view. With the original one, I was looking at my missing Gold Bolts and wondering how the hell did I only have 1/4 in Gorda City when I had explored the entire map twice. Turns out, I hadn't and there were some very well-hidden spots.

Moreover, the Metroidvania-lite style is completely gone. No more letting the player wander off only for them to hit a wall and realize they need another piece of equipment that they're not even told where it is. No more trying to figure out where X or Y gadget is located in order for you to progress. It's all hand-holdy and you basically can't get stuck in Rift Apart and there are no optional gadgets hidden in way out-of-the-way places.

Even the combat has taken a hit. It's now just a mindless shooter where you aim your gun and jump strafe and blow everything up. You don't really need to consider what weapon you're using. They mostly are the same except for different graphics when you shoot them. In the first game, even for how janky it is, you needed to be situationally aware and use the right weapon for the right job. You couldn't just charge a tank or a group of enemies with your Blaster or you'd get murked.

The platforming is also effectively non-existent.

After going through the first one, Rift Apart feels like a children's game. Nice QOL changes though and you can feel that the OG is dated in many respects but I think it's a better game than Rift Apart overall. If only they could modernize the UI, weapon wheel, and controls, it wouldn't even be a debate. Instead, we got the abomination that was 2016 because Sony were jerking around Insomniac too much and only gave them 10 months to make the game. It's miraculous that it came out as good as it did.

A lot of AAA games have been dumbed down, that’s for sure. Like developers are more afraid now to allow players to get stuck on something.
 

Mossybrew

Member
it has never been my favorite franchise but I always enjoyed the games. I think Rift Apart is a great technical showcase for PS5 but it's a pretty average video game.
Yep pretty much sums up my feelings. I've enjoyed my time with the series but if there was never another Ratchet & Clank game made again I don't think I'd notice or care.
 
Started with 3 when I was 9. Loved it. Played 2016 next after about 7 yearsand enjoyed it a lot for the gameplay and cutting edge pixar like graphics. Played rift apart next and enjoyed it a lot. One of my favourite games that came out that year.

I went back to play the original a few months ago and hated it however.
 
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Humdinger

Member
R&C (the first) was the game that got me into gaming, 20 years ago, so the series has sentimental value for me. I enjoyed a couple of the other R&C games of that era, and I also enjoyed the PS4 remake. I did not like Rift Apart much. Overall, it's a fun franchise, but with so many entries, it's bound to feel repetitive after a few. I will play it when I'm in the mood for something lighthearted and escapist.
 
I just take them in one at a time. Don't really care about some lore or whatever. They're just fun games. Ripped a fart was good stuff.
I wish they'd do a Resistance game though . . . maybe in VR, or at least a Fall of Man remake.
 

AndrewRyan

Member
Love the series and played every game. The gameplay has steadily improved with Rift Apart being the best in the series with its fast movement, tight controls and dashing. Game runs so smoothly, wonderful effects, creative artwork. Still love this series.

The story and humor is what's fallen off a cliff. Not sure if it's due to the movie tie-ins or just a sign of our woke times but found myself eye-rolling and skipping cut-scenes quite often.
 
The future series represented a step backward from the PS2 games, and the newer games continue the sterilization of the series. The platforming is much more boring and the characters and story are significantly more boring.
I think Insomniac has their head shoved too far up their own ass after years of the media and gamers shitting themselves over how much Ratchet and Clank “looks like a Pixar movie!”
 
I like the PS2 original, but may never finish it as it feels too bloated. I may pick it back up if I am in the mood for it, but I don't think I will ever play the rest. The reason is that the platforming/levels are mediocre and the weapons/enemies are boring but it has personality and a relatively interesting story (at least in the first one).
 
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Ogbert

Member
Fun but fleeting games.

I really enjoyed Rift Apart but was disappointed with the lack of content. They should have added some post game challenges.
 

Denton

Member
I tried playing the 2016 PS4 game and found it so boring I uninstalled it after few hours and regretted the money.
Wish the studio made some adult oriented games for a change (no mrvel does not count).
 

R6Rider

Gold Member
Awesome series with great weapon variety.

Peak was Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal, but I've enjoyed every main entry.

Size Matters on PSP (later PS2) was also really good.
 

Kenneth Haight

Gold Member
It’s fine. Platinumed the 2016 remake and it’s great fun. No inclination to play rift apart yet just because there were plenty of other games that grabbed my attention more.

I’ll get round to it at some point but it’s not a franchise I have strong feelings on one way or another.
 
Ratchet and Clank trailers are 9/10.
Ratchet and Clank, when I played them, are 6/10.
Always!
All the ingredients for a fun game are there - never happened
 

MagnesD3

Member
I love the Original Spyro games but Ratchet I just enjoy. The focus on Guns mostly over platforming just never sat right with me for many of them there are, I really would rather have had Insomniac create a new 3D platformer IP by now, there are so many Ratchet games.
 
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Ratchet and Clank shows me where Jak and Daxter would have headed if they had kept going.

It is a good B grade series that hasn't felt like an A+ in a long time. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's sad that I've never looked at Ratchet and Clank for Sony, the same way I look at Halo/Gears with Xbox and Mario/Zelda for Nintendo.

Instead, God of War takes that spot. Isn't that a little...odd?
 

Rockman33

Member
I think if it was a multi platform game it wouldn’t get nearly the praise and love it gets being a Sony exclusive. Graphically has always looked great. But I’ve never cared much for the story, characters or gameplay.
 

DonkeyPunchJr

World’s Biggest Weeb
It’s good but not great. I enjoy all the weapons and upgrades but I think the formula gets stale pretty quickly. I’ve beaten 3-4 of the games and barely remember anything about them. I’m always more excited about the idea of the game than I am when playing it. Also never gave a single shit about the story or characters. It’s never been funny enough to make me laugh or interesting enough to keep me invested.
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Comfortable gameplay. Period. Every ratchet game is virtually the same. Incredible graphics as of late.
 

Holammer

Member
I love the Original Spyro games but Ratchet I just enjoy. The focus on Guns mostly over platforming just never sat right with me for many of them there are, I really would rather have had Insomniac create a new 3D platformer IP by now, there are so many Ratchet games.
It's obvious the guys at Insomniac like & want to do R&C (why else do so many of them?), but toiling away in the super hero mines is their lot now.
Spyro series was great and I'm currently replaying the Trilogy on PC, such great games. Fingers crossed Toys for Bob gets to do a Spyro 4 before MS throws them back in the COD mines.
 

Muffdraul

Member
I vaguely recall having fun for the first half of the first R&C game. But it wore thin quick and I never went back for more. I've been tempted many times, but never enough to actually do it. I remember back in the day someone here had an animated avatar of a flying robo drone type enemy that had been shot by a "disco gun" or something? I think it was from an R&C on PS3? I came very close to playing that one just because of that.
 

BlackTron

Member
I like it. It's a shooter I don't mind playing on my TV with a gamepad, and also a cartoony style platformer that's not Nintendo. In that way it scratches some of the itch that a new Jet Force Gemini would, despite being a rather different game.
 

Sojiro

Member
I haven't played any of the newer games, this is mostly off of what I played back in the PS2 days, but I loved the series. They all had really fun weapons to use, and I really like the two characters and their banter was often funny. It was just a really solid series that were a lot of fun IMO.
 
I love it, one of my favorite franchises.

I've pretty much bought every R&C game since the PS3 days and I bought Rift Apart twice (for PS5 and PC)
 

MagnesD3

Member
It's obvious the guys at Insomniac like & want to do R&C (why else do so many of them?), but toiling away in the super hero mines is their lot now.
Spyro series was great and I'm currently replaying the Trilogy on PC, such great games. Fingers crossed Toys for Bob gets to do a Spyro 4 before MS throws them back in the COD mines.
Id love a Spyro 4 from them but I have 0 faith it will happen after the team working on it getting tore to shreds for COD assistance but well see I guess.
 

sloppyjoe_gamer

Gold Member
Loved all of them, but the newest one Insomniac has made Ratchet a pansy. Seeing those leaked training videos made it all clear as to why.

It sucks that we (apparently) have to wait until 2029 for a new one, and by then who knows how much further they'll massacre the character.
 

midnightAI

Member
good games back in the day but nowadays theyre infected by the woke
Gordon Ramsay Reaction GIF by Hell's Kitchen
 

Del_X

Member
It's always been mid. I've finished a few. I think the writing in the pre-reboot phase was better. It feels like much weaker pixar writings without any innuendo or edge. The safest kind of game you could make with guns.
 
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