Sure, I've seen plenty of very fast speedruns in my time, but I'm not sure how many I've seen that go literally under one second. But the Ratchet & Clank speedrun community has discovered a wild new way to cheat the system in Up Your Arsenal, the third game in the original trilogy, and that's led to a wild new one-second speedrun.

"Ratchet and Clank 3 can now be beaten in under 1 second," as Xem explains on Twitter. "This is not a joke." You can see the glitch demonstrated in the clip below, but it's essentially a glitched warp to the credits that you can execute from the very start of the game. A runner known as Joaof is credited with discovering the trick.

So how does it work? It's possible because "the PS3 port is strange and quitting the game fucks things up," as Xem explains. "By hitting a specific address when quitting, you can set game states when you reload." The catch is that you need to start from a hacked save file in order to set the necessary state, which means "this is not possible in real time."

Xem explains that "in order to do this, you need to save-edit your 'frames played' to a negative number. Speedrunners are fast, but we're not that fast yet."

The skeptics among you might question the value of this discovery if it hasn't resulted in a 'real' speedrun, but that's the thing – the process of uncovering these sorts of tricks and cheats is, for my money, the most interesting part about speedrunning. There are secret, arcane workings hidden within all the games we've all spent so many hours playing, and figuring out how to harness that magic makes speedrun theorists genuine wizards in my eyes.

And who knows? Maybe someday this discovery will lead to a run that players can execute in real-time. Wrong warp glitches are a staple of Ocarina of Time speedrunning, for example, and that's the fun part of watching a speedrun community develop. You never know which glitches are going to completely break these games open in the future.

After 40 years, Super Mario Bros speedrunners discover "the Holy Grail of glitches."

For gamers of a certain age, watching the cinematic intro of Grand Theft Auto 3 was a watershed moment. With the camera coming to rest behind lead character Claude with the line "…but my hands are all messed up, so you'd better drive, brother," few dared believe the game could possibly continue at the same quality as the cutscene. But you walk to the car, climb in… and the city is yours. The illusion is never broken. Hard to imagine now, as GTA3 is showing its age, but it's even harder to imagine that our now incrementally advancing medium would ever see another jaw-dropping moment like that, where you daren't push the left stick forward for fear of the illusion breaking.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart did the unthinkable and managed it. It's been more than four years since the duo stepped into their spectacular victory parade in front of what felt like thousands of adoring fans, but with PS5 turning 5 years old, it's time to revisit Insomniac's modern classic and see whether it still holds up today.

A playable movie

What is immediately apparent is the quality of the animation, which is still bleeding edge. It's arguably the closest a game has come to feeling like - and I'll channel our Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart review here - a playable Pixar film. I'm well aware that kind of praise has been bandied around too much, but this is truly comparable. In a similar fashion, the dialogue is superb, with characters shouting out helpful hints in a much more natural fashion than most games' strictly scripted dialogue cues. In Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, they only say it if they need to. That's really cool.

However, it does already feel like a relic of a bygone era when you're very aware that you're watching anthropomorphic animals and robots talk to each other. I don't remember it feeling out of date at the time, but gaming has become rather serious, at least in AAA circles, so seeing this 'Lombax' with his thick fur and perfect teeth is undeniably jarring in this far more serious world. Admittedly, even on the series' inception on PS2, it was a throwback to 16-bit and 32-bit platform heroes, but now it does feel like it would never get the green light in today's industry. I can't quite believe it exists at all, let alone in this phenomenal state, but I'm so glad it does.

Despite the game's age, coming from a time when Ray Tracing was in its infancy, from a technical standpoint it's still a tour de force. Personally I will always favour fluidity over graphical fidelity, so having a Performance mode here with traditional lighting (and even a second Performance mode with basic Ray Tracing enabled) means the game will always be this fun to play. Games that run at 60fps age better than anything else, it's just a fact.

While it's always gorgeous, Rift Apart the game really hits its stride, not just visually but in its gameplay. This Lombax can really fight. The game's weapons remain some of the absolute finest in gaming, and the sheer volume of explosions and scattered physics objects put even Astro Bot to shame at times. Despite the enemies displaying visible damage on their mechanised bodies, with components catching fire and bodywork splintering off, they still move phenomenally well, exhibiting humanoid staggers and battle flourishes that give even unyielding metal clear personality.

The complexity of the game's control scheme is almost too much to deal with when you return to it after these years away, though it all soon comes flooding back. It's interesting to note that the control options allow you to set all of the traversal commands to just one button if you want to simplify and streamline your experience, but I didn't need it, soon falling back into the standard layout's rewarding groove, boosting around between targets, somersaulting out of harm's way and switching weapons on the fly with the d-pad like I was playing a PlayStation 3 (that's an old joke about Genji: Days of the Blade and I'm not sorry). It's a versatile, customizable, and even tactile experience as the haptic triggers are brought into play with a half-squeeze bringing up shields to absorb fire, then the full squeeze releasing a barrage of revenge bullets. Subsequently being able to boost-run along a wall and swing from the ceiling just makes it obvious that Ratchet – and Insomniac – are really showing off.

It's strange just how much times have changed in these four years. The £69.99 RRP was seen as a premium price for a state-of-the-art product in 2021, yet Mario Kart World's £74.99 is now seen as outrageous, even though I'm sure inflation has gone up more than that £5 in those four years. It certainly feels like it. But this felt worth it, clearly offering a genuine generational leap, and we paid for it, even though we'd had the utterly gorgeous PS4 Ratchet & Clank remake just a couple of years previously. We needed something to truly show the benefits of all that hyper-fast RAM inside the PS5's sleek, white, plastic body. Dimension hopping and lassoing a rift in the space/time continuum still feels novel and exciting. In fact, it makes me wonder why the rest of the generation hasn't quite felt as progressive as this.

Coming back to Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart almost feels like going back way further than just 4 years, passing through the 2000s when the original hit PS2 and going back to the 16-bit era where animals were taking centre stage in many of the biggest releases. To have that '90s ethos realised in Pixar-quality 3D has resulted in a truly timeless video game, and if you have a PS5, you absolutely have to play it.

Check out our best PS5 games ranking for what to play next!

Way back in the '00s, cell phones still had buttons, and the idea of playing a game on one seemed like a pretty endearing novelty. An oft-forgotten spin-off of Insomniac's beloved platformer series called Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile got a strong reception when it launched in 2005, but its sequel – titled Clone Home and set to launch in 2006 – never saw the light of day.

For years, series fans wondered if Clone Home ever existed in a playable form, since the only evidence that it ever existed came from a handful of screenshots and some brief descriptions of its premise in the media. A 2019 video from YouTuber The Golden Bolt, citing information from one of Going Mobile's original developers, helped kick off a long-running hunt for any concrete trace of Clone Home's existence.

Well, folks, Clone Home has been found. Not just as a playable prototype or broken development build, either – a full version of the game, playable from beginning to end, has been discovered and uploaded to Archive.org. Some bugs and balancing issues suggest that the game was not fully ready for launch, but it was darn close.

The Golden Bolt explains a whole lot about both Clone Home's content and the quest to find it in a new YouTube video, but in short, "it took years of elbow grease [and] a decent amount of money on buying very specific 20-year-old models of duplicate phone." The process was led by Emily and Super Gamer Omega Clank, a pair of college kids because, of course, "who else has time to look for Clone Home besides college kids?"

Buying old cell phones in bulk and hoping that some piece of lost media is the only way these sorts of games get preserved, but this presented a special case. Clone Home was never actually released, which makes the idea of stumbling upon the game on a random old phone seem pretty outlandish.

Yet it seems Clone Home might actually have been released at some point – just briefly and accidentally. Rumors stretching back to an old forum post from an Insomniac community moderator suggested that, in the early '10s, "Clone Home was sent to cell phone providers and accidentally got released by an even smaller number of those networks for the briefest of periods."

Now that Clone Home has actually been found, that rumor suddenly sounds pretty plausible. The Golden Bolt has reached out to contacts at Sony and Insomniac, and while nobody wanted to comment on the record, some of them "privately shared that they're excited by this news." So much for nobody wanting to play that old game, huh?

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart remains among the best PS5 games out there.

Shawn Layden, the PlayStation exec who led the platform through its most successful era, said that there was some internal resistance to bringing back Ratchet and Clank on the PS4.

The iconic action-platforming duo had a minor hiatus before the PS4 was breaking records, but eventually returned with a 2016 release that served as both a reimagining of the very first game in the series and a tie-in to the big screen movie that came out that same year.

Speaking to HipHopGamer, Layden says that giving it a thumbs up wasn't always easy. "Look, I greenlit Ratchet and Clank on the PS4, and at the time, the sales and marketing people were going, 'No one wants to play that old game Ratchet and Clank.'"

Layden's way of convincing the other departments was pointing at market data - "which I don't really love too much of but this was useful" - that showed around 20% or less of PS4 gamers were even aware of Ratchet and Clank the brand. "So 80% don't know it," Layden said. "So, for them, it's a new game. It's not an old game. And great games are always great."

Layden used the anecdote to explain why he'd still greenlight a now-niche series like Jak and Daxter. He also had some interesting things to say about other dormant PlayStation names, including The Order 1886, SOCOM, and All-Stars Battle Royale - a fighting game he reckons is "important" but didn't live up to Smash Bros. at all at the time.

For more, check out the upcoming PS5 games of 2025 and beyond.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart was one of the earliest PS5 exclusives, dropping around 6 months after the console first launched, but Insomniac Games has revealed that despite all of that time passing, the final Easter egg that was hinted at less than a year after the game released was never found by players. So instead of waiting even longer, Insomniac has decided to show it off to celebrate the game's fourth anniversary.

All we knew up until now was that the Easter egg was found in Zurkie's Gastropub, a location you frequent during Rift Apart's campaign, and considering that area is already filled with Easter eggs in the form of nods to past games, it made things a bit harder. During the Insomniac Live show on Twitch (with the clip since posted to Insomniac's Twitter account), the game's senior designer, Grant Parker walked through the Easter egg.

So before you go into Zurkie's, there are two signs telling you that there are no weapons allowed and somehow players were meant to figure out that you need to shoot the left one five times, the right one four times, and then shoot the left one 13 more times, which results in nothing. There's no indication that anything has happened. But if you head into the pub and walk up the mechanical bull, you'll be shown a prompt saying "Hold L2 to Ride Mechanical Bull."

Holding L2 will then put you into a minigame where you have to try your best to stay on the bull. Except it's clearly unfinished, as Rivet is seen standing beside the bull while another version of herself is t-posing on the bull, which has no animations at all and simply clips through the floor as it moves around. However Parker says it was "just something fun that I thought I'd leave in the game" knowing that no one would find it… until now, obviously.

Split Fiction players defeat secret challenge so tough that some of the devs themselves can "barely" complete it, and get rewarded with the promise of an early peek at the director's next game.

Awesome Games Done Quick runs look gruelling for some speedrunners. The participating streamers need to beat whatever game they're playing incredibly quickly, perfectly pulling off various tricky glitches and tricks along the way, all while explaining what's going on and entertaining an in-person and at-home audience. But one Ratchet and Clank speedrunner went the extra mile and bookended his run with an equally impressive Opera performance, as if talking for almost three hours straight wasn't enough. 

This year's charity speedrunning event has already hosted some wildly entertaining playthroughs as a pair cozied up on one Switch controller to break Breath of the Wild, and an infamous Fallout speedrunner returned to the wasteland to speed-date his way through Fallout: New Vegas, but streamer Xem's playthrough of Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando is top of the pile.

Across two hours and 47 minutes, Xems breaks through walls and glitches his way to a complete 'Max%' run, which means he reached the credits and collected all platinum bolts, all skill points, and all weapon upgrades that would normally take the average player multiple playthroughs to get. It's damn impressive for sure, but it's pretty much outshined by the nearly seven-minute, show-stopping Opera performance at the end. You can catch it at the 2:52:00 mark in the video embedded below. 

Again, it's an incredible feat to pull off after having talked the audiences ears off about a PS2 game's weird glitches for over two hours straight. And the fact that Xem's co-hosts helped him act out the performance only made it an even more entertaining watch, even when his headset fell to the ground. Bravo. 

New Super Mario Bros. Wii speedrunner gets AGDQ’s standing ovation by playing the entire soundtrack on piano while beating the game with controllers strapped to his body.  

An animator who worked on Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart has revealed that they were told to use Paul Rudd as inspiration when bringing the titular Lombax to life. 

Insomniac animator Lindsay Thompson shared a gif on Twitter of Ratchet with the caption: “I remember our direction for the animator for this shot was: Paul Rudd” and honestly, now it's pretty hard to unsee the Ant-Man actor hiding beneath the character’s cool and laid back expression. 

Thompson's tweet was followed by a series of replies from fans asking about her process working on the latest Ratchet and Clank adventure, as well as a reply from the official Insomniac Twitter account itself which simply read: “Good direction.” To which Thompson replied with the classic Paul Rudd 'look at us, who’d have thought?' gif. 

In other Ratchet and Clank news, after releasing A Rift Apart exclusively to PS5 consoles in June, fans haven’t been able to get enough of the determined Lombax and his little robot companion. In fact, the pair recently started appearing as custom skins in Fall Guys with players now desperately trying to collect in-game points to obtain both character’s full outfits. 

If you’re more interested in knowing what Paul Rudd is up to these days, the Clueless actor is currently filming the latest instalment in the Ant-Man series titled Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania which is due for release in 2023. He is also starring in the upcoming Ghostbusters revival Ghostbusters: Afterlife alongside Stranger Things actor Finn Wolfhard as well as classic Ghostbusters actors Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Sigourney Weaver this November. 

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The latest Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart update adds in a dedicated 120 Hz output setting, which also means a higher frame rate if you're playing in Fidelity mode.

Some Rift Apart players previously ran into some unexpected visual compatibility issues when playing with 120 Hz mode enabled on the PS5 system level, which led developer Insomniac Games to disable 120 Hz support in a post-launch update. Now version 1.002, which started rolling out today, gives players the option to enable 120 Hz in Rift Apart's settings menu.

Assuming you have a compatible display, you'll actually see two immediate benefits from the update: first, although the game will still target 60 frames per second, your input latency will be reduced for more responsive controls; and second, the Fidelity mode will run at 40 FPS instead of 30 FPS. That's Fidelity mode, the one that targets improved visual effects and resolution, not Performance, which goes for high and steady frame rates, so this is an unexpected but very pleasant side effect. It's effectively a 33% boost to how smooth Fidelity mode will look on your screen, so it should be worth a try even if you typically favor Performance.

The Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart update also adds some new stickers and backgrounds to photo mode, as well as the ability to toggle armor on or off while you try to line up the perfect shot - the lombax-replicating effect of the Phantom Dash visuals can also be disabled both in and out of photo mode. Outside of taking better in-game photos, you can disable the level up message and ensuing slowdown effect if you find it messes up your flow too much, and bind the "Skip Cutscenes" function to a D-Pad button to make your speedruns a little easier.

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Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart has an older Ratchet and Clank reference hidden away.

Insomniac's latest, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, just keeps revealing more and more Easter Eggs for the PS5 exclusive. And for those who may be paying close attention to the vibrant world around them, they'll probably have noticed two NPCs playing at an arcade machine. But as PlayStation UK tweeted, "anyone recognise this game?" and upon closer inspection, it's another Ratchet and Clank title!

The game looks to be the Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One title that launched for PS3 and PS4 in 2011. It shows the two NPCs playing a boss battle while they choose the Thundersmack weapon. The arcade cabinet itself is also themed after Ratchet and Clank games, featuring comical artwork of Quark, Dr. Nefarious, Clank, and Ratchet. 

This is a nice Easter egg, showing some love for the studio's previous works, but also works wonderfully given that Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is all about alternative realities. So if this reality, the duo has become an arcade game.

This is just one of the many Easter eggs being discovered by players, and there are no doubt loads more tucked away in places you may not expect. Earlier today, a developer at Insomniac revealed that they hid a reference to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy during a battle with Dr. Nefarious. Meanwhile the studio revealed that the Pixelizer HD weapon makes music through the PS5 controller haptics. 

There's also the weapon that's in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart that pulls items from other PlayStation universes and the studio continued a tradition of including a former Insomniac developer tribute by hiding a figure in the world. And while not exactly an Easter egg, Sackboy: A Big Adventure has crossover items available in that game.

You may like hunting down Easter eggs in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, but maybe you want some help with those CraiggerBears? Here's our Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart CraiggerBears location guide

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Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart has a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference hidden away by a developer.

There are a bunch of easter eggs hidden in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and Grant Parker, a game designer at Insomniac has revealed another. Hidden in plain sight during a battle with the game's antagonist, Dr. Nefarious, a potted plant falls out from the rift. This is a reference to the first book in the series, published in 1979, in which a pair of nuclear missiles are transformed into a blue whale and a bowl of petunias, respectively, before falling back to the ground.

While it may not be a pot of petunias, the potted plant falls through the rift above one of the large creatures in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. If you're looking to spot it, it looks as if it happens during a rail grinding segment while playing as Rivet, so keep your eyes peeled!

Last week, a player discovered that Insomniac had continued a tradition of including a former Insomniac developer tribute in its games. There's also a weapon that subtly uses the PS5 controller to generate music while the weapon is being charged up. Another weapon is capable of pulling items from other Sony PlayStation titles including Uncharted, Sunset Overdrive, and others. There are also items from the game available in Sackboy: A Big Adventure.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart launched on PS5 this month and scored highly in our review. The game finds Ratchet and Clank traveling alternative dimensions and different worlds as they attempt to stop Dr. Nefarious. Along the way, we get to play as Rivet, an alternative version of Ratchet and make use of numerous weapons to fight to victory.

The game makes use of the PS5's SSD to allow players to travel through rifts, shifting between realities. It also allows players to enable a certain performance mode to run at 60fps with ray tracing enabled.

Finding yourself asking "How long is Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart?" We've got you covered with our guide.

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A Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart weapon utilizes the DualSense haptics to make music.

As revealed by Insomniac Games, one of the many weapons in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart makes use of the PS5 controller by making music with the haptics. As shown in the video, when the player holds down the adaptive trigger to charge up the Pixelizer HD weapon, the vibration that players feel can actually be turned into music by placing the controller on a surface. 

By using different patterns and frequencies and other forms of technological wizardry, the haptics generate tones that turn into music. Of course, this is accompanied by music that also plays through the PS5 controller's built-in speakers to add extra immersion.

Insomniac making players aware of this has seen a number of users wondering if there's a meaning behind the song, whether it's an easter egg for something or a throwback to a previous game in the series. At the moment, it's only known as the cool Pixelizer HD song.

To get access to the Pixelizer weapon, you'll have to have progressed in the game to get to Ms. Zurkon where you can purchase the weapon from the store. From there you'll have to upgrade it to reach the highest available upgrade level. It's also unclear if this requires the user to have the game's vibration settings set to Experimental or Functional.

While this is a cool feature for Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, this isn't the first game to make use of haptics to create music. Kirby Star Allies is one notable example that uses the Switch controller's HD Rumble to play a tune from the game. Those who hooked the PS5 controller to a PC were also able to make the haptics work with music from Doom and even Spotify. However, this could be the first PS5 game to use the haptics in this way intentionally.

The PS5 controller is built to increase immersion in many games with its built-in speaker, haptics, and adaptive triggers. It is also capable of creating vibrations from sound effects "almost automatically" and for the upcoming Horizon Forbidden West, the haptics will be used in stealth.

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A new Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart patch improves the general stability of the entire game.

Over on the official Insomniac website earlier today, a new set of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart patch notes were published. The set of improvements themselves aren't particularly long, but leads with "improved general game stability," so you should see fewer dropped frames now and then and other additions in Insomniac's new game.

Additionally, there's also a fix for the 120Hz setting when using performance modes. Prior to this new update, the 'Enable 120Hz mode' would be automatically selected when using Rift Apart's performance mode, but this has now been disabled thanks to the new update. Comments from players over the past week suggested that this automatic option was actually causing technical difficulties for some.

Elsewhere in the new patch for Rift Apart, there's some minor bug fixes. For one, you'll no longer get stuck if a new weapon video fails to play for any reason, and an issue has also been fixed which saw Rivet being spawned into the game without a wrench. Finally, there's a fix for an issue where Rivet could get stuck after collecting Zurpstones, as well as a fix where the player character could become stuck during the Phantom chase sequence.

Overall though, this patch for Insomniac's game targets some pretty minor issues because, well, there really were very few issues to begin with. The game runs absolutely immaculately on the PS5, with stable 60 frames per second throughout, and absolutely eye-popping details should you whack the display up to outputting 4K visuals.

In fact, Rift Apart can even maintain a stable 60FPS with ray tracing enabled. As demoed by developer Insomniac prior to the game launching last week, Ratchet and Clank's new adventure doesn't sacrifice any visual fidelities for frames in the slightest, and the end result is something that looks truly special. For what we made of the latest entry in the beloved saga, head over to our Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart review.

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Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart now has a live-action trailer ahead of its PS5 launch.

A new live-action trailer for Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart has been uploaded to Twitter by PlayStation. Sadly, the trailer doesn't feature the Lombaxes and their metallic friend, but instead, it takes us to the UK to an undisclosed location. It's there that scientists have discovered one of the rifts, although they're unaware of what it is exactly. 

At the start of the trailer, two scientists enter the area where they find a number of their colleagues have been messing around with the rift; one is frozen in a block of ice or gem of some sort, another is wearing some form of grassy foliage, and one more is glitching infrequently while unconvincingly claiming they haven't entered the rift.

The glitcher is also holding onto one of the tools you'll be able to use in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. Curiosity eventually gets the best of one of the visiting scientists and they decide to follow after the others and jump through the rift, at which point the trailer ends. Whatever happened to them...we don't know. You can watch the trailer below, and it certainly seems to capture the excitement of visiting another dimension.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart finds the duo traveling through multiple dimensions as described in the story outline trailer. The two attempt to stop Dr. Nefarious from raging havoc on the universe and they're joined by a new protagonist called Rivet, who is Ratchet's alternative dimension version. While Clank has an upgrade that players can make use of, there's also a number of weapons, including a gun that transports items from other Sony PlayStation universes.

For the game itself, it's a PS5-exclusive launching on June 11 and will feature raytracing performance modes allowing players to enjoy raytracing at 60fps. It should also take up around 33GB of space on your console. If you've missed out on seeing the game in action, here's over 15-minutes of gameplay from the State of Play back in April of this year.

With all the hype surrounding the game, we've put together the latest Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart pre-order prices.

With Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart launching this week, a fan has shown off their 3D printed Clank creation.

Insomniac Games' upcoming PS5-exclusive Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart stars Ratchet and his trusty pal, Clank. And Clank is who caught Twitter user Tom Lacey's eye as revealed through his 3D-printed creation. Lacey explains that the model's creation is the result of months of 3D printing, sanding, and painting, and the results are fantastic.

The model was first created by using Blender, and because of the iconic design remaining unchanged over the years, Clank is not based on any particular game in the series. Although, for Rift Apart the little robot does have an upgrade. Clank was printed into parts with the CR-10 S4 3D printer, sanded down, and filled using a spray putty. The paint was done with an airbrush using mostly Alclad chrome.

To get Clank's eyes right, Lacey made use of a clear resin print with a honeycomb pattern added with a displace modifier. At this point, 3D printing terminology seems to be getting a bit confusing! Obviously, due to this being a model, Clank cannot be reanimated to fit different positions but does seem to have a moveable head and mouth. The detailing is remarkable, especially with the nuts and bolts and detailing around the feet.

Considering this took Lacey months to create, it feels incredibly fitting that the finished product is finally done just days before Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is due to launch on PS5. The game's file size and pre-load times have been revealed and it looks like we could be getting a PS5 bundle coming soon. The upcoming title has already shown us what we can expect to see from planetary exploration and the story outline.

Those picking the game up ready for launch will also be able to download an optional day one update that introduces a performance mode and performance raytracing modes. Additionally, we've seen the game's weapons showcased before, but there's one that will bring items from other PlayStation titles into Rift Apart's world.

Make sure to head over to our Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart pre-order prices guide to prepare for the PS5 launch.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart will have a launch day update that introduces performance raytracing modes.

Developer Insomniac Games shared a video on Twitter that shows off Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart running at 60fps with raytracing enabled on the PS5. The studio confirmed that players that update the game with the launch day update will be able to access both a performance mode and performance raytracing modes. This update will be available post-launch but can be downloaded as an option at any time, as Insomniac later clarified.

As you can see from the video below, Insomniac shows off a sequence in which Rivet traverses the level by grinding along a rail and shifting through Rifts. It's not clear which mode the game is running on, but it sure does look pretty. You can see the light reflecting off of the rails, the shadows reacting fluidly against those large arrow panels, and plenty of lens flares.

In a reply, Insomniac confirmed that all three performance modes use a dynamic base resolution and go through Insomniac's "temporal injection process to achieve a 4K image" which is similar to the studio's most recent title, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

It's not just the raytracing being showcased here either - we can also see the frames holding steady as Rivet switches between dimensions, making use of the PS5's SSD. It's certainly a nice sneak peek at what to expect when the game launches this week on June 11. Insomniac has recently revealed the game's file size and pre-load times so you can get ready to boot up ahead of launch day.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is the latest game in the series' 19-year journey and is a PS5 exclusive. We've seen how the main characters will experience planetary exploration, as well as what the story is all about in a nutshell, and Insomniac has also shown off the game's wealth of accessibility features.

With the game launching this week, you might be wanting to get ready for launch day, so make sure to head over to our Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart pre-order prices guide to find out more information.

A new Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart trailer takes a look at the evolution of the series since 2002.

Just below, you can see the brief new trailer taking a look at the history of the Ratchet and Clank franchise under PlayStation. We start all the way at the very beginning, when Ratchet and Clank debuted as new partners on the PS2 all the way back in 2002, then fast forwarding through the entire extensive franchise to end up at Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart in 2021.

It's a really nice look at how far the PlayStation series has come since it first bounded into the world. Over on the PlayStation Blog, Insomniac community director James Stevenson recounts his personal history with the series, starting out from when he was a freelance journalist in college when the franchise first launched, all the way to working on the latest PS5 showcase 19 years later.

It's been a long, loveable road for both Ratchet and Clank from back in the early 2000s. Right now though, we're precisely one week away from Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart finally debuting as a PS5 exclusive, and it's set to be a bit of a showstopper when it comes to performance and graphics on the new PlayStation console, if the footage we've seen so far is anything to go by.

In one week's time, we'll embark on a brand new adventure with both Ratchet and Clank. That's not all though, because the iconic duo are going to be joined by a brand new character in the sequel: Rivet. This mysterious female Lombax was first unveiled back in 2020, getting people talking and speculating that she was actually another version of Ratchet. This speculation turned out to be correct, as developer Insomniac revealed that Rivet is Ratchet from another dimension.

Hopping between dimensions is going to be a massive part of Rift Apart when it launches next week. Since the PS5 is able to render details and areas at such a massive pace, Insomniac is really making that a key feature of the new game, as Ratchet, Clank, and Rivet go hopping between worlds in the blink of an eye, with zero loading times in between.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart launches next week on June 11, exclusively for the PS5. For a complete look ahead to one of the most exciting games of 2021 so far, head over to our Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart preview for more.

Check out our upcoming PS5 games guide for a complete look at everything Sony has planned for its next-gen console.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart uses its new Lombax hero Rivet to tell a what-if story about its eponymous heroes, and the developers at Insomniac Games were inspired by one of the best Christmas movies to ask its central question.

A new Variety interview with several of the creative minds who helped shape the vision for Rivet as a character reveals It's a Wonderful Life as an unlikely influence: the team had already settled on the idea of a dimension-hopping game, but what form does that specifically take? Then they started thinking about Jimmy Stewart being shown how everybody's lives would be different if he wasn't around...

“What would a different dimension of Ratchet and Clank be like?” creative director Marcus Smith said. “And in particular, what would Ratchet’s life be like if he didn’t have a Clank?” Rather than going the "soap opera" route with an evil twin story, Smith said the team realized that "what was magical about seeing alternate dimension versions is how true they are to their core character." 

Lead animator Lindsay Thompson added that the studio also tried to figure out who Rivet isn't as they began to refine her: “Despite her tough exterior and perceived coolness, she’s never cynical, dark or cruel. Sure, she might not know the best way to act in a social situation, but she sure as hell isn’t shy. She’s on a mission for good, to protect herself and the innocent inhabitants who are tormented by the Emperor Nefarious and his goons.”

Check out our Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart preview to help pass the time until you can start playing on June 11.

Update: The full list of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart Trophies have now appeared online. PSN Profiles has the full list of Trophies, which includes story spoilers for those who want to go into Ratchet and Clank's new adventure without any story information whatsoever. Elsewhere, there are details on collectibles, upgrading weapons, and more.

Original: A slate of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart Trophies have been revealed by developer Insomniac.

A slate of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart Trophies have been revealed by developer Insomniac.

Just below, you can see the beginnings of a tweet thread from the official Insomniac Twitter account, detailing some of the Trophies you can earn in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. Firstly, the thread notes that the Platinum Trophy is called Masters of the Multiverse, a fitting name considering we'll be hopping through multiple dimensions and realities in the upcoming sequel.

Elsewhere, there are the likes of the UnBEARably Awesome Trophy, which tasks players with finding all CraggerBears in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. This could be the form of collectible item that we'll be tracking down in Rift Apart while playing as both Ratchet and Rivet next month.

Another noteworthy Trophy is the Does This Make My Tail Look Big?, a Trophy that's obtainable through equipping head, torso, and leg armor. This points to Ratchet and Rivet being able to find different sets of armor in Rift Apart, and equipping different gear pieces for new armor, weapon, and ability bonuses.

Earlier this month, Insomniac actually revealed that the Platinum Trophy for Rift Apart can be obtained in one playthrough. Game director Mike Daly explained that while it won't take multiple playthroughs to earn the crowning achievement, you'll need to be "pretty thorough" to nab the Platinum Trophy in one playthrough, which is probably welcome news for Trophy hunters with limited time on their hands.

There are now less than two weeks to go until we'll be earning these Trophies for ourselves in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, when Insomniac's sequel launches on June 11, exclusively for the PS5. For more on the upcoming action-adventure sequel, you can head over to our expansive Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart preview for a complete breakdown of Insomniac's game.

If you're looking to place an order for Ratchet and Rivet's adventure ahead of the release date, check out our Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart pre-order guide for more.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart pre-load will begin on June 4 and weigh in at 33GB, it's been revealed.

In the tweet below, PlayStation Game Size, which catalogues the upcoming file sizes of games set to release on PlayStation systems, revealed the information for Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. As we can see, the size of Insomniac's sequel will weigh in at around 33GB, although this might not include any potential Day One patches for the title. 

Additionally, the tweet above reveals that the pre-load for Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart will begin on June 4. This is exactly one week before the game actually launches worldwide on June 11, so that's plenty of time to get the 33GB download initiated and installed on your PS5.

There are now less than two weeks to go until Insomniac's sequel finally arrives, and there's plenty of reasons to be excited about Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. For one, we'll get to visit an absolute boatload of brand new locations, as well as throwbacks to Ratchet and Clank locations of old, like Nefarious City, for one. For what we thought after spending some time with the game, head over to our Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart preview for a complete breakdown.

We'll also get to find out the story behind the mysterious female Lombax called Rivet. While Insomniac unveiled the brand new playable protagonist last year, fans were speculating over the nature of the character for a long time. Right now, it's not exactly been confirmed that Rivet is Ratchet from an alternate reality, but given that Rift Apart deals with hopping through different multiverses at the blink of an eye, there's every chance that Rivet could be Ratchet's counterpart from a different universe entirely.

If you're still looking to reserve your copy of Insomniac's sequel for the cheapest prince around, head over to our full Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart pre-order guide for more.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart's entire accessibility options have been published online by developer Insomniac.

Insomniac's blog post highlights the extensive list of accessibility options that will feature in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart when it launches next month. One particularly noteworthy feature is that you can enable a button that will slow down time when pressed, slowing down to either 70, 50, or 30% speed.

Overall, it's an incredibly impressive list of accessibility options from the developer. Previously, we've reported how Rift Apart would boast the option to put up guard rails on the edge of platforms to prevent players from falling off, as well as other features, but now developer Insomniac has revealed the full slate of accessibility options that'll arrive with Rift Apart next month.

Additionally, the new blog post from Insomniac also highlights a brand new difficulty setting for Ratchet and Clank's new adventure. The "Renegade Legend" difficulty mode is "for those who wish to battle the most brutal foes," and it certainly sounds like it'll be a punishing time. There's also a note that players can disable all tutorials throughout Rift Apart, which will no doubt be welcome news to series veterans.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart launches next month on June 11, exclusive for the PS5. Over the last few weeks, Insomniac has finally revealed that the name of the mysterious female Lombax is Rivet, and they've also showcased a slate of new features in trailers over the past few days, such as the lush planetary biomes we'll be exploring.

If you want to reserve your copy before the release date next month, head over to our Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart pre-order prices guide for the cheapest price points around.

A new Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart trailer showcases the game's extensive exploration aspect.

Just below, you can check out the new "Planets and Exploration" trailer for Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, which debuted earlier today on May 20. Throughout the trailer, we can see a showcase of the various worlds we'll be visiting next month in June, including the cityscape of Nefarious City, and the overgrown plant wildlife of Sargasso.

As developer Insomniac finally revealed late last month in April, the mysterious female Lombax first teased for the sequel last year is in fact called Rivet, and she appears to be the form of Ratchet in another dimension entirely. 

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart boasts a staggering amount of world-hopping, as we've seen showcased through every trailer for the game so far. One of the major features of the game is the ability to hop through to alternate realities at a moment's notice, with zero loading screens in between these jumps.

Previously, developer Insomniac pulled back the curtain on an impressive slate of accessibility options for the sequel, including the option to put guards up on the edge of platforms, as well as changing the color of objects in the vicinity of the player.

There's not long to go now until Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart arrives for the PS5 next month on June 11. We recently got the chance to see a huge chunk of the Lombax's new adventure, which you can read all about in our Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart preview. 

If you're looking to get your hands on Insomniac's new adventure for the cheapest price point possible, head over to our Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart pre-order prices guide for more.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart will make it easy to obtain the game's platinum trophy when it launches on PS5 next month.

Speaking with IGN India, game director Mike Daly explained that players won't need to replay the game multiple times to score the top achievement, saying that "our trophy design for this game is again, pretty permissive. You can achieve [the platinum] in one playthrough, though you need to be pretty thorough in how you approach the game. So if you've explored the nooks and crannies, if you've engaged with the upgrade systems, then you can get it without an inordinate amount of time invested.

Daly does acknowledge that "this sort of breaks with some of the games of the distant past where we always wanted some crazy stretch trophy that had you doing a bunch of work," but that "if you are the type of player who just really embraces the game and loves it, we are going to make it possible to get the Platinum without wasting your time."

Those players who are looking for more of a challenge will be able to turn to the helpfully-titled Challenge mode, which offers something of a New Game Plus experience, but with "a much steeper progression curve over the course of the game." Daly also says that the hardest difficulty settings will be perfect for those looking to experience the heights of the game's skill ceiling.

While Daly references the trickier trophies Insomniac used to include, the studio seems to have changed its tack recently. Its last game, 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man, also allowed players to acquire the Platinum within a single playthrough.

For even more to get excited about, take a look at our Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart PS5 preview. 

Update: Ratchet & Clank's 60FPS update for the PS5 version has launched ahead of schedule.

Insomniac Games took to Twitter to share the good news, writing: "Surprise! The update is now live. Get blasting, Rangers!" Game journalist Joseph Yaden also took notice of the update's availability, sharing a screengrab of the game's update history, which now lists, "Enhanced performance for PlayStation 5 console."

It's still not too late to grab the game for free as part of Sony's Play at Home program, which has been dropping free games to encourage people to stay home while we wait out the pandemic. Keep in mind, Ratchet & Clank will go back to its normal price after March 31, so you've got about 24 hours to take advantage of this sweet deal.

Original story:

Insomniac Games has announced that 2016's Ratchet & Clank is getting a 60FPS update on PS5 sometime in April.

Ahead of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart's June launch, the update makes a strong case for playing or re-playing the original PS4 adventure. In case your gaming budget is running a little tight, worry not: Ratchet & Clank is still free to download on PS4 and PS5 as part of Sony's Play at Home program until March 31. And because I had to double-check my calendar to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me, March 31 is on Wednesday, just two days from now, so don't delay.

To be clear, the update will only be available for the PS5 version of Ratchet & Clank; as the studio points out on Twitter, "it's not possible to run the game at 60fps on PS4, [the update] needs the PS5's horsepower." Regardless, Ratchet & Clank is a worthy addition to your game library if you're a fan of good old-fashioned platforming fun.

Our 4/5 Ratchet & Clank review from 2016 heaps praise on the graphics, "flat-out fun platforming and combat," and variety of inventive weaponry, and despite making note of a few minor technical hiccups, says the "framerate stays constant even in the most visually intensive, particle-effect-filled battles, and the sight of bolts." Hopefully that puts to rest any worries from PS4 owners about the game's performance on the older hardware, but still, 60FPS on PS5 is sure to be a treat.

Check out all of these upcoming PS5 games! Ready for the new game too? We've also rounded up the latest Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart pre-order prices.

If you had asked me to guess which upcoming PS5 game plans to explore the duality of man, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart would not have been my first answer. Insomniac's PlayStation franchise has historically been more interested in letting players shoot disco balls out of gloves or turn enemies into ducks than asking them to ruminate on the very nature of existence, after all. 

But, in a recent PlayStation Blog post announcing the Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart release date, creative director Marcus Smith pointed to the game's "theme of duality [...] of opposites forming a more powerful whole" as a key inspiration for its box art, adding that this idea will be "expanded even more through [its] alternate-dimension counterparts of characters and worlds". 

It's certainly a step into new territory for everyone's favourite Lombax-robot duo, but look between the dimensional cracks, and it's clear that Rift Apart is the inevitable evolution of a franchise that has remained a comforting constant amidst decades of turbulent PlayStation history. 

Multidimensional characters

Indeed, when you think about it, maybe Smith has a point. What are Ratchet & Clank if not two opposites – a shrewd, fastidious robot and carefree, streetwise mammal – coming together to form an unstoppable team? This truth has a meta resonance, too. Each time either character has gone off to lead their own solo spin-off game, the results just haven't landed as effectively as when they're on the front cover together.  

Ratchet and Clank are basically inseparable, intrinsically tied to each other's legacy like all great dynamic duos, and this is exactly what makes the set-up for Rift Apart so interesting. After losing Ratchet through one of many interdimensional hops, Clank finds himself lost and alone in a strange new world, his partner nowhere to be seen – except, perhaps, for a female Lombax who looks suspiciously familiar...

Is this an alternative dimension Ratchet? An entirely new character? A transgender Lombax, as some have theorised? Insomniac's not revealing anything for now, apart from the fact that she's a "resistance fighter", and a playable character that you'll be able to control at some point during the events of Rift Apart's campaign. 

What we do know is that this new Lombax will play an integral role within Rift Apart's story, as evidenced by her sharing equal space on the box art with Ratchet himself. What's more, her relationship with the pair, and with Clank in particular, could significantly shake up the traditional dynamic of an Ratchet & Clank game, and, oh look, those themes of duality are suddenly coming back into focus. 

How does a unit of two transition into a trio? What does it mean to hold up a mirror to those we love dearest? Expect Insomniac to masterfully weave these questions into its otherwise playful and effervescent sci-fi odyssey in a way that only a studio of its unique talent and history could. 

Worlds collide

Set after the events of 2013's Into the Nexus, Rift Apart is technically the ninth instalment in the mainline Ratchet and Clank storyline, and thus sits on nineteen years of lore that it can happily draw from. At the same time, Insomniac stresses that while "longtime fans of the series will find deeper layers of connection to previous games", Rift Apart is an "excellent one [for newcomers] to start with, as the adventure is a stand-alone storyline."

Perhaps the best comparison is HBO's Watchmen show, which made more than enough nods to the source material to please longtime Watchmen fans, but could nevertheless still be enjoyed in isolation by those who'd never touched a page of Alan Moore's graphic novel. 

Already, for example, fans have mined dozens of franchise callbacks and Easter eggs from last year's extended Gamescom demo, but the 12 minute showcase is also perfectly capable of speaking for itself as a eye-pleasing glimpse into what the PS5 can offer, regardless of your familiarity with the IP itself.

More than anything, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart looks to be a celebration of the franchise's history and a glimpse into its future all at once, as forward-looking as it is retrospective, ushering in a new generation of fans for the next generation of Insomniac Games. Clank's ray-traced bodywork is just the icing on the cake. 

For more, check out the best PS5 games to play right now, or watch our review of Little Nightmares 2 in the video below. 

Without any marketing or advertisements preceding it, Ratchet & Clank: Life of Pie launched on Canadian streaming service Crave Friday afternoon. The 23-minute short movie tells a new story set in the Ratchet & Clank universe and isn't in the same canon as Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

As Twitter user Garen points out, it's hard to tell if this is one of the many TV shows and movies Sony has planned for PlayStation franchises, but it reportedly isn't a sequel or prequel to Rift Apart. PlayStation Lifestyle heard straight from Sony that Ratchet & Clank: Life of Pie is a "standalone license special created by Mainframe Studios" with no narrative ties to the upcoming PS5 exclusive. Here's the full synopsis from Crave:

"While on an inter-galactic pizza run, Ratchet and Clank discover that the diabolical Dr. Nefarious has developed an interdimensional portal device that would allow him to rule the entire multiverse! The intrepid duo spring into action, liberating the 'Portalizer' from Dr. Nefarious and then racing off to securely lock it away in a weapons museum. But along the way, they run into bumbling Captain Qwark, who uses the weapon to accidentally unleash a sentient-pizza-topping mob upon the citizens of Galactic City. It's up to Ratchet and Clank to battle the savory horde and keep the Portalizer out of Dr. Nefarious' evil hands before he uses it to destroy the galaxy!"

The only way to watch Ratchet & Clank: Life of Pie right now is through a Crave subscription, which isn't officially available to anyone outside of Canada. Though, it seems like a fairly strong possibility that Sony brings the short to US and UK streaming service, given the global popularity of the Ratchet & Clank series. That said, if you don't mind living on the edge, we have a hunch you'll be able to find the short on YouTube (if you act quickly).

Here's why Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will be the first must-have PS5 exclusive of 2021.

When you consider there hasn't been a brand new Ratchet and Clank adventure in close to seven years, blasting holes in the space-time continuum is definitely one hell of a comeback. Due to launch in the PS5 "launch window", Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is set to see the heroic duo taking on their old nemesis Dr. Nefarious. The robotic mad scientist has got his glove on some Lombax tech capable of blasting holes between dimensions – handily called the Dimensionator. 

Now, if you actually look into the lore of Ratchet and Clank, you'll understand that the Dimensionator is deeply connected to the near-extinction of the Lombax race. Also known as the "Lombax Secret", the Dimensionator is a giant helmet that allows its wearer to travel through realities. The device was protected by a Lombax called Kaden, who just happens to be Ratchet's father. It's appeared in quite a few of the Ratchet and Clank games to date – either as a blink and you'll miss it cameo or as a major plot device, as we saw in 2009's A Crack in Time – and the last we saw of it had Ratchet making sure that it couldn't be used to bring back the Cragmites, a militaristic species that once destroyed the majority of the Lombax race. 

A new console dimension 

Now, the Dimensionator is obviously incredibly important to the story of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, but in this case, it's more than just a plot device. It has ended up being a handy weapon to draw on from the Ratchet universe to deliver the kind of game Insomniac wanted to make when it first learned about the capabilities of the PS5. "In Rift Apart, we were working backwards," explains creative direct Marcus Smith. "We knew that there was going to be an extremely fast SSD [in the PS5], so we were trying to leverage that as much as possible."

"Part of the reason we wanted to add dimensionality as a theme is, it's wide open. This is one of the few franchises that can get away with doing anything. We can basically do whatever we want. And being able to transport players nearly instantaneously, which is a huge, new feature of the PlayStation 5, that was something that we were aiming to do and really capitalise on. And I will say, even hearing about how fast it was, I was blown away when we saw how fast it actually was."

Insomniac has said multiple times that this kind of game wouldn't have been possible without the SSD inside the PS5. Without it, the gameplay would have been otherwise littered with loading screens, which would completely break the cinematic nature of these world-shifting segments. For Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, the developer has eliminated loading screens completely, so prepare to be travelling through worlds via the Dimensionator, but also portals within worlds with your new Rift Tether tool. 

You'll see it in the extended gameplay demo that was shown off during Opening Night Live, with Ratchet pulling himself through the world to travel to different spots within the same area – sometimes using them to get a different perspective in battle or simply for easy traversal. 

"What you don't get to see, of course, is that you can also feel this [rift] coming [with the PS5 DualSense controller] – like, the energy of a portal is sort of its own unique sensation. You get a sense of the distance of it, because the haptics add so much sort of texture to that experience," adds game director Mike Daly. "And the same goes for 3D spatial audio. Basically, you know, all the other new channels of feedback we have, reinforce this notion that you are passing through this portal."

Alt-dimension Ratchet? 

But these added dimensions aren't just linked to gameplay and the physicality of actually playing one of the upcoming PS5 games, but also to the game's story. Thanks to the Dimensionator, you'll be able to travel to and explore new and existing planets within a single game, with some familiar locales seen "through a different lens", explains Smith. It also allows Insomniac to introduce a brand new playable character in this mysterious female Lombax. 

"[Previously], we were trying to tell this story that revolved around, you know, strengthening these two heroes, who are basically diametrically opposed. They don't see eye to eye on anything, but they're better together," says Smith. "And we really wanted to make sure that we had a message about that – that these are, you know, tumultuous times, and people need to have more empathy, and see past each other's differences to make sure that we're made stronger together, right? It's the overarching message of the franchise."

"And with Rift Apart, we're trying to tell a story that involved seeing another version of these characters, who have never really become the heroes that they could be. So we immediately started talking about this duality of multiple dimensions. And then, of course, we already had this device from the franchise that does what we need it to do. So we've spun a yard that incorporates the Dimensionator."

"And, it helps a lot that the Dimensionator adds so much to Ratchet's story" adds Daly, "because it gives us a lot of intriguing clips to drive that character forward and let him grow."

Interestingly, from talking about the story, Smith seemingly suggests that the female (and, as of writing, unnamed) Lombax may actually be a Ratchet from another dimension, thus creating a kind of Ratchet and Clank multiverse. You could read into the fact that at the end of the gameplay trailer, the female Lombax doesn't question for a moment who Clank is, but rather questions why he's calling her Ratchet. Of course, go deep into the lore and canonically female Lombax don't have tails, whereas our new playable heroine does. 

"I will say that in the dimension that Ratchet is from and that we are used to, that very well could be a rule of Lombax physiology," laughs Smith when I ask him about it, although he says the team isn't ready to start talking about the intricacies of her character or how she'll play just yet. 

What we do know is that this is a game that continues on the Ratchet and Clank Future series, although isn't a direct sequel to Into the Nexus as originally thought. However, it still maintains plenty of the series DNA, despite the leap to PS5 and the introduction of multiple worlds. A huge part of that is the arsenal of inherently silly weaponry at Ratchet's disposal, with my personal new favourite from what's been shown off so far being the Topiary Sprinkler, which turns your enemies into literal topiary shrubbery.

"We had been brainstorming tonnes and tonnes of super-fun, exciting ideas that got thrown at the wall. We decided, right there, that we need to make five sequels, [just] so that we can make all these weapons. But we ultimately have to pick one, and the Topiary Sprinkler stood out," says Daly. "My favourite part about the weapon is that now that we have all this extra power and fidelity of 4K graphics on the PS5, you can make it actually feel like topiary sculptures, because topiaries have these tiny, little, detailed leaves that aren't just a flat mesh."

Insomniac is also utilising various features of the new DualSense PS5 controller to add more dimensions to its weapons. From being able to control the individual shotgun round releases with a half- or full-trigger press, to the additional haptic control, Daly and Smith both joke that "it feels like the PS5 controller was designed with Ratchet and Clank weapons in mind". 

"The fact that we can layer haptics as a new channel of feedback over everything, all parts of core gameplay stand up," explains Daly. "For example, for traversal, now you get this extra layer of feedback when you attach to a grind rail or switch, or if there's a huge car incoming. You get that extra layer of feedback when you swing on a swing shot. You can sort of feel his acceleration, and the wind blowing past. It just gives you an enhanced sense of velocity that you don't fully realise just from the visuals and the audio. So it enhances traversal, and it greatly enhances weapons. It enhances the UI – just all parts of it feel a little bit better than they ever have before, just thanks to this new, ever-present thing."

It's difficult to really appreciate all of this from a gameplay trailer alone of course, but thankfully that launch window release date means we'll be playing the new Ratchet and Clank sooner than expected. Maybe we'll see that alt-Clank Insomniac teased too, and find out what's going on with that female Lombax. 

The new Lombax seen in the PS5 trailer for Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is a playable character, Insomniac Games has confirmed.

Insomniac took to Twitter today to add this one key detail about the series' newest character, who took the internet by storm when she premiered in the reveal trailer for Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.

The long-awaited return of Ratchet and Clank made its big debut at last week's PS5 reveal event. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is an upcoming PS5 game described by Insomniac as a "brand new, full length interdimensional adventure." The reveal trailer sent the series' fans into a tizzy, and rightfully so. Even for an outsider looking in, the fast-paced shooting, rail-grinding, and bright, crisp animations made for quite the alluring display. 

Then, at the end of the trailer, a silver female Lombax "from another dimension" is introduced. The series has always been about the titular Lombax and robot, but now it seems Insomniac Games is throwing another personality into the mix. And not only is she a featured character, we now know she's fully playable as well.

Sony acquired Insomniac Games last year, and since then they've had quite a lot on their plate. Not only are they working on a new full-fat Ratchet and Clank game, but they also revealed a new Spider-Man PS5 game focused on Miles Morales from Into the Spider-Verse and comics lore.

Here are all the upcoming PS5 games we know about after the big reveal last week.

A new Ratchet & Clank game could be headed to PS5 around the time of the upcoming console's launch, if a new rumor is accurate.

Developer Insomniac Games, which was recently purchased by Sony after many years of close collaboration between the two companies, may return to the world of furry heroes and bizarre weaponry before releasing the next installment in the super-powered universe it started with Spider-Man PS4.

Video game podcaster Colin Moriarty recently shared the rumor, as reported by CBR: "We're going to get a Ratchet & Clank in-between [Spider-Man PS4 and its sequel] on PlayStation 5," Moriarty said. "I feel like that's going to be a launch game, the Ratchet & Clank game that's long been in development at Insomniac."

The Ratchet & Clank series started on PS2 in 2002, and its most recent entry was a 2016 remake of the original game (which also tied into an animated movie). Though it seemed like that latest game was set up to start a reboot series full of new adventures for the lombax/robot duo, we haven't heard much else about Ratchet & Clank since then. If the rumor's right, Insomniac will return to what is arguably its flagship franchise for its very first game on PS5 - and its very first game as an official Sony studio. There isn't much of anything to verify this rumor beyond Moriarty's comments, but at least it would feel right?

Sony itself hasn't officially announced any of the games set for the PS5 launch period, or any PS5 games period. However, a host of leaks and rumors point toward a PS5 February reveal event, so we could learn much more about the system and its initial lineup of titles within the next few weeks.

Get a preview of some more games that may be headed to Sony's next system with our guide to upcoming PS5 games.

Spoilers suck, especially when they show up without warning. So if you want to check out gameplay of the new Ratchet & Clank game without spoiling the upcoming movie adaptation, know that Insomniac Games has got your back. A new patch will block clips from the movie (which are woven into in-game cutscenes and levels) from viewers when the game is being streamed, and disable the Share button during these scenes.

Sharing will still be functional for the rest of the game, and the blocking of scenes will have no impact on the person playing the game. All this patch does is help keep the plot a surprise for those who'd rather experience the tale of the last Lombax and his mechanical companion on the big screen.

Speaking of which, Ratchet & Clank (the game) is available now in the US, and will debut in US theaters on April 29. Both the game and film will premiere on April 20 in Europe.

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What we have here is the all-time greatest game based on a movie based on a game. Granted, the only competition is the abysmal Street Fighter: The Movie, but still - Ratchet & Clank is a thoroughly enjoyable reboot for the widely adored duo, improving on the PS2 original in every way while staying totally accessible for newcomers. Even if the story suffers from its attempts to tie in with the upcoming movie of the same name, Ratchet & Clank is a strong PS4 debut for the series that recaptures the pure, plain ol' fun of the best 2000s-era platforming. And one thing's for sure: the loveable Lombax and his trusty robot pal have never looked better.

In case you've never played a R&C game before and/or haven't seen any of the recent film trailers, this is a loose retelling of how Ratchet and Clank met and saved the galaxy (for the first time of many). For those who've played the original, the return of certain planets, side characters, and level layouts will tap into your fond memories, while the reworked aiming and strafing controls will make you forget all about the comparatively awkward setup from the first game. The redone, buttery-smooth controls are crucial, because as you probably know, half the fun of R&C games is derived from blasting enemies to bits with destructive (and hilariously inventive) weaponry.

Ratchet's selection of Gadgetron-manufactured firepower is a pleasant mix of old and new; each weapon serves a unique purpose, and can be leveled up and upgraded at your leisure for a satisfying power curve over the course of the game. They also lend themselves nicely to some particularly devastating combos, like creating a small army of deadly droids with a Mr. Zurkon plus a Glove of Doom, or pairing up the weaponized Groovitron disco ball with the area-of-effect energy bursts of the new Proton Drum, creating the world's most chaotic dance party as enemies are repeatedly zapped with pink shockwaves. And you really need to see the Pixelizer in action, simply for this fresh weapon's glorious graphical effects: anyone hit by its shotgun-style blast will suddenly morph from three dimensions into 2D pixel art. Use it for a killing blow, and you can even smash up the chunky voxels that make up their retro-looking remains.

On top of the Pixelizer, Ratchet & Clank is a graphical marvel throughout, where the in-game visuals could be mistaken for the slick CG of the animated film. Richly detailed backdrops bursting with color, adorably expressive animations, the impressive fireworks during combat, even the texture of Ratchet's fur - it all looks phenomenal, and marks a milestone for 3D platformers being just as pretty as Pixar films. While it's a shame that the PS4 debut doesn't strive for 60fps, the framerate stays constant even in the most visually intensive, particle-effect-filled battles, and the sight of bolts (classic R&C currency) floating towards you by the hundreds without a hint of slowdown is simply magical. Each planet has a distinct look and feel, from the metropolis on Novalis to the tropics of Pokitaru, and new levels (like a valley of volcanoes you explore via jetpack) show off some seriously impressive draw distances and environmental flourishes. Their layouts make for first-rate platforming, with multiple objectives, clear indications of where to go, a healthy amount of challenge, and plenty of intriguing 'I'll be sure to come back for that' moments when you spot a secret area but don't yet have the right gadget to access it. Clank also stars in some new puzzles, with short, satisfying solutions that offer a pleasant change of pace from Ratchet's running and gunning.

While the visuals achieve graphical parity with the film, the story struggles to find the right balance between adhering to the events of the first game and the scenes from the movie, creating a mild but unfortunate lose-lose situation. If you've seen the film, you might be thrown off by events that don't make sense to the movie's timeline, or be irked by how often it incorporates abridged clips from key scenes. Those who haven't yet seen it (which applies to almost everyone at launch, as the film won't be in theaters until the end of April) will have a hard time following some of the plot threads, which force certain characters from the film into the spotlight even if their personality or motivations were never properly established. But it's hard to get too upset over the story inconsistencies when the writing is so humorously self-aware and thoroughly charming. It's especially nice to hear Ratchet's rightful voice actor James Arnold Taylor doing his take on the character's origins, and the new script excises all of the unneeded smarm that plagued Ratchet's personality in the original PS2 game. There's also a delightful new framing device: Captain Qwark's eventual betrayal is given away right from the start, as he narrates the entire game while telling his side of the story from the confines of space prison.

All told, the budget $40 / £28 price tag on Ratchet & Clank feels just right. It took me just over 8 hours to finish the main story, and I look forward to more hours spent chasing down weapon upgrades, collectible cards, and cheat-code-enabling Gold Bolts (with even more mileage awaiting those brave enough for the amped-up difficulty of the post-credits Challenge Mode). There are some minor things to gripe about: the last fifth of the game feels a little padded out, you're only afforded one save file, and the final boss is predictably frustrating (I imagine he'll give younger players fits). But the good far outweighs the bad, and after some experimental entries on the PS3, Ratchet & Clank is a entertaining return to form for the series. This is a reboot done right, recapturing everything that made the original great and making substantial improvements for a new generation.

What is it they say about Lombaxes and night buses? You wait years and then two of them come along at once? Well, ok, no one's ever said that about the big-eared Lombaxes but on April 20th this year we'll be treated to a double dose of Ratchet & Clank as both the PS4 remake of the original and the major motion picture come out on the same day across Europe.

According to a post from Insomniac on the PlayStation Blog, the new game will "tell a new version of the origin story many of you will remember. It features modern Ratchet & Clank controls, new planets, new and improved gameplay, all-new boss fights, new flight sequences and much, much more." Check out the new box art below.

The game tells the story from Captain Quark's point of view so things will be sightly different from the original but the old gang will be back in force. The below trailer is almost ridiculously pretty and I can't wait to dive back in.

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The new Ratchet and Clank for PlayStation 4 is a dazzling showcase of animation and glossy graphics, and the movie it shares a universe with is partially to thank. That’s right - thank. With the companion film also set to debut in April 2016, Insomniac Games has been able to complete its next big Ratchet and Clank with plenty of time to spare for polish - to the tune of about 6 months.

It’s not necessarily an unusual situation for Insomniac, community and marketing lead James Stevenson told me during PlayStation Experience last weekend. “We’ve definitely had good polish phases before and times where we’ve scheduled a lot of polish time,” he said.

It is unusual, however, given the history of movie tie-in games, which are typically rushed to coincide with the film as an afterthought. In the case of Ratchet and Clank, which is simultaneously a remake of the original game and based on the film (which is, uh, based on original game to some degree), the independent developer outpaced the film. “These were always developed side-by-side and we wanted them to come out side by side.” Oh, and one more thing: “We’re good at making Ratchet and Clank games,” said Stevenson.

Though I couldn’t determine who had the biggest budget between the film and the game, Stevenson said time and attention to detail - more than money - is ultimately why this Ratchet and Clank is already playing so smoothly. “It’s big things and little things - just some of the little effects, some of the little things you see in levels, little gameplay tweaks that people haven’t seen yet. Those things will add up and get you a better experience when you play it in April.”

Ratchet and Clank is out as a game first on April 12, followed by the movie on April 29.

If I didn't know better, I would not have guessed that the upcoming Ratchet & Clank movie is based on a video game. (That's a good thing, by the way.) We'll have to wait until April 29, 2016 to see how true to Insomniac's vision the animated film will be, but for those not familiar, I daresay this has appeal. A trailer released today gives viewers everything they need to know: who's the hero, what's his goal, who's in his way. It even manages to throw some chuckle-worthy jokes in along the way.

This is definitely kid-friendly material; nothing too high-brow, punctuated by some slapstick humor. But it's also not just a bunch of goofy faces making obnoxious noises, either. Mayhaps that has something to do with appealing to those of us who do remember the original games? Because don't forget, the movie isn't a standalone product - there's also the remake of the original Ratchet & Clank for PS4, which ties in with the movie, coming in June:

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If the growing stack of remasters at this year’s E3 teaches us anything, it’s that most major video games are due for a comeback - even when they haven’t really gone anywhere. And though there are few characters as steadfast and reoccurring in PlayStation history as Ratchet and Clank, they too are getting a remake on PlayStation 4 early next year. The video above should give you a good sense of how much has changed in, oh, about 13 years.

2002’s Ratchet and Clank is being made again then – really made, not just updated – by a more experienced Insomniac, with 15 people from the first game working in a team of 60. Modern climbing and aiming mechanisms are in, newer weapons (including the sardonic bot Mr. Zurkon) are in, and completely new graphical effects are in. It looks like all of them, probably?

The new Ratchet and Clank is also being shaped by the upcoming film of the same name (also due in 2016), which retells the story of how the heroes first met and how they crossed paths with the universe’s big-chinned blooperhero, Captain Qwark.

The results far exceed the resolution bump and texture cleanup that most remasters offer, instead feeling like the revitalization and preservation of an old game. The wide-eyed utopia of “Metropolis,” which used to be an impressive sight in the original game, now sparkles with new challenges and areas, more frantic combat and a sense of skyscraping scale that you might remember from the original game. And trust me, you’re misremembering.

Ordinarily, a movie tie-in and remake combo would be a tough sell to the jaded customer, but there’s an undeniable amount of polish and fresh work, despite a nostalgic premise, coming through in the new Ratchet and Clank. That's fair to say even when "new" might not be entirely the right word, just like "remastered" is not the right word either. How about renewed?

The new Ratchet & Clank for PS4 is retreating to its burrow (or wherever lombaxes live in the wild) for about a year. Insomniac Games announced that the reimagined take on the adventuresome duo's origin story is now planned for release in spring 2016, back from its initial release window of first-half 2015.

At least it won't be alone: the Ratchet & Clank film has also been pushed back, with a new opening date of April 29, 2016 in US theaters. The new game "ties in closely and expands upon the movie’s narrative" while retelling the events of the original game, working in new levels, weapons, and modern visuals along the way.

Insomniac said it will reveal more about the game soon (I sure hope they have more to share, since it was originally meant to ship by June) but it did at least confirm the roles for those recently revealed celebrity voice actors.

Paul Giamatti (The Illusionist, Sideways) will voice the big bad Chairman Drek, Sylvester Stallone plays his nefarious lieutenant Victor Von Ion, John Goodman portrays Ratchet's mentor Grimrath, and Rosario Dawson (Sin City, Daredevil) and Bella Thorne (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day) play Elaris and Cora of the Galactic Rangers, respectively.

So… no shared Monsters, Inc. / Ratchet & Clank universe then. Back to my fanfiction I go.

Ready for another adventure with a certain Lombax and his robotic best friend? Insomniac’s next title in the R&C series: Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One takes on a different perspective, giving gamers a chance to play with up to four other teammates. With a new main co-op feature that utilizes collaboration on puzzles, wacky weapons and different playable characters for once, All 4 One casts a wider net than other co-op games this fall.

When we last left our heroes, they had saved the universe from the evil Dr. Nefarious again. It seems like they have only just taken a break from hero work when another crisis arises. A mysterious army of unidentified robots appears and begins creating trouble with unknown motives, capturing Ratchet, Clank, (now President) Qwark, and Nefarious all in one blow. Putting aside their differences, the foursome must come together to escape their plight, and as more of the insidious robot operation is uncovered, Ratchet decides he'll have to step in to galactic affairs once again to set things right. The story fits into the Ratchet and Clank style, but seems a bit tacked on to match the gameplay. There are very few (un-skippable) cutscenes, which make it hard to follow the story, but they still have the humor and snarky lines we’ve seen before.

As it says in the title, up to four players can go co-op through the story, online or local. Playing with even just one other person has immediate benefits. Execute enemies faster by spot focusing on one with other members with the same weapon. Players weapons will ramp up and project faster, dealing more damage. Experience also increases for completing team-based actions. The end of each level offers additional points for various goals completed, like most kills or most collected bolts, which can only be awarded to one player at a time, still giving the game a slight competitive edge to it.

Although it’s more fun to play with others, All 4 One can be played solo with an AI-controlled Clank in tow. The AI is surprisingly well-suited to filling in the gaps, doing its part with puzzles, and automatically helping heal when you take a lot of damage. The only problem is you can’t control the AI and give it commands (like in Portal 2 co-op mode); in fact, the only command you can give it is to call it back to you. Still, it's possible to complete all co-op based actions with only a few minor annoyances.

Like in past games there are puzzles to solve, but they tend to feel simplified. It's good that they don't interrupt the action heavily, but it would have been nice to see some more complexity given the co-op nature of the game. They offer a quick break from the run-and-gun but aren’t up to par with some of the cleverly designed time-bending puzzles from Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time.

The over-the-top quirky weapons are a memorable part of the series, and in All 4 One, there's a great variety to choose from. Each character has specialized weapons relating to their play style. Clank gets a Zoni Ray to slow down enemies, Dr. Nefarious sneaks around invisibly with a Cloaker, and Qwark can employ an “assassination-proof” Quantum Deflector shield. These and other weapons allow for upgrades based on bolts acquired through the levels. Some old returning favorites include Mr. Zurkon, the powerful war bot ally, and the trusty Combuster ray gun. One of the more interesting new tools is the Critter Strike, which turns foes into harmless creatures. Speaking of critters, you can suck up chubby creatures roaming around levels with the all new Vac-U suction gun to unlock secret labs within the game.

Graphically, the Ratchet and Clank franchise has carved out a unique flavor that fans of the series have come to expect, and this title delivers to expectations. Insomniac has mastered their craft; environments are stylized, exteriors blending nature and cartoony sci-fi machinery, interiors well-equipped with interesting décor and gadgets. In wide vistas, a beautiful depth of field effect accentuates atmosphere. Each new world serves up fresh and attractive visuals, from futuristic cities to polar ice caps to enchanting bioluminescent forests.

Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One is fun to play with others, whether it be local or online. Insomniac has done a great job of creating engaging cooperative play in the otherwise single-player series. This probably would have been better suited to the PSP, considering its minimal cutscenes and a story not as gripping as previous entries. Despite these low points, Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One still feels like it fits within the R&C franchise so many fans have grown attached to.

Oct 18, 2011

The latest trailer for Insomniac's co-op focused Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One takes a break from exhaustively cataloguing the game's cache of cartoonishly inventive artillery. Now it's time to take a look at the bits between the gunfights. Fortunately, the jumping 'n' collecting component of R&C has always been the series’ strong suit.

In a recent post on the US PlayStation Blog, Insomniac Games senior community manager James Stevenson offered more insight on today’s new trailer. “Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One is built from the ground-up to be a co-op game, and many of the mechanics are very co-op based. So [we] quickly realized we needed to give you a computer-controller partner to keep the gameplay balanced. In that regard, if you play All 4 One alone as Ratchet, Qwark or Nefarious, you’ll be teamed up with an AI bot playing as Clank. As you traverse the levels, Clank will ride on your back, just like always. When you reach enemies or a section that requires teamwork, Clank will jump off your back and help you out,” explains Stevenson. So what happens if you chose Clank? Stevenson promises a “special surprise” in store for Ratchet fans.

As the October 18 release for Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One approaches, you can also look forward to the chance to try out the game ahead of time via what Stevenson describes as “a very limited public beta.” The beta will be running from September 13 to September 27. If you’re a regular reader of GamesRadar, you know we love to share the love with beta keys and prizes. So be sure to check the site in the coming days. We just might have some special codes to the All 4 One beta to share.

Sep 12, 2011

How did Ratchet & Clank survive the great onslaught of “Plucky Hero and Pint-Sized Wiseass” platformers that marked the last generation of consoles? Three words: ridiculous freakin' weaponry. Guns bigger than the protagonists and more inventive than a Thomas Edison/Nikola Tesla brainstorming session are what's kept the series going, and Sony knows this – which is why it's released the latest in a steady stream of trailers devoted to the arsenal of the upcoming Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One.

This here's the concluding, “Special Weapons” chapter of the ongoing video series devoted to the destructive accoutrements of All 4 One – which is either an implication that in this game, something called the"Darkstar Fission Tether" isn't even all that special, or the tacit admission that the"Arc Lasher" and "Frost Cannon" were knocked together on a Friday afternoon five minutes before the staff headed out for drinks. Either way, these character-centric antagonism-aids suggest some cool gameplay possibilities when the game launches on October 18, right?

Sep 2, 2011

If there’s one thing the Ratchet & Clank series is known for, it’s Captain Quark. That guy’s a hoot. If there are TWO things it’s known for, the second would be weapons. Every Ratchet & Clank game has had completely outlandish firearms, from tornado launchers to guns that shoot disco balls to paralyze enemies with the power of funk. In a new trailer for the cooperative All 4 One, a few of the new tools of destruction are shown, including the Pyroblaster, the Arc Lasher, and more. Take a look.

To be honest, these might be the tamest weapons we’ve ever seen in a Ratchet & Clank game. Where are the spikey bouncing ball launchers? Where are the poisonous automated robotic nanobots? We want to see all of those—now!

Then again, part of the fun is finding them for ourselves, so maybe it’s best that they weren’t spoiled in this trailer. You hear that, Insomniac Games? Ignore what we said earlier. Keep them a secret, it’s cool. We know they’re there! You don’t have to show them to us!

Aug 26, 2011

The ability to kill or destroy things in fun and inventive ways has always been a hallmark of the Ratchet& Clank series, and Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One doesn't look to be deviating from tradition. Learn why you'll want to be the trigger end of the Combuster, Darkstar Fission Tether, Warmonger and Thundersmack in part one of Insomniac's new gameplay video series.

After nine instalments (not counting PlayStation Move Heroes and Secret Agent Clank), it appears Insomniac hasn't lost its touch for making things that murder other things feel fresh. It helps that All 4 One's gameplay focuses on four-player co-op, giving way to group operated weapons likes the Darkstar Fission Tether. Read ourhands-on previewto see how the rest of the co-op experience holds up.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One is slated to make gamers feel inadequate for not having three other friends readily available to play cartoon platformerson the PlayStation 3 on October 18th in North America, and October 21st in the UK.

Jul 28, 2011

Source:US PlayStation Blog

After nine instalments (not counting PlayStation Move Heroes and Secret Agent Clank), it appears Insomniac hasn't lost its touch for making things that murder other things feel fresh. It helps that All 4 One's gameplay focuses on four-player co-op, giving way to group operated weapons likes the Darkstar Fission Tether. Read ourhands-on previewto see how the rest of the co-op experience holds up.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One is slated to make gamers feel inadequate for not having three other friends readily available to play cartoon platformerson the PlayStation 3 on October 18th in North America, and October 21st in the UK.

Jul 28, 2011

Source:US PlayStation Blog

After nine instalments (not counting PlayStation Move Heroes and Secret Agent Clank), it appears Insomniac hasn't lost its touch for making things that murder other things feel fresh. It helps that All 4 One's gameplay focuses on four-player co-op, giving way to group operated weapons likes the Darkstar Fission Tether. Read ourhands-on previewto see how the rest of the co-op experience holds up.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One is slated to make gamers feel inadequate for not having three other friends readily available to play cartoon platformerson the PlayStation 3 on October 18th in North America, and October 21st in the UK.

Jul 28, 2011

Source:US PlayStation Blog

After nine instalments (not counting PlayStation Move Heroes and Secret Agent Clank), it appears Insomniac hasn't lost its touch for making things that murder other things feel fresh. It helps that All 4 One's gameplay focuses on four-player co-op, giving way to group operated weapons likes the Darkstar Fission Tether. Read ourhands-on previewto see how the rest of the co-op experience holds up.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One is slated to make gamers feel inadequate for not having three other friends readily available to play cartoon platformerson the PlayStation 3 on October 18th in North America, and October 21st in the UK.

Jul 28, 2011

Source:US PlayStation Blog

How do you fit a baby Tyrannosaurus Rex into the barrel of a gun? Developer Insomniac Games doesn’t care about the logistics. In Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One, they just want you to know they did it. And if you target the same baddie as your buddies, the infant terrible thunder lizards grow and become even more awesome at attacking.

This emphasis on teamwork is the core of All 4 One. Nearly every facet of the gameplay has been focused on enticing and, more often than not, requiring players to work together. We had to cooperate to open valves and steer platforms over pits of poisonous gas, and it all felt like a natural extension of the series – not a tacked-on, ill-conceived afterthought.

When we were lagging behind an ally through a tricky platforming area, all it took to catch up was a press of the grapple button to pull us toward our closest compatriot. This did wonders to alleviate the frustration stemming from our rusty platforming skills, and it kept the flow of the game moving at a brisk pace.

Instead of a user-controlled camera, All 4 One’s static viewpoint gives players a full view of the play area, smartly moving when needed. And, unlike earlier Ratchet games from the PS3-era, it doesn’t inhibit play or feel stiff at all - with the ability to look around taken out of your hands, nothing obstructs what you need to see when you need to see it.

Jun 9, 2011

In addition to a drop date, Sony revealed the game's official box art (right), as well as a list of special in-game items that will be available as pre-order bonuses from various retailers. They include Mr. Zurkon, the (other) helpful sidekick robot from previous titles, from GameStop; a T-Rex Morph Mod from Amazon, which turns enemies into cutesy baby dinosaurs; a Pyro Blaster Unlock from Best Buy, which is designed to fry the living crap out of baddies; and the Sheepinator Mod from Wal-Mart, whichoperatessimilar to theT-Rex Morph Mod, only with sheep.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One is a 4-player co-op game starring Ratchet, Clank, Quark and Dr. Nefarious. It picks up after Crack In Time, and finds the foursome teaming up to escape Planet Magnus after they are taken there to be kept as play things by the game's main villain, Ephemeris the Creature Collector.

Last month, Insomniac invited GR to try out their new take on the Ratchet & Clank series. Read our impressionshere, and check out this early gameplay footage:

May 20, 2011

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One hands-on preview
New levels and story details emerge as we hurl friends off cliffs in four-player co-op chaos

First Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One gameplay footage
Multiplayer Ratchet & Clank action on PS3? Bring it on!

Insomniac: No one does PS3 better than us [update: not exactly]
Kick-ass studio says it's kick-ass... or does it?

Since we first saw it, we’ve had some lingering doubts about Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One. It certainly looks like a great game, but can a four-player adventure that gives off a distinct brawler/party-game vibe really be a “true” Ratchet game? The developers at Insomniac’s North Carolina studio certainly think so, and their enthusiasm for All 4 One is infectious.

“This has been a game that’s been almost criminally fun to make,” said Chad Dezern, studio director at Insomniac North Carolina, during a press event last night. “We’ve been fascinated by the idea of taking these four characters, putting them together, and just seeing what happens.”

“These four characters” refers to Ratchet and Clank, as well as towering space-idiot Captain Qwark (now President Qwark), and their robotic nemesis, Dr. Nefarious. While it retains a lot of the basic mechanics of previous Ratchet games – the heroes can use a variety of interesting sci-fi guns, bash through enemies using close-quarters attacks and collect as many Bolts (used as currency) as possible – All 4 One seems more like Gauntlet, with linear levels and a very heavy emphasis on cooperation.

The game begins just after the end of Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, and President Qwark has been called to receive an award for a heroic deed he never performed. Ratchet and Clank tag along to keep him out of trouble, and it quickly becomes apparent that the “award ceremony” is a painfully obvious trap orchestrated by Dr. Nefarious.

Long story short, he unleashes an enormous beast called a Light-Eating Z’grute on the heroes, which – after it destroys Nefarious’s hovercraft – they defeat with his help. However, the Z’grute attracts the attention of something called Ephemeris the Creature Collector, which immediately kidnaps the heroes and takes them to Planet Magnus.

After the four are rescued from stasis by a little girl, Ratchet discovers that Magnus has been terrorized by Ephemeris, who’s all but destroyed the local civilization and turned the place into an open-air game preserve for the galaxy’s most dangerous monsters. It’s enough to make Ratchet and Clank come out of retirement (again) – and with nothing better to do, Qwark and Nefarious tag along.

After we’d watched a few cutscenes, Insomniac switched gears and showed off a new area, Octonok Reef. Here, the four heroes have to work together to pilot a big, round raft through dangerous, mine-filled waters by using vacuum guns to power four turbines on opposite sides of the raft. In order to negotiate the hazards ahead, you’ll need to coordinate your efforts on specific turbines at just the right times.

Also on display was the new Terawatt Forest level, a gloomy, possibly haunted woody environment in which the heroes busted out a new item: the Orb-o-Matic. Created by Dr. Croid – an inventor who may have had something to do with the creation of Ephemeris, and who the heroes are tracking – the Orb-o-Matic is essentially a giant hamster ball that keeps the heroes safe from harm and enables them to power up certain objects.

After they’d wandered through the woods for a while, the heroes encountered a colossal robot called a Guardian – which, as it turned out, they could power up and ride on. As it lumbered through the forest, the game shifted to a rail-shooter, with each of the four heroes manning a turret on the Guardian’s back. If two or more targeted the same enemy, they’d deal out bonus damage – something that happens during normal combat, as well. Eventually, the small-fry enemies fell away, and the Guardian started going toe-to-toe with other guardians that lurched out of the shadows to attack. We could describe it further, but you’ll glean more from watching the video below:

Finally, we had a chance to try out the game with four players on the previously seen seaside-cliffs level, and while it was anarchic, brawler-flavored fun at first, it quickly became obvious that we’d have to find ways coordinate our efforts in order to get through. For example, while all four characters are free to pick from their own weapon collections with a handy radial menu, it’s a good idea to find complementary ways to use those guns together. Every weapon has a way of playing off every other weapon, Dezern said, although the clearest example of this is the Darkstar Fission Rifle, a gun that creates lightning tethers between players who activate it. This quickly becomes incredibly useful when you’re faced with a large enemy, and want to trap it in an electric net that deals out constant damage.

Also instrumental to cooperation are the heroes’ multipurpose vacuum guns, which are used to activate switches, carry items, open Bolt-filled chests (something that requires the attentions of all four players), or – by pointing them upward – suck up other players and launch them across big gaps, something we had to do pretty frequently during our demo. Aiming your friends over gaps is pretty simple, thanks to an arc that shows where they’ll land, and once they’re across, all you need to do is grapple over to them – a mechanic that works a lot like the grappling hooks in LittleBigPlanet 2 – after which everyone else can grapple to you, as well. Some chasms can only be cleared by all four players grappling together; once you’ve launched a friend at a grapple point, everyone else can form a grapple chain and swing as a team to the next objective. After the player on the bottom gets close enough to let go and swing over, the rest can just grapple onto him and be pulled to safety.

The game’s also filled with cooperative minigames, which during our play session took the form of four-barreled cannons (previously seen during last year’s PAX Prime) that each player needs to “wind” by twirling an analog stick before it’ll launch. More difficult by far was a section in which the heroes fell into a wind tunnel with four alternating turbines, and had to hold hands over the active turbine in order to float back up. This took a few tries; getting close to the other players will link your hands, but then you’ll have to continually move in tandem to stay linked, with the strength of your link indicated by a gradually reddening circle around your hands.

There’s a competitive aspect to the game, too – after all, these characters kind of hate each other. While they’re helping each other negotiate the levels, there are some incentives to collect the most bolts – mainly the ability to buy new weapons and ammo, and bragging rights at each end-of-level tally screen. So griefing is encouraged, and if hurling an ally off a cliff will give you a chance to grab more bolts, well, just bear in mind that they’ll respawn a few seconds later, irritated at you.

To be honest, we’re still not completely sold on the idea of four-player co-op Ratchet, but there’s no denying that All 4 One is shaping up to be an enormously fun, polished experience. Regardless of how similar or dissimilar it is to previous games, it seems to work. Whether it’ll be as much fun in single-player remains to be seen, but with All 4 One slated to ship sometime this fall, it still has plenty of time to convince us.

Apr 18, 2011

Developer Insomniac Games recently commissioned Manhattan artist Jason Freeny to create a unique set of Ratchet and Clank scultures for an online auction in support of theStarlight Children's Foundation.

The eBay bidding warshave already begunfor Freeny's stylized set which features a 12” Quark sculpture tattooed with Insomniac autographs, a 10” Ratchet with exposed Lombaxian innards, and a 6” Clank sculpture with exposed circuitry and, uh...brain? "Let's call it artistic interpretation,” explains an Insomniac rep,continuing, “Clank is certainly a mechanical character in the series."

At time of publishing, the top bid for Freeny's artistic set was at $665.00, with 6 bidders jockeying for top spot. Insomniac plans to split the proceeds of its auction with the Starlight Children's Foundation in increments of 10% for every $1000 dollar level.

Freeny is a former toy designer and experienced illustrator who's unique cross-section interpretations of pop culture characters has won him contracts with the likes of LEGO, Wired, MTV and Sony. His complete works can be found athis website,and 'making of' photos of his latest Ratchet and Clank creations can beviewed onFreeny's Facebook page.

Bidding for the vinyl trio ends November 29th, leaving you ample time to convince your significant other that the children of America are depending on you to drop a month's paycheque on these wicked-cool collectibles.

Nov 24, 2010

[Source:Moist Production]

First Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One gameplay footage
Multiplayer Ratchet and Clank action on PS3? Bring it on!

Quad play is “go” for fuzz-faced space case and crew

What Mario looks with no clothes or skin
Anatomical Mario statue by Jason Freeny on sale at eBay

Sony has postedthe first lengthy direct-feed video of Ratchet & Clank's latest outing on the PS3, giving us a much better look at the game's ambitious four-player co-op. And it looks like four times the regular madness and insanity of the last R&C title – confusing, overwhelming, and simply, totally Ratchet & Clank-like:

Developer Insomniac Games tried its hands at online Ratchety goodness with Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal on the PS2. The game was praised for online modes like Deathmatch and Capture the Flag, but its core storyline was relegated to the single-player game. Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, however, is all about co-op, and is the first multiplayer Ratchet experience on the PS3.

Above: If you thought shooting ridiculously-named, over-the-top flashy weapons with one character was cool, try multiplying it by four

All 4 One will, obviously, be playable with up to four players. How is that possiblein a game staunchly centered around just two characters? Two other characters, Captain Qwark and Dr. Nefarious, who have never been playable in the game's story mode, join the fray to complete the group. But who’s going to want to play as the unlucky third wheels? Or does that make four wheels… is four a party or a crowd? Either way, All 4 One won’t be out for about a year, so you have a while to think about it.

Sep 10, 2010

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One – PAX 2010 impressions
Eyes-on with Ratchet's big co-op overhaul

The best guns in Ratchet & Clank history
Blow away enemies with the coolest and craziest weaponry

Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One exists, adds four-player co-op
Quad-play is "go" for fuzz-faced space case and crew

Historically, taking big detours from formula hasn’t worked out so well for Ratchet & Clank. True, it’s only really taken one – Ratchet: Deadlocked – but that left enough of a bad taste in the mouths of fans that the series has since stuck to continually adding new bells and whistles, instead of reinventing itself entirely. That changes with Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, which takes traditional Ratchet gameplay and turns it into a top-down, minigame-infused adventure for four players.

If reading that makes you suspect that All 4 One is a simplified, possibly terrible party-game spinoff instead of a legitimate entry in the series, you’re not alone. That was our initial, knee-jerk reaction, too. But after checking it out behind closed doors at PAX, we’re happy to report that All 4 One actually looks promising. Impressive, even.

It’s also going to be a full-on sequel to Crack in Time, and according to production director Shaun McCabe, the team at Insomniac’s North Carolina branch is going to great lengths to “preserve the series’ DNA.” So while All 4 One might look simplified, it actually takes Ratchet’s established gameplay ideas (as well as ideas from Left 4 Dead, LittleBigPlanet and other four-player games) and adds its own interesting twists to create something that’s different, but no less valid as a game.

The central idea behind All 4 One is to give Ratchet fans something they’ve been asking for for years: a two-player mode as Ratchet and Clank. And if you’re giving two players control over Ratchet and Clank, the thinking goes, why not add two more characters? On-again-off-again villain/ally/idiot Captain Qwark is an obvious third choice, but the fourth – Dr. Nefarious – is a little weirder.

Nefarious, it turns out, is along for the ride out of necessity. The story – penned by T.J. Fixman, the same writer as the last few Ratchet games – begins with Nefarious\ formulating a plan to finally kill Ratchet and Clank. This involves contacting a Galactus-like entity called the Creature Collector, who betrays Nefarious, and kidnaps him along with Qwark and the heroes. Captive and in hostile territory, the four characters (who mostly hate each other) are forced to work together to escape – and, occasionally, to stab each other in the back a little.

Part of what makes All 4 One interesting is its heavy emphasis on co-op; play alone, and you’ll have an AI partner to help you along, although a friend can drop in and take its place at any time (it’ll also be possible to play locally, online or in any combination of the two). There’s a lot of the co-dependent gameplay you might already expect – to cross a long chasm, for example, one player has to use a Vac-U 4000 gun to launch the other over to the next platform (or off a cliff), and then grapple onto them to swing across (or to pull them back up) – but there’s a lot of other stuff that’s more eye-catching.

For example, the series’ classic Swingshot tool is back, but now, whenever you see a grapple point, each player can latch onto the next to form a human chain. Then, as the four swing back and forth, whoever’s at the end of the chain can let go and grab onto the next grapple point, at which point the next player can swing over and grab onto them, and so on. Since everyone’s dependent on everyone else to keep the chain swinging, it’s really easy for someone with an axe to grind to leave their trusting frenemies behind to fall into the abyss.

Even if you decide to be a dick and let your partners plummet to their doom, it won’t be a huge problem; players who fall off cliffs will respawn in a few seconds, which should dull their anger at being griefed considerably. And if one of them gets shot down by an enemy, other players can quickly revive them. Only if everyone dies at the same time will you be sent back to the last checkpoint.

The co-op mentality carries over into the combat, too; there’s plenty of the shooting, close-quarters fighting, crate-smashing and bolt-collecting that has made the series great, but a few new additions directly ensure that the more you and the other players work together, the deadlier you’ll be. During the demo we saw, weapons were piled around at certain points for players to fight over and grab, and while there’s a competitive aspect to grabbing the weapons first, some guns are actually dependent on a partner to be effective – like one that strings a bolt of lightning between two players to create what’s essentially a deadly clothesline.

You’ll have to team up to scrape through other hazards as well, like massive gulfs that can only be crossed via four-barreled man-cannons (which have to be wound up by all four players twirling their thumbsticks), or a towering wind-tunnel shaft that forces all four heroes to join hands to float on the air currents generated by the four giant, alternating turbines at the bottom. Then there was the demo’s crablike boss, whose weak points are a couple of shield generators that players have to launch each other at in order to destroy. All 4 One already looks like it could be an amazing co-op experience, although we won’t know for sure until we get a little closer to its planned release in fall 2011.

Sep 6, 2010

Great news for intergalactic Lombax fans. Earlier this hour at Gamescom, developer Insomniac Games lifted the veil on its forthcoming, co-op centric Ratchet and Clank title for the PS3, entitled Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One.

Revealed with in-game footage during the tail end of Sony's Gamescom conference, Ratchet and Clank's next outing is expanding on its cartoony, intergalactic roots by allowing up to 4 gamers take on the action at once via local and online co-op play. Insomniac's Ted Price was on hand at Sony's conference to show off some fairly polished gameplay videos which featured Ratchet, Clank, Dr. Nefarious and Captain Quark teaming up to tackle a variety of platforming sections, environment puzzles and top-down Gauntlet-esque boss battles. Highlights of the all-too-brief video included the gang linking up for to slingshot through the colorful stages, cramming into a four-barreled cannon and generally making life miserable for each other (as crowded co-op games tend to go).

Excited? Hope you don't mind waiting. Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One will be available in Fall 2011.

Aug 17, 2010