Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart Pixelizer HD uses PS5 controller haptics to make music

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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