Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart demo analysis
So I watched the Rift Apart gamescom demo and the Q&A of Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart and it was both amazing AND informative.
Just like with the release trailer, here is a breakdown of the demo.
So the demo opens with to the possible main screen for the game but we soon see our heroes coming out of a rift and ending up at that train station seen in the July game demo, which is confirmed to be in Megalopolis AKA Megapolis but most likely spelled wrong or renamed, meaning the place is in the Bogon Galaxy which will be cool to see again.
One thing you quickly notice is the metal on Ratchet’s glove which will later be revealed to be the Rift Tether, which seems to be built into the glove instead of being a separate gadget like the Swingshot.
The two talk about how there back to where they were and how they aren’t far from “him” AKA Dr. Nefarious and decide to go find him to stop whatever he is doing until they are attacked by GOONS-4-Less minions, who not only look a bit different then the Thugs from Into the Nexus (I think they look a bit like the ones in Going Commando) but the also have a skater dude accents to them instead of the English accents the Thugs had in Into the Nexus.
The gameplay looks great and we even see more of the new mechanics involved like the new HUD system, how when aiming down sight you can change it from your right or left, and how its seems that the Rift Tether glove can make Ratchet dash forward, instead of using Clank’s Heli-pack though I hope its still an option to use.
Its not long till we see Dr. Nefarious in a mech but that’s not important when you see that he has a new design, especially at his eyes which are more detailed then those red dots he had before, and how he no longer has that scar on his face and head.
We then get a cutscene that includes several huge reveals about the game, the biggest being how Dr. Nefarious has somehow gotten his hands onto the Dimensionator (which I totally called) and has turned it into a weapon of some sorts, which surprised me. This scene also finally confirms that Rift Apart IS post Into the Nexus, which is confirmed again in the Q&A.
Before I continue I want to save some time and post a theory on how I think the game will start, as I believe the demo takes place shortly after the first level. So I can see the game opening up with Ratchet & Clank looking for Nefarious as during the gap between Into the Nexus and Rift Apart, he stole the Dimensionator from Clank somehow and has been on the run from a universal manhunt given how dangerous he could be with it. Our heroes find him and try to stop him but they get blasted by his new machine and get sent to the AU of Sargasso similar to the reveal trailer though maybe there the player learns the basic mechanics till Ratchet & Clank get chase by something (either the robots from the trailer or the giant Sandsharks as seen in a popular screenshot of the game) and ride that bug creatures to safety till they somehow get back to Megaopolis where the events of the demo happen. Now back to the demo.
So after a rant of how he will win, Nefarious tries to use his Dimensionator gun on our heroes but before he can, Ratchet pulls out his gun (which unfolds similar to how his weapons from the 2002 game did) and shoots at the crystal within the weapon (most likely a Surinox shard as seen in the comics and kind of an obvious weak spot for a weapon) and causes an explosion that makes Nefarious and his mech fly and crash into a nearby building. However before anything can happen, a purple wave flows by everything and rifts start to form, spitting out everything from winged creatures to a Troglosaur that destroys the bridge.
Again before I continue, I want to say that this is kind of an interesting moment as we were led to believe that it was Nefarious that caused the rifts to form but it was really Ratchet that caused all of this ! Sure it was an accident but it would be interesting to get a small side plot where we see Ratchet deal with how he had a hand in the events of the game.
We then get a quick exposition scene of what is happening with the rifts (though I think there was an error or some content was taken out as there is a split second where Ratchet talks while his jaw doesn’t move) along with of how Ratchet & Clank figure out how to use the blue rifts when yellow/orange rifts to there advantage.
We then get some more gameplay footage, which is similar to the gameplay shown in July as we see Ratchet & Clank fight goons and other creatures through the train yard till they get fall though a rift and end up near the platform of the building Nefarious crashed into.
During some dialogue Clank mentions how he wont get use to dimension hopping and how Ratchet is glad there still on the same planet, which backs up what I said earlier in that they must have gone to an alternate dimension before the events of the demo.
The two go to the platform and fight some thugs, though we see several more new mechanics like how the selection back for the quick select wheel can be fluid at times and how the weapon level up feature sees to be a mix of the feature form Into the Nexus where it tells you how it levels up and that the weapon spins similar the original games and ACIT. Speaking of leveling up, the level up system for Ratchet is very different as Ratchet is encase in blue energy that blast outward but also displays features that level up like his health AND his wrench !
Ratchet & Clank get close to Nefarious but they fall into another rift and the rest of the demo is just like the trailer from July but with some changes here and there like some dialogue changes, the instructions on how to double jump on grind rails called trick jump, how there is a Swingshot versa-targets on the Torren IV segment, some screens on the new planet quickly displaying the eyes of Nefarious, and having the subtitles call the female Lombax “Mysterious Lombax”.
I also watched the Q&A segment and it pretty much goes over things we already know, like the DualSense features for weapons and the rift tethers but it does go over two big things like how IG will be keeping the female Lombax’s name a secret for now, no hints at all, and that they also confirm that the game will be coming out around the launch window for the PS5, which is rumored to come out around November, so fingers cross.
What was your favorite moment from the demo ? Did you notice anything in it that I didn’t mention ? What else do you hope to see happen in Rift Apart ?
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