Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart may introduce a dimension jumping mechanic that separates it from the other games in the franchise, but at its heart, Ratchet and Clank is still an action platformer game that sees you travel to various planets, battle the various baddies that inhabit them, and try to complete your arsenal of absurd weaponry.
For now, let’s focus on those planets. As longtime Ratchet & Clank fans know, planets are essentially the levels of the R&C universe. Each has its own unique sense of style, available adventures, and collection of unlockable to uncover that often make it worthwhile to revisit them even after you’ve beaten the main objective.
While Rift Apart largely adheres to that format, it introduces a few twists to the planetary level concept that feels very much in the spirit of classic games in the franchise but also takes advantage of Rift Apart‘s unique plot points and mechanics.
Before we get into that, though, here is a brief rundown of the main planets that you’ll explore during your Rift Apart journey:
- Corson V
- Sargasso
- Scarsta Debris Field
- Savali
- Blizar Prime
- Torren IV
- Cordelion
- Ardolis
- Viceron
Admittedly, that’s not a very long list of planets (and Rift Apart isn’t necessarily a very long game), but there are a couple of things you need to consider before you take that shortlist as the complete collection of places you’ll visit during your adventure.
First off, you actually visit some of those planets multiple times throughout your Rift Apart adventure. Scarsta actually essentially doubles as a kind of “hub” area for the main adventure and even features a series of arena challenges that you’ll want to complete for unique rewards and the sheer joy of the challenges themselves. Of course, many planets also feature optional objectives that encourage you to revisit them and view them from a new perspective.
You also have to consider how rift concepts interrupt the formally basic structure of a Ratchet & Clank game. Not only are there several dimensions you’ll visit throughout the game that don’t necessarily have a name (though some of them are assigned temporary monikers by the game’s main characters), but the influence of rifts means that some planets you visit later will look drastically different from how you remember them. That’s what happens when you start combining dimensional existences.
There are also times when you’ll visit two distinct versions of the same planet during the game thanks to portal shenanigans. Think of it as a variant of the “two worlds” concept seen in A Link to the Past. They’re essentially the same areas, but a series of circumstances make them feel significantly different. Visiting what you could basically call two versions of the same world makes the game feel much larger.
Finally, there are a couple of locations in the game that aren’t quite covered by that list of planets. There is no point in spoiling them here, but it’s safe to say that long-time Ratchet & Clank fans will appreciate some of the callbacks to older titles while fans new and old will love a couple of the more unexpected locations you’ll find along the way.