Ratchet Series Playthroughs Thoughts

tl;dr content tier list:

Peak: Crack in Time, Rift Apart
Very Fun: Tools of Destruction, Quest for Booty, Deadlocked, Ratchet PS4
Very Fun (but aged): Up Your Arsenal, Going Commando
First Game - fun but oof: Ratchet & Clank
Fun but kind of a huge... downgrade: Into the Nexus




Ratchet & Clank

Honestly this playthrough was so long ago I don't remember details on it - but it was really neat for its time and being the first game. But boy its age really showed, and the lack of strafing / dual stick controls also REEEEEEEALLY hurt it. It's a good game for its time, but the later games just improved upon it so much that I'll find it hard to return to this on replays honestly. The dialogue was also very cute and pretty consistently put a smile on my face - while it's nothing to write home about, it was enough for me to grow an attachment to ratchet & clank.



Going Commando
+ Game added a shoulder strafe button, so you can actually aim and shoot without turning. Huge improvement over the first game's controls.
+ Introduced levelling up weapons to evolve them - huge for incentivizing not hoarding, and weapon exp would become staples for the rest of the series.
+ Ratchet himself can also level up his health! And this would become a staple!
+ Also introduced giant exploration areas, which can sometimes be nice as a "i want to run around, cozy, but blow stuff up and find collectibles" - and be heavily rewarded by it. This kind of stuff would return in some of the future games, and it's nice!
+ Lots of new creative fun weapons
- The ice yetis can eat my fucking ass
- Glider segments control like absolute dogshit - I think it's like almost an entire second of input delay with steering? God awful
- The ice yetis can eat my fucking ass
- Giant Clank fights are pretty horrible, with bosses frequently running away and just dragging out the fights for so long - and you have to start them alllll over if you die! :)
- The ice yetis can eat my fucking ass

This game was a HUGE step up from the first game and introduced so many core mechanics that became a staple through the rest of the series, so I SUPER appreciate this game for that. Seriously, looking back, this game really might be the biggest game that advanced the series so much - However, it's ultimately bogged down by trying to do TOO much stuff - hanglider, ship firing, giant clank, etc, most of which just... don't work very well because ps2 title. Still enjoyed my playthrough a lot though.


Up Your Arsenal
+ Introduced the dual-stick third person shooter controls, and I swapped to this immediately. Never looked back.
+ The quark vid-comics were very cute silly 2d platformers. I honestly might give ILing them a shot.
+ Heavier focus on the "arena-like" missions - which I didn't mind to be honest. Perhaps a precursor to Deadlocked?
+ More ship segments but this time they were... actually fun? Not sure how to explain it, but it controlled much better and was more "Blow shit up" than the previous game. Big plus here.
+ Skrunch
+/- Having a ship hub to return to was a pretty neat setting, but also kinda added a lot of unnecessary padding
- Titanium Bolts now only unlock costumes, not weapon mods, which REALLY killed a lot of my motivation for exploration. This really was a big deal, because the satisfaction from exploring was completely killed now - I did not really care about the alternative costumes, and there wasn't really an alternative to major collectibles for upgrading weapons.
- Platforming with the dual-stick shooter controls was pretty awkward - I could sorta tell the control scheme wasn't meant for platforming.

This game was more combat-oriented than going commando, and it really shows - the weapons are fun, the arena-like missions are really fun. The huge huge huge huge downside though, was that I just felt... no incentive, no reward for exploration - because there are no weapon modes, and the major optional collectible is just... aesthetics, which was SUPER lame. This alone REALLY held back UYA a lot for me - that alone makes it hard for me to decide if I preferred UYA over GC or vice versa. Perhaps it was trying too hard to be more combat focused but have some exploration? Which I mean, it works, but well, for the former, look no further than...



Deadlocked
+ Pretty easily my favorite weapon system in the entire series to be honest. Though there were only 8 (?) weapons, they were all relevant - the previous games had a bit of a problem where early weapons easily just got obsoleted even when upgraded. This game made every weapon feel relevant to me. On top of that, leveling up weapons I didn't like still had purpose since it gave me more mods to customize weapons I did like. Ammo mods added customizability.
+ I don't think any other game had a weapon quite like the Scorpion Flail - this really was a fun weapon to spam :> This series needs more fun melee weapons. Probably top 3 weapon for me in the series tbh - throwing a giant fucking flail around to freeze enemies and shatter them - there really wasn't much else that nailed that feeling for me.
+ Lack of clank wasn't a big deal due to the nature of this game - and eventually got the jet boots anyways, so it didn't matter
+ Weapon levelling actually shows the actual weapon power upon level-up - which... was not done in some future ratchet games? idk why? But that's really nice in this case.
- The autoscrolling mech missions zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
- Like UYA, platforming with the dual-stick shooter controls was awkward. In fact, there were many scenarios where my double jump button was eaten, which made the few platforming segments very irritating. Thankfully there aren't many but still.

Played on Gladiator difficulty (4 star out of 5). Really, Deadlocked just leaned hard into what it wanted to be - lots of arenas and mission-based blow shit up - it still has a bit of platforming but there isn't much exploration to be seen here. And... I found that ok! This game knew what it wanted to be I think, and it really went hard in on that.



Tools of Destruction
+ ZONI
+ The visual glowup from the ps2 graphics to ps3 are super real. I also appreciate the game throwing me into the action - if I put myself in the shoes of a ratchet fan and played this game upon release, it would've been like the most hype thing ever.
+ This game introduced the raritanium upgrade chart for weapons, and would stay in most games going forward - and is one of my favorite parts of the series these upgrades may vary from faster rate of fire, more bolt/raritanium drops, more damage, etc. They really took some notes from the Deadlocked system and just... expanded on it. a LOT.
+ ToD OST seems to take it a step up after all the PS2 ratchet games too - probably peak in the series.
+ Razor Claws are SUPER FUN once upgraded and honestly made a lot of the game for me.
+ Probably the first game that also had a bigger story focus, because it's the first of many games focusing on Ratchet's search for his Lombax background - and while it isn't like the most involved story (like come on, it's fucking Ratchet, you play it to platform and blow shit up), it was enough for me to get more attached to the characters/world and to keep going.
- Some awkward audio cutting out issues from time to time. Armory glitched out visually sometimes too. I can overlook this since this is the first ps3 title for the game

The series took a much more "story/cinematic" approach starting with this game, and it shows - I figure because they really wanted to show off a lot of the tech in the upgrade from Ps2 to Ps3, and it... did a pretty good job of it imo! Especially right at the start, it really shows off what the game is about - action platforming blow shit up, moving through an area. The raritanium weapon chart is easily one of my favorite mechanics in the series, and it seems like it's going to be a staple, so a big plus there. I think this game was just, very solid - not really much wrong with it.


Quest for Booty
+ The wrench's grappling ability is new to this game and would return in upcoming games, and I like it a lot as a gimmick - though I can't help but feel like it's basically metroid prime 3's grapple lasso lmao
+ The storytelling theme was really adorable, especially the storybook-like transitions. It added so much to the charm of this game.
+ The few areas that exist in this small game are really immersive, especially the caves.
+ The OST was a standout trait to me, similar to ToD as well. Big plus here.
+/- Lots of Talwyn who was introduced in ToD, though I do think there was missed potential with her background / development with Ratchet honestly.
- Not really much to do with the weapons - though I can overlook it more since it's just a shorter game
- No new game plus :(

I went into this game knowing what to expect - a shorter game that kinda plays like a "epilogue dlc-like" post-game story of ToD. And it really delivered on that end. It's basically ToD post-game (which isn't a bad thing) - the start of this game literally had you starting with a lot of ToD weapons too, which honestly... I didn't mind. Admittedly the pirate theme was getting a little exhausting, with how much pirate themes there were in ToD (I did dive right into this immediately after finishing ToD), but it wasn't a big deal. This game was definitely more on the shorter charming side with a focus on exploration/puzzles, but still had its fair share of blowing shit up especially at the end. Really enjoyable game.




Crack in Time
+ ZONI
+ Most of the game is spent with Ratchet and Clank split... and I didn't really mind? The game gave a lot of neat tools for Ratchet to get around where you don't really miss Clank, and the Clank segments were more involved puzzle platformers and he didn't feel as much of a slog. I especially really liked the time puzzles with clank. The game got super clever with the later segments - though I get it's a big departure from the typical Ratchet gameplay.
+ The space exploration is really neat and gives some nice skyward sword sky gameplay vibes, but with more depth. The devs clearly knew what kind of vibe players want when exploring the mini-planets, cuz it even has an in-game radio station to jam to - and that added to the cozy immersion. Especially since the radio news was actually up to date on how far you are in the game.
+ The performance of the game was easily peak. Controls were more responsive than the previous ps3 games, game was a smooth 60 fps for the most part.
+ RATCHET CAN THROW HIS WRENCH WITHOUT STOPPING AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
+ The QoL really went through the roof in this game - there are trackers for every type of collectible in every sub-area, and every major area too. The quick select wheel is much more intuitive. The maps are great. The pause screen lists everything including the missions.
+ First game where RYNO started playing music - and it's the fucking Tchaikovsky 1812 overture fucking lmao, that made the game for me so hard
+/- Bolts are super super generous which is very nice! But also removed a lot of the decision making in what to buy - because I basically always had enough to buy every weapon/armor, which is... uninteresting?
- Raritanium system from ToD is gone, and instead only a few weapons can have custom mods - which works, and is a neat collectible too, but t's much more limited than deadlocked/ToD. Biggest miss in this game imo.
- Camera is fucking god awful when on a smaller planet and trying to hover onto something from a really really high height - it would constantly swerve to a lateral position (instead from a top-down) when I'm trying to land on a platform.

I played on Hard Mode, and coming straight into this after the previous games, it felt like just the right difficulty for me. From all the things I listed, I could tell this game had sooooooo much love put into it. The cutscenes upon getting a weapon, the 1812 music playing when using the RYNO, all of the QoL, and the devs clearly knew that the player loves to blow shit up - and let them blow shit up indeed! While ToD felt like a "ps3 next step of more of the same plus cinematics" in the series, CiT felt like a "we're going to push the game even more with new advancements not seen in past games" - kinda like going commando, but with much less of the extra garbage. This really was the first game that REALLY showed that Insomniac knows what players want, and there is so much charm and love put into this game.


Into the Nexus
+ Return of ToD's raritanium weapon upgrade charts is really nice - probably the one major thing I really missed from CiT. Though... the UI is a lot worse / less intuitive than ToD...
+ The museum area is super cute and a really nice callback to all of the previous games. The game also wrapped up all of the ps3 future games nicely, even if a little anticlimatically?
+/- I really like what the game's plot tried to do with Vendra and Neftin - though, there honestly was a bit too much tell than show... So it's hard to really label this as a pro
+/- The gravity button mechanics/puzzles are a really neat touch, kinda like a mix of portal and mario galaxy. However, after two areas, the game just... forgot it existed. It seemed to be in like 2-3 more spots in the latter half of the game more as a "oh right this is a new mechanic, we should actually include this!" afterthought, instead of doing anything expansive on it. Huge wasted potential.
- Oh god oh god oh god the performance is garbage. I can hear the casuals goes "oh my g0d, i can't tell the difference, how dare you be a fucking elitist and gatekeep me, the fps doesn't matter, stop being a fucking elitist einstein" - but this is a series where a lot of the enjoyment comes from... the controls and blowing shit up. And coming from 7 games where that felt really good and smooth and (relatively) low lag, going into this game was... just ugh. UGH.
- The inability to maintain separate saves (or even manually save at all) is super irritating given the previous games allowed me to maintain separate saves. Sadly this would be standard in modern gaming.
- This game just... doesn't work a lot. Hover boots from CiT return but the ramps work way less reliably than in CiT.
- Very backtracking-unfriendly - pretty much have to constantly redo a ton of puzzles, without many shortcuts to jump to the area. Key example being the sewers.
- Loads are pretty bad - as in, even when taking a teleport/taxi to a different segment of the same area, there'd be a load screen. It's not that big of a deal, but given literally the rest of the games (including the PS2 ones!!!!) didn't have a load, this is just... oof
- The map is... very slow to load, much harder to read, less icons, and the icons take several seconds to even load in, making tracking stuff much more of a slogfest. Unlike uh literally all previous games.

Played on Hero difficulty (middle out of the 3 available). Going into this, I expected a shorter adventure (like QfB), knowing full well it had performance/lag issues, but even with that expectation, this game failed to meet that. There's just a ridiculous amount of controls, QoL, and shittyness that's just a huge huge huge downgrade from all three of the previous ratchet future games. No, I didn't expect a huge expansive immersive game as much as CiT, but at least QfB still controlled really well and didn't feel like a controls/QoL downgrade from CiT/ToD - this game did. And worse. I still ENJOYED this game nonetheless, but like... yikes.


Ratchet & Clank (PS4)
+ Visually gorgeous (played on PS5), smooth, and really the best Ratchet's looked up to this point. Controls are fantastic, weapons feel great, just everything in terms of the playability is amazing. That being said, I do remember this running at 30 fps originally on PS4, which definitely knocks it down a bit at release.
+ Bringing back some of the later mechanics like weapon levelling and raritanium is a huge plus
+ I'm a sucker for collecting stuff like holo-cards, and the game also rewards you for having duplicates too. Now that I've played all the previous games, I actually recognize all of the references, so it's a really cool throwback
+ Minor touch that I really liked - this is the first game where enemies warn other enemies about the weapon you're using (e.g. "Watch out, he's using a sheepinator!"). Doesn't really impact the gameplay but it does really add a bit to the immersion of the enemies - it's a really nice touch, and seems to be standard going forward since Rift Apart does this too.
- Like Nexus, this game didn't let you maintain separate saves on your profile.
- Heavily limited by being a "remake" of the first ratchet game - the weapons are still very fun and look fantastic on the next gen console, but they also aren't anything new and have been recycled a lot already. Some areas from the original game were also cut out, so like, it's really hard to even call this a full remake/reimagining? In the end it didn't really do much new outside of some of the modern touches - which is to be expected to a degree, but still feels kind of a step down from the PS3 games.
- This game was obviously based off of the movie. So there are some jarring sequences / cutscenes that are "shoehorned in" for the sake of matching up with the movie
- Looking back at the cutscenes from the original Ratchet, there's a lot of silly banter that's missed in this PS4 game, due to either wanting it to be more kid-friendly, or wanting to line up with the movie more.

In a vacuum, this is still a fantastic game. It runs well, it performs well, it never lags, it looks gorgeous, it's smooth (on a ps5 to be fair), you blow shit up, you platform, it has a lot of the fun mechanics that made previous games fun. On that end, this game is very very good. It's definitely held back by limiting itself to both the setting of the first game, and also trying to adhere to the movie, but despite that it plays well and I enjoyed it a lot - it feels extremely overhated.




Rift Apart
+ CiT and PS4 movement felt really responsive and good, but this game took it a step even further with the smoothness and responsiveness of the controls. The upgrades to move around quickly also really made it fun to just... move. Easily best in the series.
+ The little pocket dimension areas are fun little platforming challenges - they're basically the same as CiT's mini-planets except you
have to find them in the overworld themselves.
+ Clank dimensional segments are neat - puzzle platforming similar to CiT's rewinding puzzles but with spheres. I think the CiT puzzles were more interesting and clever (albeit time-consuming), but I appreciate them both a lot.
+ Armor pieces doubling as holocard bonuses from PS4 Ratchet was a really interesting design choice, cuz it meant every armor piece you found was a permanent upgrade (like +5% raritanium drops, or +5% damage reduction to certain enemy types) - but you don't have to equip them. All of them automatically apply - which means you can equip whichever armor you think is prettiest/coolest/etc. Super nice!
+ Rivet and Kit are peak new characters
+ This game easily takes the cake for just... customizing your playthrough, including aesthetic (lol making all bolts zelda rupees instead, or making Rivet's head tiny), costumes, accessibility, and so on. They really made sure to make this game playable to as many folks as possible, and not from a difficulty perspective - but from an accessibility perspective. I hate motion blur, and the game has a toggle for that. The phantom dash after-images might give motion sickness to other folks, and the game has a toggle for that. There maybe something to be said about there being TOO many options, because it was just... ridiculously overwhelming to spend an hour trying them all out, but like, it's much better than nothing having them. Also seriously Nintendo step the fuck up.
+/- Easily the best the map's ever been in the series. Applying pins is also super nice (a bit overdue for that feature but better late than never). However, I do find it rather lame that the game already reveals goodies you get close to on the map right off the start - I'd like to explore stuff myself and feel rewarded for that before finding the treasure mapper.
- I guess this goes in line with making everything super immersive, but having Ratchet/Rivet have a huge knockdown animation where I can't do anything for 2 seconds was really annoying and not really something that's in the past games. AND YOU GET COMBOD OUT OF IT TOO!!!! bUt MuH iMmErSi0n
- This game is weirdly aggressive with voiding you out. Like, I would literally try to climb some rocks with phantom dash, and with no clipping/OoB shenanigans, the game voided me out. And this stuff happened way more often than it should've, to the point of being pretty frustrating.
- Similarly, this game is VERY aggressive about invisible walls. Sometimes it's pretty well warranted and communicates well to the player "hey you're not supposed to go up here" and that's nice. But there are also... some spots that clearly do not need an invisible wall and have literally killed me. Like, literally jumping over a hump on an open field but I can't because of an invisible wall?!?!?!
- I've "softlocked" like 3-4 times from missing arbitrary triggers, which has wasted a lot of time and required taking deaths / checkpoint reloads to hopefully fix it. This has never been an issue ever outside of one scenario in ToD - kinda yikes
- The weapon UI swap to the top-right (instead of top-left) is so awkward. It's not necessarily bad, it's just really really jarring when literally the rest of the series had it in the top-left corner.
- Everything about flying on Trudi was super obnoxious. The controls are terrible, the camera is terrible, and zero hint of being unable to pick up the zurpstones perched on the peak until you arbitrarily get enough grounded ones, then she suddenly learns to use fireballs and can NOW get those, so I have to RE-explore EVERY FUCKING SPOT - yeah this honestly really soured the gameplay experience for me.

Played on Hard Mode, and it might have been slightly too difficult but I still managed.. I'm making a lot of parallel to CiT, and for good reason - cuz there's a lot that translates over from CiT to this game. And... that's a good thing! However, there were a good number of technical issues I bumped into (glitches, softlocks, VOIDING OUT) that, while they didn't necessarily ruin the experience for me, they did absolutely knock this game down a bit. Still, this is a pretty peak ps5 game and if I had to recommend only one ratchet game to play, it'd be this or CiT.