The Game Awards has officially announced its 2021 nominees, including the nominees for its most prestigious award Game of the Year. Among the six nominees for this top honor is Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Rift Apart is one of two PlayStation 5-exclusive titles nominated for the top prize this year, alongside Deathloop. However, while Arkane's innovative title is great, a win for Rift Apart would be an overdue and well-deserved victory for the Ratchet & Clank franchise and Insomniac Games overall.
Rift Apart is simultaneously the sequel to 2013's Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus and the 2016 Ratchet & Clank reboot, effectively making it the first new Ratchet & Clank game in the main series in five years. Rift Apart opens with the gun-toting duo being recognized for saving reality multiple times and honored as galactic heroes only for Doctor Nefarious to attack the festivities and cause an experimental device known as the Dimensionator to explode. This incident causes Ratchet, Clank and Nefarious to be stranded in an alternate dimension, struggling to get home while dealing with Nefarious' even more sinister doppelgänger in this reality in the franchise's most space-bending title yet.
After waves of titles that Sony released for both the PS5 and PlayStation 4 simultaneously, Rift Apart was the one of the first major titles released exclusively for the new hardware. With its impressive technical presentation, including lush visuals, environmental design and fast loading times, Rift Apart took full advantage of the PS5's advanced capabilities.
These advancements came with the most well-honed Ratchet & Clank game to date, with its signature fast-paced, explosive gameplay back and tighter than ever as Ratchet and Clank blast their way through hordes of enemies, with more inventive weaponry to keep the gameplay fresh for veteran Ratchet & Clank players while perfectly accessible for newcomers.
One of Rift Apart's standout mechanics is the Rift Tether, which allows players to transport to different areas and worlds through extra-dimensional portals that allow for instantaneous transit without any noticeable gameplay slowdown. The Rift Tether offers more varied combat experiences, pulling its various extra-dimensional rifts to keep fights engaging and fresh, while the game provides a multiversal twist on familiar series hallmarks.
Rift Apart also intuitively helps players find side-quests on the world map rather than having to root around to locate them. Plus, the gameplay puzzles are breezy and short, keeping the proceedings light and fun.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart showcases a franchise at the height of its effectiveness, with Insomniac Games building off a foundation it first laid nearly 20 years ago. Rift Apart is facing stiff competition but, with Insomniac having previously been nominated in the category for Marvel's Spider-Man in 2018, Rift Apart is the perfect way for the acclaimed studio to get the official recognition it deserves.
More than that, though, a Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart win would herald in the full launch of a new generation of console gaming, with the PlayStation 5 leading the charge into the future. While continued PS5 scarcity may have led to the game being relatively overlooked since its launch in June, Rift Apart truly deserves its place among the most celebrated games released in 2021.
Developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is available now for the PlayStation 5. The Game Awards 2021 will be held Dec. 9.