Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart PC Review – Dimension Hopping Visuals

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, which features the popular PlayStation-exclusive mascots embarking on an interdimensional adventure, was released once again in 2023 but this time for PC audiences. After almost 2 years since it was initially released for the PlayStation 5 in 2021 as a timed exclusive.

It is always interesting to observe how PlayStation’s flagship titles perform on the PC, especially those by porting specialist Nixxes Software, who had also previously worked on the PC ports of Marvel’s Spider-Man games. As a manner of fact, Nixxes Software did a good job as the PC port of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart raises the bar for PC hardware, especially with its extensive array of customization settings that allows for a visual marvel. 

That said, while Insomniac’s most recent PC title has a lot to praise, it also does have some technicalities that need addressing. 

Adventurous Recap

As we have reviewed Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart when it first launches for the PlayStation 5, we will not go into the finer details of the gameplay. Instead, we will mostly focus on reviewing this particular game’s performance when running on the PC. 

However, if you have not played the game before, Rift Apart represents something of a grand comeback of the Ratchet & Clank series. The central plot of the game revolves around Ratchet and Clank traveling across parallel universes in attempts to stop the evil Emperor Nefarious, a tyrannical ruler who ruled the universe with an iron fist, and the alternate dimensional variant of the series villain, Dr. Nefarious. 

The core hook of the gameplay is the new Rift mechanic, in which Ratchet and Clank can jump through portals to traverse alternate universes. These dimensional rifts would at times lead the pair to otherworldly places and other times to alternate realities of locations they once knew, leading to new enemies to fight, unexpected events occurring, and occasionally, puzzles to solve. 

The interdimensional crisis of the game leads to Rivet and Kit, the alternate gender-bend versions of the main protagonists. As the story develops, we are given the ability to switch between controlling Ratchet or Rivet, who each may have identical skills, they both possess different views on the world.

Rift Apart can be described as an adventure straight out of a family movie, as we are thrown into the mix of beautifully-directed cutscenes in between the regular third-person shootouts, platforming, Disney-like villain battles, and puzzle-solving.

Performance

A reason to play Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart on the PC would be its visual spectacle, the game’s biggest strength, which combines technical mastery with its Pixar-like art direction to produce timeless gorgeous scenes that still look great after almost 2 years. Although that cannot be said for the game’s performance on PC as there are a few flaws that held the game back. 

In our PC testing of the game, we have a machine that is equipped with the following specs:

• CPU: Intel Core i9-13980HX processor
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU 16GB GDDR6
• RAM: DDR5 32GBx2 (5600 MHz)
• Storage: 4TB (2TBx2) NVMe PCIe Gen4x4 SSD
• Display: 17″ 16:10 QHD+ (2560 x 1600), 240Hz

We tested the game with its graphical settings set to the highest possible options at a 2560 x 1600, 2K resolution and with or without DLSS 3 and ray tracing enabled. 

Max settings – DLSS off, ray tracing maxed (2K resolution) – 90 FPS average 

For the initial playthrough, we played the game at its highest setting, maxing out the resolution to match the monitor’s display and have the graphical setting tweaked to the highest including ray-tracing, ambient occlusion, and shadow settings while having the DLSS 3 turned off. The game manages to run at an average frame rate of 90 FPS.

Max settings – DLSS on, ray tracing maxed (2K resolution)

While anything above 60 FPS is already ideal for gaming, the DLSS 3 proved to be useful to push the frame rate further for players that want to take advantage of the increased value in combination with a high refresh rate monitor. 

By tweaking the various DLSS options, these are the following results:

• DLSS Quality – 120 FPS average
• DLSS Balanced – 130 FPS average
• DLSS Performance – 140 FPS average
• DLSS Ultra Performance 160 FPS average

Based on the results, the DLSS 3 significantly improves the performance of the game across the board, instantly boosting the frame rate to above 100 FPS. That said, the best DLSS 3 settings to choose would be Quality and Balanced as both Performance options cause some unpleasant graphical glitches that affected all moving objects in a game where smaller props would flicker in and out. 

Dimensional Visual Rifts 

Graphical fidelity-wise, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is easily one the greatest visual splendor on the PC with its tasteful amount of particle effects decorating the screen and backgrounds that are constantly bustling with activity while dimensional portals whisking us away in a flash into different worlds. The game also made good use of ray tracing technology thanks to overall visual polish, producing realistic yet fantastical reflections and shadows. 

On the flip side, the game suffers from a few technical and performance issues that brought the whole experience down. Despite the more powerful PC hardware, Rift Apart unfortunately does not run quite as smoothly as it did on the PlayStation 5. One flaw of the PC version is the game’s signature dimension-hopping mechanic, which causes the game to have a second stutter each time the characters jump into a portal as the next world loads, even when the game is installed on an SSD. No such stutters happen when playing the PlayStation 5 version and these hiccups interrupts the otherwise immersive experience that the game offers. 

During our time playing through the game, we also came across a few bugs that caused the game to crash. Additionally, while we praised the game’s visuals repeatedly, the PC version has numerous puzzling graphical glitches such as the lack of transparency effects as a whole, or the number of textures that failed to load at times. Though, most graphical issues we encountered have been seemingly fixed as of recent updates during our tests. 

Interdimensional Customization Options 

What’s impressive about Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart’s PC port is that Insomniac Games and Nixxes Software have done a terrific job including a wide array of graphical and accessible options, allowing players to tailor the game experience to their own liking, based on their hardware or medical conditions that may limit their gameplay. 

For example, the game offers numerous control options for players, even including some settings designed for crowds who are into speedrunning, such as the ability to remove specific pauses or slow-motion elements to save valuable time as they go through levels. Additionally, there’s also a slider to adjust the field of view (FOV) or weather effects, as well as various accessibility features like Simplified Traversal, Auto Glide, Hoverboot Auto-Pump, Flight Assist, Grind Assist, High Contrast Background, and many more. 

The controls are also mapped well to the mouse and keyboard where each press feels natural and plays greatly. Though, the disadvantage of mouse and keyboard control is that you lose access to the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, which Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart takes full advantage of. That said, you can still connect the DualSense controller to your PC and it will offer an experience like it does on the PlayStation 5. 

Closing Thoughts

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a visual wonder and it is highly unlikely that you will ever look away. The vibrant set pieces conveyed the same enjoyment as the first time I experienced it on the PlayStation 5, with or without ray tracing. It does not matter where the camera points, the game regularly gives an impression as though I am watching a high-budget Pixar animated film. 

The fast-paced gameplay has me on the edge of my seat and I hardly ever want to take breaks as I was immersed in the game and the frame rate does keep up with the moments to not take me out of the experience. Unfortunately, despite the wonderful experiences, there are some souring moments such as encountering graphical glitches, stutters during dimension-hopping, and a few crashes. 

While the issues are certainly worrying, some of the problems have been addressed by the recent update patches. If you owned a powerful PC, the gorgeous visuals and moment-to-moment intense combat sequences of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will certainly entertain you for hours. 

If you are still wondering about the gameplay experience of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, you can read our review of the PS5 version here.

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