PlayStation Plus free game is PS5's most impressive technical showcase

The PlayStation 5 boasts some incredible exclusives that truly show off the immense power of Sony’s latest console.

Given that The Last of Us Part II, a PlayStation 4 release, continues to put many modern day games to shame in terms of its polished visuals, I cannot wait to see how it actually looks running natively on the PS5 with January’s The Last of Us Part II Remastered. I don’t need to wait until January to see greatness though. From big-budget AAAs like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and God of War Ragnarök to delightful freebies like Astro’s Playroom, there are so many games out there that prove just what a powerhouse of a console the PlayStation 5 is. If you’re looking for a real technical showcase though, it’s always Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart that springs to mind for me.

Take a look at Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart in action below.

I’ll admit, the Ratchet and Clank games bypassed me growing up. My first foray into the franchise was with 2016’s rebooted Ratchet and Clank. I thoroughly enjoyed that game, and I do recommend playing it before diving into Rift Apart. That being said, it’s not without some glaring issues. Ratchet and Clank is essentially the 2016 film, produced by Rainmaker Entertainment, spliced and interspersed with combat gameplay.

It just about works because the combat is so fun. As both Ratchet and Clank, you’ll zip through a number of different planets and galactic metropolises, armed with everything from ray guns to a ‘sheepinator’ which, yes, turns enemies into sheep. Given that the ‘cutscenes’ were actually just film scenes, there was a slightly disjointed feeling as the game alternated between scene and combat with little else but a cold loading screen linking the two.

That couldn’t be further from the case when it comes to the 2021 sequel Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. In making the jump from PlayStation 4 to 5, Insomniac Games did so much more than iron out the creases. If 2016’s Ratchet and Clank was an enjoyable yet unrevolutionary romp through the galaxy, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is a portal hopping tour de force.

Sony Interactive Entertainment

The combat from the previous instalment remains, but it clearly wasn’t simply tacked on to a film this time around. Rift Apart features in-engine cutscenes and perhaps most importantly if we’re talking about the power of the PlayStation 5, near-instantaneous transitions. Rift Apart gets its title from the fact that our heroes come to equip a Rift Tether, allowing them to jump through time. I’m not talking about jumping years into the future though.

Ratchet or Rivet can spot a platform in the distance and use the Rift Tether to zip from one point to another. There are no loading screens when doing so, providing players with a thrilling sense of freedom. You’ll revisit familiar planets in Rift Apart yet they feel so new simply because, alongside the addition of wall-running and dashing, traversal has been totally overhauled.

Those who have played the game will know it’s part platformer, part shooter. It already had the foundations of great combat in Ratchet and Clank, albeit in a slight rough-around-the-edges state. With some tweaks to the weapons line-up and upgrade system alongside the aforementioned new traversal mechanics, Rift Apart excels in capturing the magic of both genres - making for a game that is so much fun to play.

Sony Interactive Entertainment

I should also mention that, at one point in time, it was rare that a game utilised the power of the DualSense controller quite like Rift Apart did. We’ve seen it done more so in the past year. Both The Last of Us Part I and God of War Ragnarök are prime examples but back in 2021, it felt as if 2020’s Astro’s Playroom promised us magic in our hands only for no games to actually replicate that magic and attention to detail. That all changed in Rift Apart. The galaxy really comes to life through the controller’s haptic feedback, further immersing you in this enthralling adventure,

If you’re yet to dive into Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, I wholeheartedly recommend you do so - and it’s available on PlayStation Plus’ extra tier which is very handy. If you’re new to the PlayStation 5, you’ll be dazzled and if you just haven’t got around to playing this title yet, it’ll remind you just what a snazzy bit of kit the PS5 is.