Ratchet & Clank is a3D platformer seriesthat mixes third-person shooter and puzzling elements.
The franchise made a bold return to form with the latestRatchet & Clank: Rift Apart. It’s explosive, bombastic, and a brilliant showcase of what the PlayStation 5 can do.
It’s time to look back on the entire series. New fans may find an older title to play across the17 Ratchet & Clank titles. That’snine main games, six spin-offs, one reboot, and one bundle.
The Ratchet & Clank Series
The platformer seriesdebuted in 2002 as a PlayStation exclusive. It was a golden age of video games, as competing studios were launching genre-defining titles.
For example, Bethesda launched The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and changed the RPG genre for good. Blizzard launched Warcraft III, one of the most iconic RTS games of all time. And then, Rockstar premieredGTA: Vice City, part of the trilogy that re-defined open-world games.
Since its original debut, Insomniac Games has followed a similar formula. The characters can jump, run, glide and solve puzzles. They also use a wide arsenal of weapons for a directional third-person shooter. Additionally, there’s a staggering amount of locations, characters, and alien races. These elements were enough to present one of the bestplatforming sagasof all time.
The games follow the sci-fi adventures of Ratchet & Clank.Ratchet is a mechanic and the last of the Lombax kind. Clank is a sentient but slightly defective robot. Together, they travel the universe as heroes on increasingly over-the-top quests.
The main plot comes through two sagas. First, there’s theOriginal Saga, the first four games in the franchise. TheFuture Sagagoes next, and it’s part of the samelinear continuity. Lastly, Ratchet & Clank (2016) is a reboot, and there’re some extra spin-offs with little to no story.
Ratchet & Clank – 2002
The original gamedebuted in 2002 for PlayStation 2 in North America. It sets the series’s formula, weapons, tools, characters, locations, and alien races. Moreover, it set the comedic, lighthearted tone of the franchise.
Supreme Executive Chairman Drek is the first villain in the series. He plans to take over other planets across the Solana Galaxy to create a new world for his people, the Blarg. The Blarg race destroyed their plane due to pollution and overpopulation.
Even though the goal is noble, the process requires destroying other planets. Ratchet & Clank convince former hero Captain Qwark to help them stop the Chairman.
The game offers a wide arsenal of guns and gadgets. Players must combine the items to defeat the enemies and save the Solana Galaxy. There’re also several mini-games like hacking and racing required to complete the game. Lastly, it features space combat (just a Going Commando).
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando – 2003
