Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Review - 7 Ups & 1 Down
4. Going Open-World, Naughty Dog-Style
We've had the Rockstar open world that set the genre in motion, Ubisoft filled it full of collectibles and Breath of the Wild stripped everything back again.
Something that often goes overlooked though, is the Naughty Dog approach - a "wide linear"-style of expansive area benefitting from the best parts of the open-world genre, without giving into it entirely.
Now, Ratchet & Clank is no stranger to large levels, but here we have some of the biggest, most impressive environments you've ever seen. Combat arenas pepper certain landscapes as your rocket boots ostensibly act as a vehicle to get from A to B.
Savali and Saragasso both feature grapple hook points within combat too, again tipping the nod to fellow PS exclusives Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy, as Ratchet and Rivet leap between faraway platforms.
All told, while the showpiece for this style of level is Ratchet's Savali area, there's an expanded feel to exploration across the board that benefits everything else.