Every Ratchet & Clank Game, Ranked Worst to Best
Created nearly 20 years ago by Insomniac Games, the combat-laced buddy platformer franchise Ratchet & Clank has been charming gamers on Sony platforms ever since with its mix of humor, heart, story development, and over-the-top, cartoon-style action spanning multiple genres, outliving its main rival, Naughty Dog's similar Jak and Daxter series.
In the gallery on this page, we rank every* Ratchet & Clank game to date by Metascore, from worst- to best-reviewed. Some R&C games were issued on multiple platforms, and rather than clutter our list with countless versions of the same game, we limited our selection as follows:
• In general, the first release of each title is included.
• If a title was released simultaneously on multiple platforms, we only included the version that received the highest quantity of reviews from professional critics.
• If a title was later ported to other platforms, those ports are not included ...
• ... but if a title was substantially remade for another later-generation platform, the remake is treated as a separate game and included in our rankings. (We're looking at you, PS4 version of Ratchet & Clank.)
* We have omitted the 2005 cellphone (but not smartphone) game Going Mobile, which was not covered on Metacritic. (GameSpot has a review if you are curious.)
All photos courtesy of Sony Interactive Entertainment unless otherwise indicated.
PlayStation 3, 2013
Though the PS3-only "Future" series appeared to end with 2009's A Crack in Time, strong sales caused Sony to ask Insomniac for a fourth installment in the saga. Like the similar-scoring Quest for Booty (which was bundled with Nexus as a free add-on), the slightly longer Nexus didn't rate as highly as the two full-length Future games, but critics felt that it was a return to form for the franchise after a few disappointing multiplayer titles in the preceding years. Reviewers especially appreciated the wide array of weapons and gadgetry available in the game, though they differed on the effectiveness of a new gravity-manipulating gameplay mechanic, which some critics felt was underdeveloped. With Sony's new PS4 console arriving just a few days later, it marked the end of an era for the series, which would take a full three years to debut on the next-gen hardware.
“If you’ve been craving a more traditional entry to the series since A Crack In Time, then this will suit you perfectly. It’s not the longest or best game in the series, but it’s a budget title and full of fan service, though that may turn non-fans away and it’s hardly the best entry point into this universe.” —TheSixthAxis
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