Grab the biggest gun you can find and strap a robot to your back, because it’s time to check out the best Ratchet and Clank games of all time!
From humongous guns to time-bending puzzles, the best Ratchet and Clank titles are fast-paced and fun for everyone.
Insomniac’s charming double act have been entertaining players since they burst onto the scene in 2002. Along with Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank cemented the PlayStation 2 as the place to be for fans of 3D platformers.
Ratchet & Clank have appeared on every PlayStation console since their heroic debut and have starred in fourteen titles in that time, even more if you count mobile apps and the HD collection on PS3.
We’re sticking to the mainline series and its PlayStation spin-offs for this list and we’ve ranked every Ratchet & Clank game to bring you the definitive list of the dynamic duos adventures.
Table of Contents
1. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time (2009)
The best Ratchet & Clank game is Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time.
Following on from the events of Tools of Destruction and Quest For Booty, Ratchet is still on the hunt for Clank after the Zoni kidnapped him. What I love about this game is that rather than working together, players play as both Ratchet and Clank in separate storylines, playing out their different roles.
I guess you could think of A Crack In Time as a journey of self discovery for both characters. While Ratchet finds out more about the Lombaxes, Clank discovers his destiny while going about the arduous task of fixing time.
Clank’s puzzle segments are the highlight of the entire series, requiring a keen intellect to overcome the intricate puzzles inside the Great Clock at the centre of the universe.
Captain Qwark and Dr Nefarious both return in this epic title, along with a pivotal new character that Ratchet is very interested to meet. It’s the best storyline out of the whole series in my opinion and a joy to play again and again.
The game is huge; there’s so much to do, and the separate gameplay elements are paced perfectly to keep players engaged from start to finish. A Crack In Time deserves the top spot in our list of the best Ratchet and Clank games and is a worthy winner of the title!
2. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021)
Ratchet and Clank jumped onto Sony’s latest home console in 2021 in another dimension-hopping adventure, this time on the PlayStation 5.
The lightning-fast speeds of the PS5 SSD allows our duo to instantaneously jump into alternative dimensions at the press of a button.
Far from a party trick, dashing through rifts becomes essential during gameplay to traverse impassable ravines or flank enemies in the midst of combat.
Rift Apart also introduces two new characters to the franchise; Rivet and Kit. The newbies appear from a parallel dimension and become instrumental in the plot of Rift Apart. As a Lombax and a robot respectively, they offer a peek at how Ratchet and Clank’s lives could have played out differently.
Dr. Nefarious returns and is also accompanied by his formidable doppelganger, Emperor Nefarious, who tightens the screws on our heroic quartet throughout this beautiful adventure.
3. Ratchet & Clank (2016)
I’ve always loved the original Ratchet and Clank game, and when Insomniac brought out an updated version for the PS4, I had to grab it.
Like the Spyro Reignited Trilogy (arguable the best of the best Spyro games), this remake breathed new life into a classic title, with richer backgrounds, greater detail, and graphics that make you say wow out loud…
…. they did for me, at any rate.
This updated title accompanied the release of the Ratchet and Clank movie, and both serve as a reboot to the original game’s story.
Ratchet & Clank on PS4 is a real triumph and even boasts new features not included in the original game. We’re talking new faces and characters playing different roles, spicing things up for fans of the original title.
The main crux of the story is the same and it’s a real walk down memory lane. Stop Drek from making a mish-mash planet as you get to know Ratchet and Clank all over again!
4. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (2004)
The third title in the Ratchet & Clank series is also the best on the PlayStation 2.
Simply titled ‘Ratchet & Clank 3’ here in the UK (we Brits used to love an innuendo), Up Your Arsenal is a must-have title for PS2 gamers, with the diverse weaponry fusing destructive firepower with over-the-top comedy in a story that sees the pair meeting their most troubling antagonist yet.
A special mention also goes to the fabulous Captain Qwark Vid-Comic mini games that saw the bumbling ‘hero’ recounting his epic adventures in a 2D side scrolling sections.
Fans of the series will love the return of the usual familiar faces and the introduction of a new, villainous Robo-boss named Dr Nefarious.
As always, Up Your Arsenal revolves around massive firepower and blowing enemies sky high. There are some platforming elements, but it’s mostly about the guns!
Oh, and it had one of the best online multiplayers too! Sadly, the servers are dead and buried now, but it’s still a brilliant game without them. Drive vehicles, blow up cronies, and save the universe in an intergalactic adventure that’s full of guns and laughs.
5. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (2003)
Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando is another title that proves Insomniac Games were up for a laugh in the PS2 days.
Going Commando might provide your lower regions with a cool breeze, but things are about to get hot very quickly with the insane array of guns at Ratchet’s disposal!
As the second game in the canon, Going Commando sees Ratchet undergoing commando training by a company bigwig in another galaxy. It’s set in a different world entirely to the first game and follows the duo trying to retrieve a mysterious experiment.
I’m getting serious Mewtwo vibes right about now…
Oh… and Clank plays an accountant, but I’ll let you figure out what that means and why in your own time.
Going Commando might have been the second game in the series, but it introduced a lot of firsts. The weapon upgrading mechanic where guns evolve like Pokemon the more they’re used first came into play in this title, as did having the ability to race around in crafts and fighting in space.
Going Commando improved on the formula of the first game and set in motion many of the features that we know, love, and expect from these titles. Seriously, you’re going to want to slot this game into your PS2 arsenal.
6. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools Of Destruction (2007)
Let’s start off by talking about the graphics on Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools Of Destruction. They’re bloomin’ brilliant and look incredible on the PS3. Honestly, I swear that thing was way ahead of its time.
Insomniac games pulled off another blinder with their debut R&C adventure on the PS3. Collecting rare metals to upgrade weapons added to the platform-collecting nature of the game, and Clank’s outings with a new tribe called the Zoni set-up a storyline that will leave players speechless.
Here’s a quick low-down of what’s going on in Tools of Destruction.
An evil emperor is trying to capture Ratchet as he’s the last of his kind. Talwyn and two robot dudes help him along the way, and Clank partners up with the Zoni to complete specific puzzle tasks.
That’s the game in a nutshell, but obviously I don’t want to give too much away and spoil the plot!
Fans of Star Fox Adventures, one of the best GameCube games of all time, will love Tools of Destruction. It has a very similar level feel and is just as meaty; something for the collectors to sink their teeth into!
7. Ratchet & Clank: Into The Nexus (2013)
Ratchet & Clank’s final appearance on the PlayStation 3 closes the door on the ‘Future’ saga that began with Tools Of Destruction.
Into The Nexus is a brief outing for the two heroes and sees them teaming up with aged robot allies Cronk and Zephyr to escort the criminal Vendra Prog to a remote prison for her crimes against the Polaris Defense Force.
A jailbreak inevitable occurs and Ratchet and Clank are forced to fight for survival as Vendra Prog plans to disrupt the fabric of time and space by opening a portal to the Netherverse.
Into The Nexus is a visual feast for the eyes with explosions galore causing fantastically realised particles to fill the screen during combat.
The greatest slight against Into The Nexus is it’s relatively short runtime. To close off the Future series it feels more like a single After Eight rather than a Knickerbocker Glory.
8. Ratchet & Clank (2002)
Ratchet & Clank made their debut in this explosive title that launched developers into the stratosphere after a trio of fantastic Spyro games on the original PlayStation.
We meet a young Lombax called Ratchet, the last of his kind, working in a backwater garage and fixing up spaceships using his Omni-wrench.
Ratchet’s dull, uneventful existence is changed forever with the unexpected crash landing of Clank. A defective (and cute) war-bot that escaped the factory he was manufactured in.
If being defective means you’re one of the most charming video game characters of all time then I don’t want to be perfect!
The pair become fast friends and hop around the galaxy, hoovering up bolts as they go, whacking baddies with Ratchet’s Omni-Wrench and installing all kinds of crazy modifications into Clank’s new backpack form factor.
Those gadgets can help Ratchet and Clank navigate a variety of treacherous planets by using a slingshook to grapple onto floating points or by employing Clank’s heli-pack to float over large gaps and away from danger.
Still immediately playable today, Ratchet & Clank introduced the world to a duo of heroes that would stand the test of time and become PlayStation legends.
9. Ratchet & Clank: Deadlocked (2005)
Ratchet: Deadlocked takes the 9th spot in this list, and the dude looks TANKED UP!
Yep, Ratchet takes on more of a solo role in this game. It’s probably the reason why Clank went solo a couple of years later, or maybe he just wanted to sit this one out. Still, it’s a great game that revolves more around Ratchet doing what Ratchet does best – shooting stuff.
There’s a reason that this game is called ‘Ratchet: Gladiator’ in Europe. With Clank chilling on the sidelines, the gameplay has fewer puzzles or exploration elements and concentrates more on gunning bad-guys down.
The game itself is like a cartoony version of the film ‘The Running Man’. After finding themselves in a place called the Shadow Sector, a region with zero rules and just as few police officers, Ratchet must save his friends by fighting in DreadZone battles.
It’s a kill-or-be-killed kind of world our furry friend finds himself in, with coliseum fights and robot battles for one or two players. This is my go-to game when I get back from meetings with Brandon and just want to shoot stuff to get rid of my anger…
… I hope he doesn’t read this…
10. Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest For Booty (2008)
Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty is a short game but still a good one to have in any collection.
It marks the second title in the Future series and acts as a sequel to Tools of Destruction, picking up where the last game ended.
Clank is missing following the events of Tools Of Destruction. I don’t know whether he’s off doing his solo game and never told Ratchet or whether he’s actually in danger; you’ll have to find that out yourself.
With the help of a markazian Talwyn Apogee, who serves as Ratchet’s love interest, Ratchet sets out to find his shiny, little pal.
The pirates from Tools of Destruction and Rusty Pete make an appearance, as does the formidable Dr Nefarious. This guys more obsessed than Voldemort; give it a rest!
The Quest For Booty feels like an updated version of Jet Force Gemini to me. The worlds are vibrant, the guns are huge, and the graphics are fantastic. You won’t be disappointed with this one.
11. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (2007)
They say that size doesn’t matter, but Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters proves the complete opposite.
Size Matters debuted on the PSP, giving gamers the chance to replay levels on the toilet or under the desk in the office… or perhaps both.
In this title, our dynamic duo take a vacation. We know from Super Mario Sunshine that that’s never a good idea, and it certainly proves to be an interesting holiday for Fur-Features and Robo-Boy!
Imagine coming across a hidden race of brain-box scientists who have passed completely from memory. Well, that’s exactly what Ratchet and Clank happen upon while trying to save a girl on their heroic holiday adventure.
‘But what’s new in this title?’ I hear you ask. Well, as in addition to the weapons and characters that make these games so memorable, new gadgets and guns appear to collect.
There are multiple armour pieces to collect along the way, a little like the collection system on the Metroid games or Ghost of a Tail. Each piece is found in a different world, and the full kit provides extra defence and other neat traits that beef Ratchet up!
12. Secret Agent Clank (2008)
Secret Agent Clank sees the diminutive droid break out on his own with his James Bond-style get-up and some super sleek moves!
Everyone needs to go solo sometimes. It worked for Banjo in Grunty’s Revenge, and Daxter left Jak for one of the best PSP games on the system. So, it’s no surprise that Clank wanted a little spot in the limelight either.
Everything that makes the best Ratchet and Clank games special has been shrunk down into this portable title. Don’t think for a second that this is just a lame spin-off; it received platinum status and is choc-a-bloc with characters from the Ratchet and Clank universe.
Clank took a bit of a back seat in the main games. He’s a pivotal character, though he’s more puzzle-orientated rather than an all-out-action man… robot… you get the idea.
Now, however, armed with his tuxedo and some super-swish tricks up his robotic sleeve, Clank can battle enemies and run around to his hearts content in his very own title.
Any readers that remember the Guitar Hero-style rhythm sections the require pressing buttons to sneak past enemies know how taxing this game is on the brain. It’s a brilliant portable title and one that will keep you occupied for hours at a time.
I lied a little earlier; Ratchet is a playable character, as is good old Captain Qwark!
13. Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One (2011)
What could be better than taking Ratchet and Clank out on an explosive adventure?
How about an online multiplayer title where four players battle hordes of enemies using some of the best characters from the series?
Yeah, that would just about do it!
Players can choose from Ratchet, Clank, Captain Qwark or Dr Nefarious himself! Working together and swapping weapons is the key to success; all old grudges have gone!
All 4 One is a classic example of the bad guy causing problems but needing the good guys to help him out. Why are villains such wusses when they don’t get their own way?
Pulled out of retirement, Ratchet and Clank join Captain Qwark in a false ceremony set up by Dr Nefarious. When his attack goes wrong, ‘ol Robot-face must work with the heroes to escape the unknown planet they’ve been trapped on and bring the Dr’s insane inventions to heel.
The graphics on the PS3 look great even today, and the battles are supreme fun. As I said, it’s better with four people, so grab some mates and get blasting!
14. Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault (2012)
Another Ratchet and Clank title that was deemed to edgy for us Brits. Full Frontal Assault (or QForce here in the UK, was produced to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the series.
The tried and tested Ratchet & Clank formula returns albeit with a stripped back storyline and a new focus on tower defence, a first for the series.
Opting to emphasise a type of gameplay that the series wasn’t known for as part of an anniversary celebration seems a little curious in hindsight, but the Full Frontal Assault still found an audience within the Ratchet & Clank fandom.
Multiplayer was also expanded upon with Full Frontal Assault and allowed players to jump into games together online or locally.
While brief, there’s still a loveable story here for fans of the series to enjoy with the usual trademark silly humour.
