

Ratchet & Clank is a 3D platform-adventure game featuring the protagonists Ratchet, a furry alien creature, and Clank, a small robot. The two travel across the galaxy in search of Captain Qwark and ultimately become involved in an effort to prevent a threat to the galaxy. The game follows conventions established by earlier 3D platform games such as Rayman, Sonic, and Mario while introducing its own mechanics and structure. Its levels consist of large environments with detailed buildings and distant areas that can often be reached and explored. The game also includes several gameplay sequences outside its standard platforming, including space combat and first-person turret sections resembling Missile Command. The game contains more than twenty levels, each set on a different planet, along with numerous real-time cutscenes that develop the story. Progression is partly non-linear, requiring the player to revisit previous planets to complete objectives and offering multiple routes through portions of the game. Ratchet can also acquire or purchase a range of weapons, gadgets, and accessories, each providing different functions in combat, exploration, or puzzle-solving. On a fine day on the planet Veldin, a furry Lombax named Ratchet is working on his spaceship when a robot crash lands near his home. Ratchet recovers the robot from the wreckage, naming him “Clank.” Clank shows Ratchet a recording of Chairman Drek of the Blarg race. In the recording, Drek explains that his home planet has become so polluted it is now uninhabitable. Drek’s solution is to build a new planet for his race by extracting areas from other planets! What’s worse is that Drek has developed a superweapon called the Deplanetizer which will destroy Veldin to make room for his new planet. Fearing that Drek will destroy everything in his path, Ratchet and Clank team up for their first explosive adventure to save the galaxy.
ShooterPlatformAdventureActionScience fictionComedyexplorationminigamesmascotdeathrobotsrun and gunspaceshipflightaction-adventurebacktrackingbuildinghackingPlayStation 2
Log it
Sign in to log this.
Where do you stand?
Three questions people argue about. Answer first, then see how your circle and the community split.
Is this Insomniac Games's best work?
Sign in to answerBe the first to answer.
Would Ratchet & Clank hit harder if it came out today rather than in 2002?
Sign in to answerBe the first to answer.
Has Ratchet & Clank aged badly?
Sign in to answerBe the first to answer.
Ask the title a question
Answered from the reviews and content notes on file, never made up. If nothing on file settles it, it says so.
Character
Epic, resolved, plot-driven and cool.
- intimateepic
- resolvedopen-ended
- character-ledplot-driven
- cooloverwhelming
- unpretentiousprestige
Who loves it, who doesn't
No profiled raters yet.
Reviews
No reviews yet.
About the game
- Platforms
- PlayStation 2
- Developer
- Insomniac Games
- Publisher
- Sony Computer Entertainment
- Released
- November 4, 2002
- Modes
- Single player
- Perspective
- Third person
- Time to beat
- 12 h main story
IGDB rating 8.1/10 from 300 ratings.
Screenshots






Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Curator Co. Other media included when they land close.
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando 200383% alikeBoth epic, plot-driven, resolved.
Guacamelee! 2 201883% alikeBoth epic, plot-driven, resolved.
Kirby & the Amazing Mirror 200481% alikeBoth epic, resolved, plot-driven.
Rayman Origins 201180% alikeBoth resolved, plot-driven, epic.
Rayman 2: The Great Escape 199979% alikeBoth epic, resolved, plot-driven.
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham 201478% alikeBoth epic, resolved, plot-driven.
Both epic, plot-driven, contemporary.
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 201777% alikeBoth epic, resolved, plot-driven.
Maoyu: Archenemy & Hero 201374% alikeSeries · Both epic, resolved, classical in form.
Rise of the Guardians 201273% alikeFilm · Both epic, resolved, classical in form.
Often played with
Similar games per IGDB. Opening one adds it to Curator Co.









