Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart – How Long is the Game?

Many of those lucky enough to own a PS5 have been patiently waiting for the release of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. While Returnal has proven to be one of the year’s best surprises, Rift Apart is really the first major PS5 exclusive we’ve gotten since the console launched last November.

Since we still don’t really know which other upcoming major PS5 games we can expect to be released before the end of 2021, there’s a good chance that PS5 owners will need to rely on Rift Apart for quite a while for their exclusive game fix. Whether they’re trying to show off their new console or simply want to enjoy a next-gen experience they can’t get anywhere else, Rift Apart is looking like many PS5 gamers’ best bet for the foreseeable future.

That being the case, you’re probably wondering just how long Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is and how much time you can expect to be able to spend with it.

The answer to that question is a little weird. To cut right to the heart of the matter, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart isn’t necessarily a very long game. If you ignore most sidequests and collectibles and play on a lower difficulty setting, you can probably beat the game in about 8 hours. For most gamers, though, that number is going to be closer to 10 hours for a similar style of playthrough.

That may not sound like a lot, but as we noted in our Rift Apart review, there’s certainly an argument to be made for quality over quantity. Rift Apart features a tight campaign that may suffer through the occasional lull but ultimately proves to be engaging and entertaining.

More importantly, Rift Apart is loaded with sidequests, distractions, collectibles, achievements, and all of the other things that typically extend the length of your average platformer. If you’re a completionist or just someone who likes to walk off the beaten path once in a while, you’re going to end up getting a lot more time out of the core experience.

If you occasionally pursue a side quest, hidden collectible, or even just opt to spend a little time in Rift Apart‘s arena, then you can probably expect to spend closer to 15 hours on your first Rift Apart playthrough. While I haven’t had the pleasure of completing a 100% Rift Apart run quite yet, I suspect that such an experience would take you closer to 25 hours (at least) to finish based on my current completion percentage estimates.

Then you have Challenge Mode. Essentially Rift Apart‘s version of New Game+, Challenge Mode lets you play through the campaign again with all of the weapons and items you earned the first time around. To compensate for those advantages, though, the game offers…well…new challenges.

Whether or not Challenge Mode essentially doubles the length of the game really depends on your preferences and skills, but the idea certainly seems to be that Challenge Mode fans are getting something closer to two games in one. If you plan on doing a full Challenge Mode run, be sure to adjust your playtime expectations accordingly.

Rift Apart may not offer as much pure content as a modern open-world title or live service game, but it’s quite robust for an action platformer. Whether or not Insomniac chooses to add to the game down the line via story-based DLC also remains to be seen.