The adventure bounces between the two heroes at the player's whim, with Rivet exploring one part of the galaxy and Ratchet the other. They're both on a mission to fix the interdimensional mess left by fan favorite villain Dr. Nefarious, who dragged the heroes into a universe where he's already won and dominates as an emperor. The pacing of depicting two different heroes working separately toward the same goal feels like a practice run for the inevitable Spider-Man sequel with more than one web slinger, and "Rift Apart" both displays and instills confidence in this balancing act. It's also important to note that playing as Rivet is no different from controlling Ratchet, which makes sense, considering the premise of alternate dimensions.

Games goes far beyond both of those mediums. Your music is never heard exactly the same every time,

Fourteen years ago, the climax of the first Ratchet and Clank hinged on a betrayal: superhero blowhard Captain Qwark (think The Tick in space) turning on Ratchet. Now, in the 2016 installment, that twist becomes a framing device as Qwark, from a prison cell, narrates the story to his fellow inmates. It's a canny way to explain away any narrative differences between the original Ratchet and Clank and this one--but also a winking move toward self-awareness. "We know, we know, you've probably heard this before…. This newest title in the series about the space adventures of a gun-toting fox-cat-dude and his no-nonsense robot has plenty to recommend it.

Not long ago, almost every blockbuster film release was accompanied by a tie-in video game. Just look back to the noughties superhero films; from Batman Begins to Iron Man 2, each one had a playable port, and most of them were awful. Nowadays, it's done less and less, with few straight film-to-game adaptations being made, yet more game-to-films (such as Warcraft) hitting cinemas. Thankfully, Insomniac has gone the completely bonkers route and made a game based on a film based on a game. Ratchet and Clank is thus a reimagining of the original tale, giving us a new-but-so-not-new story of how a Lombax and a defected robot became friends and saved the universe from Chairman Drek.