Insomniac Games didn’t just make a mascot platformer back in 2002. They made a chaotic, satirical, gadget-obsessed monster that somehow survived the graveyard of the PS2 era. Most of its peers—Jak, Sly, even Ty the Tasmanian Tiger—sorta faded into the background or went on long hiatuses. But Ratchet stayed. He kept wrench-swinging.
Honestly, looking at the sheer volume of titles in the series is a bit overwhelming. You've got the mainline entries, the experimental spin-offs that people try to forget, and the high-definition remakes that changed the lore in ways fans still argue about on Reddit. If you're trying to navigate the list of Ratchet and Clank games, you aren't just looking at a chronological timeline; you're looking at the evolution of Sony’s hardware itself. From the jagged polygons of the early 2000s to the near-Pixar quality of Rift Apart on the PS5, this franchise is the ultimate stress test for every PlayStation console ever made.
The PS2 Era: Where the Chaos Began
It all started with a fuzzy Lombax and a "defective" Sentry bot. The original 2002 Ratchet & Clank was meaner than you remember. Ratchet was kind of a jerk to Clank for half the game, which gave their friendship a real arc. It wasn't just sunshine and rainbows. Then came Going Commando in 2003, which basically perfected the formula by adding RPG elements and weapon leveling. This is where the "heavy hitters" started appearing—the RYNO, the Bouncer, and the Mini-Rocket Tube.
- Ratchet & Clank (2002)
- Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (2003)
- Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (2004)
- Ratchet: Deadlocked (2005)
Up Your Arsenal is often cited as the peak. Why? Dr. Nefarious. He's easily the best villain in the series, voiced with high-pitched perfection by Armin Shimerman. But then things got weird with Deadlocked. It stripped away the platforming for pure combat. People hated it at the time, but looking back, it was a bold experiment in "horde mode" gameplay before that was even a mainstream term. It felt gritty. It felt like a gladiator sport.
The Future Saga and the High-Def Leap
When the PS3 launched, Insomniac decided to get serious. Or, as serious as a game with a "Groovitron" bomb can get. This era is known as the Future saga. It dug into Ratchet’s backstory—why he’s the last of his kind and where the other Lombaxes went.
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Tools of Destruction (2007) looked incredible for its time. Then came the "bite-sized" Quest for Booty, which was basically a pirate-themed tech demo. But A Crack in Time (2009) is the one everyone still talks about. It introduced time-manipulation puzzles for Clank that actually required a brain to solve. It felt like a proper space opera. The ending was a genuine tear-jerker, which is wild for a game where you can turn enemies into sheep.
After that, the list of Ratchet and Clank games takes a bit of a nose-dive into experimental territory. You had All 4 One, a co-op brawler that felt a bit clunky, and Full Frontal Assault, which tried to be a tower defense game. They weren't "bad," but they lacked that soul-satisfying loop of the main entries. Into the Nexus (2013) finally brought things back to basics, acting as a spooky, short epilogue to the PS3 era.
The Remake and the PS5 Powerhouse
In 2016, we got a "reimagining." It was a game based on a movie based on a game. Confusing? Yeah. It looked stunning, but long-time fans felt the writing was a bit "Disney-fied." Ratchet lost his edge. He became a wide-eyed hero rather than the cynical mechanic we loved.
Then Rift Apart hit the PS5 in 2021. This game is the reason SSDs exist. Jumping through portals into entirely different worlds without a loading screen? That’s not just marketing fluff; it’s a gameplay mechanic. It introduced Rivet, a female Lombax from another dimension, and suddenly the franchise felt fresh again. It proved that the list of Ratchet and Clank games isn't just a nostalgia trip—it’s a living, breathing series that can still push technical boundaries.
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Every Major Game in One Place
- Ratchet & Clank (2002): The gritty start.
- Going Commando (2003): Introduced weapon leveling.
- Up Your Arsenal (2004): The debut of Dr. Nefarious.
- Ratchet: Deadlocked (2005): The combat-heavy outlier.
- Size Matters (2007): The PSP entry that was surprisingly decent.
- Tools of Destruction (2007): The start of the PS3 era.
- Quest for Booty (2008): A short pirate adventure.
- A Crack in Time (2009): Arguably the best story in the series.
- Secret Agent Clank (2008): A spin-off focused on stealth.
- All 4 One (2011): 4-player cooperative mayhem.
- Full Frontal Assault (2012): Tower defense experiment.
- Into the Nexus (2013): A return to form on PS3.
- Ratchet & Clank (2016): The movie-tie-in remake.
- Rift Apart (2021): The current-gen masterpiece.
Why Some Games Are Missing from Your Library
If you're trying to play these today, it's a bit of a nightmare. Sony hasn't been great about backwards compatibility. While some are on PlayStation Plus Premium, others are trapped on old hardware. Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank started on the PSP and moved to the PS2, but they often get ignored because they weren't developed by Insomniac (High Impact Games handled those).
The mobile games? Gone. Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile (2005) is basically lost media at this point unless you have an old flip phone in a drawer somewhere. It’s a shame because the franchise has such a rich history of trying new things, even when they didn't quite land.
How to Start Your Collection Now
If you want to dive into the list of Ratchet and Clank games, don't just start with the 2016 remake. It’s pretty, but it misses the heart of the original.
Step 1: Get a PS5. Seriously. Rift Apart is the best entry point for a modern gamer. It feels like playing a movie, and the haptic feedback on the DualSense controller makes every weapon—from the Burst Pistol to the Topiary Sprinkler—feel unique.
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Step 2: Use PS Plus Premium.
This is currently the only official way to play the PS3 Future saga on a modern console. You'll have to stream them, which isn't ideal if your internet is spotty, but it's better than hunting down an old console and expensive physical discs.
Step 3: Track down the HD Collection.
If you still have a PS3 or a Vita, the Ratchet & Clank Collection is essential. It bundles the first three PS2 games in 1080p. It's the "purest" way to experience the foundation of the series without the blurry composite cables of the early 2000s.
Step 4: Embrace the spin-offs.
Don't listen to the haters. Deadlocked is fantastic if you go in expecting a shooter rather than a platformer. Even All 4 One is a blast if you have three friends and some pizza.
The real magic of this series isn't just the guns or the graphics. It's the humor. It’s a universe where corporations are evil, gadgets are king, and a small furry pilot can save the galaxy while complaining about his paycheck. That's why we keep coming back to this list, game after game, for over twenty years.
Actionable Insights for New Players:
- Avoid the movie first: The 2016 film was a critical flop and ruins the pacing of the game's story. Play the games in their release order if you want to see the characters actually grow.
- Focus on the "Bolt Multiplier": In almost every game, the real fun starts in Challenge Mode (New Game+). That's where you get the "Omega" versions of weapons and start seeing numbers go into the millions.
- Check the used market: Physical copies of the PS3 games are skyrocketing in price. If you see a copy of A Crack in Time at a garage sale for five bucks, grab it immediately.
- Prioritize Rift Apart: If you only play one game, make it the PS5 entry. It is the culmination of every technical lesson Insomniac has learned since 2002.