How does Ratchet and Clank (2016) keep me hooked?

The first ingredient of a fun game is an appealing narrative. Ratchet and Clank games are famous for humorous light-hearted adventures. The characters are very likeable and their facial expressions are beautiful to look at. Every cutscene is a delicious treat. The story in this game is a reimagining of the original Ratchet and Clank on PS2 which was released more than 10 years ago. Therefore, the game is marketed towards adult players who have grown up playing the original game. The use of nostalgia is prevalent throughout the experience.

What would happen if I destroy that nuclear fusion thing?

After close analysis, Ratchet and Clank 2016 is like a coherent collection of mini-games. There is the 3D jumping and platforming section. There are jetpack sections. There are the underwater exploration segments using the O2 mask. Shooting outrageous weapons at aliens. There are hoverboard races. Spaceship battles. There are hacking puzzles to open secret rooms. It even has some stealth sections near the end. The thinking patterns required to tackle each of these segments are fundamentally different. The end result is that the game is refreshing to play. The game designers brilliantly created simple game mechanics that ties all these little pieces together.

SCARY FISH!! Look at those teeth

Shooting is the biggest part of the game. All the weapons are very creative and fun to use. There is a weapon that shoots a floating disco ball so all the enemies in the vicinity will be hypnotized to dance. Ratchet shoots them down while they are helpless. Then there is the shotgun that turns all enemies to 2D pixelated versions of themselves. Another wacky gun turns enemies into sheep. Discovering what each weapon does and combining different weapons together is very addicting. Additionally every weapon upgrades the more you use it into more powerful and wackier versions. They can also be customized to increase their stats using Raritarium crystals that you find throughout the game. When the weapon upgrade meter is filled up, the current action is taken over by another screen that shows the transformation of the weapon. This is a very rewarding sequence so the players switch their weapons often to upgrade them.

Sheepinated!

Ratchet and Clank is a game that encourages exploration at every stage. Gold Bolts and secret collectables are scattered throughout different planets and finding them unlock cheats that you can use to further enhance the visual experience of the game. Holocard is a new collectable system that I believe is the second biggest reason (the first is the weapons) why this game is addictive. There are over a hundred Holocards to collect and they shows the history of Ratchet and Clank games. A nice easter egg for the fans. Plus collecting them unlock better stats like more weapon damage, more chance of getting Raritarium. Enemies also randomly drop Holocards and so acts like a signal for accomplishment. Ryno holocards are secret holocards that are hidden in different locations of the game. When you collect all of them, you will unlock the most powerful and unfair gun called RYNO (which means Rip Your Ass a New One) in the game free of charge. So the desire to own it motivates the exploration. Later on, Ratchet will unlock Map-o-Matic gadget that shows all of the secrets hidden in the maps of every planet. It took me 4 hours to find every collectable even with the Map-o-Matic.

Rip Your Ass a New One!

When you beat the game, you can start a new Challenge Mode where the enemies are tougher but you can use even stronger weapons. That RYNO becomes invaluable. This mode essentially doubled the game’s shelf life. In Challenge Mode, the stronger weapons become available but it takes a lot of money to buy them. So in challenge mode the more enemies you kill without getting hit, the money multiplier will keep increasing and the player will receive lots of money in a single showdown. But getting hit once will reset the multiplayer. This feature creates an additional layer of excitement as the players balance risk and reward.

Death is too stupid for Mr. Zurkon.

I almost forgot to mention something significant. In order to encourage the fans to pre-order the game, Insomniac games created the fan-favorite Bouncer weapon as a pre-order bonus. This in effect creates a sense of urgency and scarcity. Since I loved the Bouncer their strategy worked on me.

All in all, a great game uses many motivational techniques to hook the players for hours on end. It’s not magic.