Insomniac’s first successful series, Spyro the Dragon, left the company’s hands after just three games. Its next endeavor, Ratchet & Clank, has been going strong since its inception in 2002. Throughout its existence, there have been ten mainline entries and numerous spin-offs — almost all of which have been met with critical praise and successful sales.
The following list ranks every game in the series – including the mobile titles – from shortest to longest. Many of the games should take you anywhere between five and ten hours to finish, though there are a few outliers that are a bit shorter or longer than the average.
Updated on August 29th, 2023 by Kyle Chamaillard: It’s been a minute since the last Ratchet & Clank game launched on the PlayStation 5 and PC, and it seems like Insomniac will be busy working on other titles. We’ve decided to revisit this list to include both of the mobile games so that every game in the series is represented, and you can know which ones are the shortest and which ones contain longer adventures.
16 Going Mobile (1 Hour)
Technically the fifth game in the Ratchet & Clank series, Going Mobile launched in 2005 for cellular devices like the Nokia 6620 and the Motorola Razr. Not only was it the protagonist’s first 2D adventure, but you could play it wherever you wanted after downloading the game for a few dollars.
Going Mobile contains the charm and silly weapons from the console games, and the transition from 3D to 2D seemed effortless. The biggest downside to the game was that it took around an hour- if that – to finish it. It’s the shortest adventure in the series, but it was pretty impressive when it first launched.
15 Before The Nexus (1 1/2 Hours)
Seven years after Ratchet & Clank’s first mobile entry, the former of the dynamic duo returned to the small screen in 2013 for another solo adventure. Set as a prequel to Into the Nexus, you control Ratchet in this endless runner as he hops between grind rails and lanes to collect bolts.
You can use the bolts to purchase new weapons, ammo, and armor, making taking down enemies much easier. Before, the Nexus was only a bit longer than Going Mobile, but it’s got more replayability and is still available to download on some devices if you’re looking for a blast from the past.
14 Quest For Booty (3 Hours)
Insomniac opted to develop several shorter games for the PlayStation 3 after 2007’s Future: Tools of Destruction. The choice was mostly well-received, at least for the first effort with this release model, Quest for Booty. Some found the shorter length made for better pacing.
Platformers are infamous for becoming long-winded collect-a-thons to keep you engaged with them longer, but sometimes it’s unnecessary. Quest For Booty doesn’t waste time with tedious side quests or tacked-on content, which means you can likely beat it in a sitting if you have a few hours to kill.
13 Full Frontal Assault (5 Hours)
Where Quest For Booty was universally beloved by most critics, Full Frontal Assault left a little more to be desired. Some changes to the core gameplay and the new tower defense features were not welcomed in this spin-off. It’s still one of the shortest Ratchet & Clank games, but it feels like a bit more could have been cut to create a better package.
At only five hours long, it’s at least safe to say that it does not overstay its welcome. It also has a co-op mode, a feature that always improves a game. If you’re looking for something to play with a friend or a loved one, Full Frontal Assault is fun enough to keep you entertained until the credits roll.
12 Into The Nexus (5 1/2 Hours)
Launched in 2013, Into the Nexus is the last mainline sequel in the series before an eight-year hiatus. It is a short game, but it at least concludes the story started in 2007’s Future: Tools of Destruction. Whether Into the Nexus could have benefited from a longer campaign is unknown, but at least you can start it knowing it shouldn’t take more than six hours to complete.
Reviews were mostly kind for Into the Nexus, but the game did not reach the same critical heights as the most celebrated games in the series. There are a lot of fantastic ideas lurking around every corner, but after making so many Ratchet & Clank games so quickly, it feels like the developer was starting to run out of steam.
11 Size Matters (7 Hours)
Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters was the first portable entry in the series that wasn’t developed for mobile telephones. Even though it’s a spin-off for the PSP made by an entirely different developer, the gameplay remains familiar as a Ratchet & Clank game.
It also managed to make quite a splash, seamlessly bringing the gameplay of the core series to a handheld device with incredibly high reviews. Seven hours is almost the perfect length for this kind of game: long enough to keep you busy for a few sessions and not short enough to make you feel ripped off by the experience.
10 Secret Agent Clank (7 1/2 Hours)
The second PSP spin-off includes a radical departure from the mainline series. In Secret Agent Clank, you control Ratchet’s best friend and sidekick. After being absent for Going Mobile, Before the Nexus, and mostly having a supporting role in other adventures, it was great to see Clank finally have the spotlight.
Though he is typically reserved for brief puzzle sequences in previous titles, he is the main playable character and even engages in combat here. Ratchet isn’t totally missing either, and you can play as him during certain sequences. This PSP game is fairly ambitious at just over seven hours, and every second is worth engaging with.
9 Deadlocked (7 1/2 Hours)
The fourth entry in the series, Deadlocked, makes some changes to the core formula. Though the gameplay remains familiar to fans of the previous games, there is a bigger emphasis on combat and much less platforming. The campaign should take you less than eight hours to complete, but the heart of Deadlocked was hiding in its excellent multiplayer mode that could be played for hours at a time.
The move made for a well-received game, but it is still perhaps the least-beloved of the PlayStation 2 entries in the series. It’s very different from the games that came before it, and the focus on combat may have turned some people away. It’s always interesting to see a developer do something different with an established IP, and Deadlocked was certainly a step in an interesting direction.
8 Ratchet And Clank 2016 Remake (10 Hours)
Ratchet & Clank had a fantastic year in 2016. Not only did the duo star in their first feature-length movie, but their original adventure was fully remade from the ground up for the PlayStation 4. While the former failed to garner a new audience, the latter was widely applauded and helped rejuvenate interest in the series.
After the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 hosted a variety of Ratchet & Clank games, it was a bit strange to see this remake as the only one developed for PlayStation 4. With a ten-hour campaign, it’s neither the longest nor shortest game in the series, but it’s long enough to appease both long-time fans and anyone who wants to hop in for the first time.
7 All 4 One (10 Hours)
Co-op has been a part of several entries, but All 4 One on the PlayStation 3 is modeled around the feature. You and some friends can control Ratchet, Clank, Dr. Nefarious, and Captain Qwark throughout the entire adventure. At around the same length as 2016’s Ratchet & Clank remake, you can enjoy almost ten hours of action by yourself or with a few others.
All 4 One received a fair amount of criticism for its length and repetitive gameplay, but there is still a ton of fun to be had throughout. There weren’t as many cooperative games when All 4 One shipped as there are now, so many PlayStation 3 owners were just glad to have something to play with a friend.
6 A Crack In Time (10 1/2 Hours)
Of all the Ratchet and Clank games on the PS3, A Crack in Time is only one of two full-length adventures, the second being Future: Tools of Destruction. This game received particular praise for the new mechanics introduced, most of which involve bending time.
Weapons are also more customizable than before, to the point of them being entirely unique for a given playthrough. A Crack in Time was almost universally beloved for its graphics, humor, and fantastic puzzle sequences starring Clank.
5 Rift Apart (11 Hours)
Rift Apart proves that the Ratchet & Clank games have not run out of juice. Not only does it look stunning, but it helps showcase one of the PlayStation 5’s greatest features – reduced load times. You can seamlessly hop between environments without feeling a moment of boredom, creating an immersive experience unlike anything else.
Rift Apart features all the expected elements – creative weapons, hilarious dialogue, and memorable characters. Eleven hours might seem like a lot at first, but not a single second is wasted as you travel across space in one of the duo’s greatest adventures.
4 Up Your Arsenal (11 1/2 Hours)
The third mainline entry is often considered the best of the series and perhaps one of the best games on the PS2. It adds a lot to the core gameplay, including vehicles and online multiplayer. It’s also one of the longest Ratchet & Clank games, which is shocking when looking at other games that have launched on better hardware.
Up Your Arsenal also features a lengthy campaign. While other games have been praised or criticized for being too long or short, Up Your Arsenal, found the perfect length without ever feeling like it’s overstaying its welcome, in part, thanks to how good it is.
3 Ratchet And Clank (12 Hours)
The first game in the series has not aged as well as the other titles on the PS2, but it is still worth revisiting even if you’ve never played a Ratchet & Clank before. It lacks many mechanics that would be introduced in later entries, but it still has all the core elements that have helped the series become one of the PlayStation’s most consistent IPs.
In most scenarios, the first entry of a series tends to be the shortest, while later entries expand on the universe and introduce more characters and scenarios. Across sixteen entries, the original Ratchet & Clank is still one of the longest adventures available. It’s remarkable how much Insomniac fit into the first game and how much they have been able to innovate since.
The first Ratchet & Clank game for the PlayStation 3 came out a year after the console’s launch. The PlayStation 3 was still trying to find its footing, and Tools of Destruction was another essential exclusive to draw in anyone who was initially skeptical about the console, and its heavy price tag.
The visuals were absolutely stunning for the time, and the gameplay was considered a marked improvement from Tools of Destruction’s predecessors. It’s also the first chapter of the Future storyline, which wouldn’t be finished until Into the Nexus six years later.
1 Going Commando (13 Hours)
As strange as it is to have the first game in the series be one of the longest, its sequel -launching only a year later – ultimately takes the crown for being the longest Ratchet & Clank adventure. Going Commando improved almost everything from the original, from a better story to better gameplay and everything in between.
Going Commando is only a bit longer than the games before and after it, but every minute is well-spent as you travel across the Bogon Galaxy searching for new weapons and worlds to explore. Despite being roughly thirteen hours long, one of the best PlayStation 2 games is still shorter than other platformers like Psychonauts or Super Mario Galaxy.