Ratchet & Clank: Ranger Rumble's nuts and bolts are perfectly fine but it's missing that special Qwark

When I think about Ratchet & Clank, a few things immediately spring to mind. Ludicrous weapons, upgrading said ludicrous weapons, collecting jingly-jangly bolts, and a snarky, silly sense of humour. Ratchet and Clank: Ranger Rumble, which shifts the series to mobile, has all of those things, but in an almost-yet-not-quite way that feels like something vitally important is missing. Several somethings, in fact.

It makes an excellent first impression, though. Despite the art style being a slightly cutesy version of Ratchet & Clank, it still has plenty of charm and its wide cast of playable characters look like they'd happily slot into Insomniac's universe. If they hadn't slipped through the 'make more adorable' filter, that is. 

There's a guy whose favourite band is almost definitely My Chemical Romance or The Used, while another looks like Garfield finally had enough of Mondays and suited up specifically to destroy them. Then there are a couple of Lombaxes who wouldn't look out of place with a robot backpack. They're all rather charming, at least in appearance. The problem is there's no voice acting in Ratchet & Clank: Ranger Rumble, leaving its well-designed characters and lovely-looking world feeling a bit empty.

Whenever you play an arena shooter with heroes and abilities, you come to expect a little chatter, characters being overly pleased with themselves whenever they use their powers – be that tossing a giant cannonball at their foes or turning someone into a sheep. That's two examples of something delightfully silly that fall flat because no one points out how great it is. I want to get to know these characters but, aside from their profiles, it feels like we don't get to. 

A somewhat muted universe

The Ratchet & Clank main series has always possessed immense personality, even when the humour shifted from snarky to wholesome. Characters like Captain Qwark, Skidd McMarx and most recently Rivet were a delight to meet because their personality was allowed to shine through voice acting. Here, that's all reduced to text, which just doesn't land the same. 

Of course, I'd never write something off entirely for a lack of voice acting, particularly when most people will probably not bother with sound after a while anyway. This is a multiplayer mobile offering, after all. It's the moment-to-moment action that should get the most scrutiny, and it's largely pretty solid. In fact, I'd positively describe it as being like the main series, with the speed dialled back and auto-aim. You can turn that off, though I wouldn't recommend it since there are already a few on-screen buttons and adding more might lead to accidental inputs.

Each hero has their own weapon, a gadget, and an ultimate, all of which will be familiar to fans of the series. For example, Widget's ultimate is the iconic Ryno, Chip's gadget is my beloved Glove of Doom, and Celeste's weapon is the Buzz Blades. This helps give them a distinct playstyle, with Tempest, the space pirate, acting as a tankier character, using their shield to get up close and personal while Grimshot prefers to sit at the back, picking players off from afar.

It's fast-paced and frantic, which is perfectly suited to mobile. The touch controls are fairly robust too, and if you have any issues with them, they're easily changed in the settings menu. I moved the dash button simply because I kept accidentally pressing it where my thumb naturally preferred to sit. It also works with a controller. Just be aware that the touch buttons won't disappear if you do pair it with one. I'm sure that will change with time. Don't forget, this is a soft launch.

Solid gameplay that isn't quite right

And so, while I won't deny that Ranger Rumble's gameplay is fun, I do have a couple of issues with it. One is pragmatic and the other fan-specific, so unlikely to bother anyone playing this who isn't overly fussed about Ratchet & Clank. We'll start with the first: There are far too many modes, six to be precise. 

Unless you have a smash hit on your hands, it's risky spreading a potentially small player base across that many. Here, we have a small-scale battle royale, death match, team death match, a football-like thing, and a bolt-collecting game where the first to 300 points wins. There's also Mob Rush, but I haven't unlocked that yet. Anyway, while I appreciate variety is generally a good thing, here it gives the impression that developer Oh BiBi - who you may know from Frag Pro Shooter - is trying to cover all bases rather than having confidence in any particular mode.

My second, slightly intangible issue is that while in many ways it mostly looks and plays like Ratchet & Clank, it still isn't Ratchet & Clank. The weapon variety is here, only it's spread across multiple characters. You can upgrade your arsenal, sure, except it's only through a menu rather than a glorious animation on the battlefield. The lovely tinkle of scooping up bolts is present if you play the one mode where they appear. Then you don't get to spend them on cool stuff. It's not just the lack of voice acting that feels a little hollow, you see.

To be slightly cruel, it feels like a cover band. The lyrics and tune are the same, but I always find myself comparing them unfavourably to the original. It just sounds better. And that's slightly unfair, since Ranger Rumble is trying to be its own thing. Although, when parking names like Ratchet and Clank at the front of your title, the comparisons are inevitable.

For what it is, Ranger Rumble provides some good, short-burst fun. It plays well, and the world is a lovely approximation of the main series. However, unless it manages to inject a heavy dose of Insomniac's trademark personality in every aspect, it'll always feel like a watered-down version of the real thing to me.