Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is garnering a lot of attention since its recent appearance at the State of Play presentation on April 29. The return of one of Sony's most iconic PlayStation properties is looking to come back with a bang. Bright, Pixar-style visuals permeated the fifteen-minute demonstration and showed off a lot of what's to come in the next chapter of the space-faring romp. One character that made a surprise return, especially given her new role in the game, was Mrs. Zurkon. The massive mechanical matriarch has appeared in a couple of the previous games, but her new role as a shopkeeper in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is interesting to say the least.
Last Thursday brought a long gameplay demo for Rift Apart during the new State of Play showcase from Sony. The demo answered a lot of fans' questions about what's coming in the anticipated sequel, and engendered even more questions. Some fan theories about the relationship between Ratchet and Rivet were given some credence, but overall the demonstration mainly showed off a gorgeous level of detail in the game's world and its escalated level of destruction. Amid all the flair, the small reveal of Mrs. Zurkon drew attention from many long-time fans.
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It can be difficult to keep up with the amount of characters and weapons that have made their way into the Ratchet and Clank over the years. One of Rift Apart's returning characters is somewhat of a blend of both. Mrs. Zurkon made her debut in Ratchet and Clank, back when Into the Nexus released as a more powerful version of the Mr. Zurkon weapon. The Zurkons have become one of the most iconic weapons in the franchise as the small robots float around the battlefield flinging one-liners and powerful weapons fire to delight and support the player. The original version of Mrs. Zurkon was more an upgraded version of her husband than a full-fledged character.
The well-received 2016 remake of the original Ratchet and Clank reintroduced the synthenoid Mrs. Zurkon as a boss character worthy of dread. Ratchet and the rest of the Rangers were left to deal with the Mr. Zurkon rocket-blasting monolith before they could continue their efforts to foil Commander Drek and his dastardly aspirations. Now that Rift Apart has confirmed Mrs. Zurkon as the weapons vendor for the new game, many fans are wondering why the former enemy has turned tacit supporter.
Many fans were glad to see the return of Mrs. Zurkon to the franchise, as she and her husband have become iconic staples of the franchise at this point. Knowing that every time they need to make a purchase they will need to survive Mrs. Zurkon's quips and jabs instead of lasers and bombs will likely be a welcome change of pace. With so many side activities evidently available in Rift Apart, its likely that players will be encountering the Zurkon family many times over the course of their adventure, as they trade bolts and Raritanium for ever-increasingly powerful weapons.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart releases on June 11 for PlayStation 5.
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