Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart’s coolest gun weaponizes PlayStation cameos

In the very first Ratchet & Clank game, players are able to get their hands on the RYNO, which stands for “Rip You a New One” — you must understand, it was the early 2000s. The RYNO is the ultimate weapon, and costs an exorbitant amount of Bolts, the games’ currency, to acquire. As the series went on, developer Insomniac Games added new RYNOs with new effects.

The RYNOs of games past have always been big guns that pack a serious punch, but the RYNO 8 in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is something else entirely.

[Spoiler warning: This post includes spoilers for the RYNO 8, Rift Apart’s ultimate weapon. There are light image spoilers for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart’s story.]

Players can’t pick up the RYNO 8 until late in the game’s story, and will get it for free after collecting all the Spybot collectibles scattered around the world.

The RYNO 8 summons items from other dimensions, slams them into the ground, and creates a purple shockwave that destroys anything nearby. Some of these objects are from Rift Apart’s world, like a big dinosaur or a space ship. But other objects come from different dimensions — dimensions that Sony fans might be familiar with.

When you summon an item, it starts in the air and crashes down to the ground. Most items explode on impact, but Easter egg items tend to linger for a moment. Some items will last only a second, and can be very difficult to see.

After upgrading our RYNO 8 a bit, we spent about 45 minutes shooting the portal at the ground. There are small items and big items, depending on the arena you’re in. Here’s the list of references we found with the RYNO 8.

Ratchet & Clank (2016)

Image: Insomniac Games/PlayStation Studios via Polygon

Ratchet & Clank’s 2016 remake is more of a retelling of the original game than anything else, built to tie into the duo’s movie. The Blargian Snagglebeast — a classic boss from the original Ratchet & Clank — makes an updated appearance in the 2016 version. And the RYNO 8 can summon the shiny, new Blargian Snagglebeast to crush your enemies.

Horizon Zero Dawn

Image: Insomniac Games/PlayStation Studios via Polygon

There are two creatures from Horizon Zero Dawn that can pop out of the RYNO 8.

Above, you can see the Ravager, a smaller combat machine with catlike claws.

Image: Insomniac Games/PlayStation Studios via Polygon

The Thunderjaw is a much larger combat machine from Horizon Zero Dawn. It’s the series’ T-Rex equivalent.

Jak and Daxter

Image: Insomniac Games/PlayStation Studios via Polygon

The RYNO 8 can summon Jak from Jak and Daxter (albeit the adult version from Jak 2 and Jak 3). He crashes into the ground and stands around a bit before returning to his dimension. Daxter, Jak’s orange loudmouthed companion, doesn’t make an appearance.

Sly Cooper

Image: Insomniac Games/PlayStation Studios via Polygon

Sucker Punch’s Sly Cooper series gets quite a few RYNO 8 Easter eggs. The first is Sly himself, who pops out of the portal and hangs out for a bit before leaving.

Image: Insomniac Games/PlayStation Studios via Polygon

The second is the Sly Cooper van, where the brains of Sly’s thieving operations (Bentley) and the muscle (Murray) hang out.

Image: Insomniac Games/PlayStation Studios via Polygon

Finally, there’s an object that looks to be a statue of Bentley that falls from the sky and disappears almost immediately.

Sunset Overdrive

Image: Insomniac Games/PlayStation Studios via Polygon

Sunset Overdrive gets two Easter egg appearances in Rift Apart. The first is the drink’s mascot, Fizzie, who drops out of the portal for just a few seconds. It waves a bit and then disappears.

The second Easter egg is a keg of OverCharge Delirium XT, which drops out of the sky and disappears in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment.

Song of the Deep

Image: Insomniac Games/PlayStation Studios via Polygon

Song of the Deep, Insomniac’s Metroidvania submarine game, gets just one Easter egg. The player-controlled submarine can drop out of the sky and implant itself in the earth before exploding.

Uncharted

Image: Insomniac Games/PlayStation Studios via Polygon

We’re not entirely sure these two Easter eggs are actually from Uncharted, but they’re probably related to Nathan Drake and his hunt for treasure. Above you can see a tan Jeep, very similar to the one Nate, Sully, and Sam ride around in in Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.

There’s also a propeller plane that can drop out of the RYNO 8 rifts. We think it’s likely an homage to Victor Sullivan’s propeller plane, the Hog Wild, from the Uncharted games.

These are the references we could pick up after some time spent shooting at the ground. We have no doubt dedicated fans will spot even more Easter eggs the longer Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is out in the wild.