Secret Agent Clank: The Review

*Note: Updated in June 2025 in an effort to remove AI-generated content from the blog.

Overview

Secret Agent Clank is a fairly average spin-off that finally allows Clank to take center stage, even if it doesn’t quite have the same charm that Ratchet fans have come to expect from the franchise. The missions are repetitive and the story appears to have been hastily assembled by Qwark, with how little depth it shows. The puzzles and gameplay do try to offer some variety, but they don’t quite match the creativity found in other games in the series. There’s enough ammo here to keep the hardcore fans hooked, but for everyone else, it won't leave much of a lasting impression.

Score: 6 out of 10

The Positives ✅

Secret Agent Clank mixes things up with a couple gameplay styles, such as traditional platforming, vehicle sections, Gadgetbots missions, Ratchet arena battles, and some random, unexpected moments with Qwark, as well as a few rhythm-based challenges. This diversity keeps the game fresh and breaks up the pacing throughout the game.

The espionage theme gives the game a unique atmosphere within the Ratchet universe, as the developers filled the game with parodies and quirky scenarios that make it stand out without feeling completely disconnected from the rest of the series. Furthermore, the story's hook—Ratchet being framed as the villain—is a clever plot device that had a lot of potential, but the execution is not perfect.

As always, the music is a highlight. David Bergeaud delivers a soundtrack that effectively blends the spy-movie feel with the classic Ratchet energy. This blend really helps to set the tone.

The Negatives ⚠️

Every character introduced in Secret Agent Clank feels pretty underdeveloped, which is unusual for the Ratchet series. Normally, the franchise does a better job of giving its characters some depth, but here they just come across as flat and forgettable.

The camera controls are not great either. While they are an improvement over Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, they still feel clunky and frustrating. It is probably a limitation of the PSP hardware, but it is still something that pulls you out of the experience.

The rhythm sections are honestly the most annoying parts of the game. The timing feels off, so even when you think you are hitting the notes right, the game might decide you are failing. This gets really frustrating and feels out of place.

Then there are the Qwark levels, which deserve a complete paragraph just for them because they are long, tedious, and completely disrupt the game’s pacing. The "Save the Dam" level might just be the most pointless level in the entire franchise, as there's zero reason for that level to exist other than they needed a Qwark level in the final portion of the game. It's super long, checkpoints are scarce, and it's just not fun to play. It feels like they shoehorned Qwark into the game just for the sake of having him there.

As for the Ratchet arenas, they are not terrible, but they aren't good either. They feel clunky to play in, probably because of the limited PSP controls, and they're also excessively long. The one positive I'll give them is that they do play the concept of "previous Ratchet villains taking revenge" against him for putting them in prison very well, and the game does have one arena that weaves a good design with some fun storytelling segments and gameplay systems: the Showers arena.

The Experience 🎮

Even with all the issues we pointed out, we can’t say playing Secret Agent Clank was a bad experience. Ratchet & Clank is very close to our hearts, and even the games with some rough edges still manage to win us over. It took us about 11 hours to 100% the game and snag the platinum trophy, and honestly, we had a great time replaying it. It’s definitely not perfect, but you can tell the developers really tried to make something worthy of the Ratchet legacy, and we respect that.

Looking ahead, we’ve got a lot of Ratchet & Clank content coming your way. Our full review series for the franchise began releasing in February 2025, with the rest following throughout the year. Plus, we’re planning a ranking of the entire series to come in December. Stay tuned.