Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is the hot PlayStation 5 exclusive, showcasing the best of what the PS5 has to offer. However, it’s not without its unexpected bugs, including one that makes it seem as if Challenge Mode is not working. New games and bugs go hand-in-hand, but this particular problem happens to be one with a very simple solution.
Rift Apart Challenge Mode not working? Here’s the fix
There is a considerable degree of confusion as to why Rift Apart’s Challenge Mode may not work. Some players think Challenge Mode isn’t working because their weapons don’t show up, while others seem unable to begin a Challenge Mode run at all. Fortunately, both problems are easy to fix.
Challenge Mode, which is basically New Game Plus mode, only unlocks after you’ve beaten Rift Apart at least once. After the credits roll, from the title screen, you can press the Square button to start a new Challenge Mode playthrough. Doing so will restart the game from the top, except this time you get to keep your previous health upgrades and weapons. It’s the only way to reach the max weapon level in Rift Apart.
That final part is where the confusion comes in. Challenge Mode appears almost identical to a normal playthrough until you reach Mrs. Zurkon to unlock your weapons. Some players reach this point only to realize nothing more than the default weapons are available. More eagle-eyed players will note that their health upgrades haven’t carried over between saves almost immediately.
According to user reports on the Ratchet and Clank subreddit, this problem is caused by a bug with the game’s graphical settings. Challenge Mode may not work if you swap between Performance and Fidelity graphics modes when starting a new save file. For whatever reason, changing the graphics mode seems to wipe all progress from the previous save.
Luckily, the fix is simple: Don’t change the graphics mode prior to beginning a Challenge Mode run. Leave it at the Fidelity setting, which is the default. After you confirm your health and weapons carried over, you can safely change the graphics mode back to your preference. If you’ve already started a new game plus save file, you can delete it (not your main save file!) and press Square to start a new one.
It’s worth mentioning that Challenge Mode has shown a few other bugs since launch. Namely, there have been issues with characters getting stuck or unresponsive controls. Insomniac has been doling out patches diligently, but if a new issue arises, you can always shoot the team a line over on Twitter.
