Rift Apart does indeed look very pretty, it's just Insomniac generally aren't technology pushers the way that Guerilla or Santa Monica are, so it would've been more exciting to see what the latter could've done without having to cater to 2013 console tech. Ah well, I guess we will see eventually, it's just that after the 8th gen being a bit of a downer for me personally I was kinda hoping the 9th would be more exciting and it's not off to a great start in that respect.

Digital Foundry begs to differ
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-vs-ratchet-and-clank-on-ps4
Ratchet and Clank games on ps3 looked amazing, as well as Sunset Overdrive on XBox One
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-vs-sunset-overdrive

Different style sure, but they're pushing the tech just as hard.

I didn't mean they don't push tech at all, just not to the extent that games like Killzone 2/3/Shadowfall and Horizon Zero Dawn or the console God of War games.

I finding a little bit bizarre to see these discussions in a world where the Switch exists. Are we saying that every "9th gen-exclusive" will be inherently better, more creative and innovative than any Switch game going forward?

Not at all. That doesn't mean though that it wouldn't be nice to see new hardware put through its paces to deliver stuff we haven't seen before.

Just my personal bias I guess, I found the Ratchet and Clank games in the same generations more impressive than the games listed above. Pixar style cgi done right is imo more difficult than semi realism. But true, Killzone SF pushed realistic sound propagation (sadly not used after) and Horizon Zero Dawn looks absolutely gorgeous. I'm looking forward to play whatever Guerilla, Santa Monica or Insomniac serve up :)

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No, games developed with HW power enthusiasts in mind first are quite independent from games developed with NS in mind as main platform, and even more independent from games thought for portables, with all the power limitations portables have, and trying to get the best and smoothest graphics possible anyway. They aren't comparable and they cater for different needs, although Ninty, relying the most on gameplay and keeping HW power hunger under control, managed to make the hybrid, with huge success. HW power can help graphic creativity, but gameplay creativity and innovation doesn't need high HW power, although some gameplay innovations require creativity in input device design, a thing that Ninty has at so high levels to often pave the way to competitors too (yes, Ninty didn't invent some controls, but it found the right moment, price point and above all made the right games to put them first and successfully on console market, just imagine if motion control had those awful VR and AR demos to show its capabilities instead of the best Wii games).
But in this thread we're specifically talking about games that push latest gen HW power to the limits, NS just wasn't designed with this in mind so the comparison doesn't make sense, maybe some Ninty haters will try to make meaningless comparisons, but just don't mind them.

Ah, I actually disagree here

There's a big difference between giving someone praise for ticking all of the boxes versus giving them praise for pushing the envelope above and beyond. Insomniac have typically worked comfortably within the bounds of hardware to deliver what you want from new devices but they're rarely delivering things you didn't know were possible (visuall speaking). They're like the Nintendo EPD of sony. Efficient and effective. I'm also not complaining, this is probably why they've been able to produce 4 games in one generation whereas most first-party teams produced only 2.

No offense to the Ratchet games but they've had an easier ride because there are no other AAA action platformers to compare them to. 

The polish of the Spyro remakes gives a strong impression that Pixar visuals would actually be pretty common with PS4 spec level hardware if anyone was invested in making more of these stylised games. Not to say its as impressive as a Ratchet of course

I wonder how they will handle the loading screens on PS5 as of course for PS4 we will need to have those "lets cross this very tight passage here that needs around 20 seconds to cross" to mask the loading. It will be a shame to have those on PS5.