14 DAY TRIAL // 
Grand Theft Horse, Chicken Coop Extortion, Colluding with the Spanish Inquisition that doesn’t even know where Spain is, Manslaughter using a cow, these are only a few of the crimes that our hero Guy can and will be accused of in Rustler. If you thought GTA was hilarious wait to see this medieval parody that combines violence with dry humor and wry comments that once again remind us of Monty Python.
Rustler can be considered a real success story since after entering the Early Access phase in February, at the end of summer the game has been launched in its final form. This initially raised a few concerns from my side, regarding the quantity of the content. Because even though built as a GTA parody, just the witty remarks and the parodic approach are not enough for a good game.
The final result lives up to the expectations and offers a not too shabby sized game world, in which our hero Guy, can act like a medieval thug and wannabe crime boss. He is the deadbeat of the village who is not very good at ploughing, but has a knack for stealing horses, for knocking out tooth, or stealing anything that is not nailed to the table.
At one point it is inevitable to get into conflict with the real shark of the pond, that ends up with Guy and friend, Buddy, thrown into a stone quarry. Instead of being the end, that moment only marks a shifting in gears towards crazier and crazier missions, and chucklesome one-liners.
The main storyline can be finished in roughly about a dozen hours, but the side activities add a considerable amount to this. From Martial Arts competitions to racehorses, collecting dead bodies, delivering packages, dealing weed or just playing taxi in the saddle of a mare Rustler offers plenty to do. Although the game is clearly a GTA parody with a handful of Monty Python inspired jokes, the visual style will remind you of Chinatown Wars. Though the beatboxing and rapping bards are hilarious and alien at the same time.
There will be plenty of colorful characters waiting for you along the line from Round Earthers, continuing with the local law enforcement galloping around on horses with red blue beacons, and culminating with the Spanish Inquisition that always tries too hard to come out of the closet. They are intertwined in a game world that rewards the gamers with entrepreneurial spirit, bent on exploring the world. they will be rewarded not just with adventures, but with various weapons and amours, or even horseshoes.
These apparently valueless items are actually a nifty bonus that will contribute along with the XP gained from completing various missions to improve Guy’s skill tree. The various abilities you can upgrade, or purchase will make your life considerably easier. Like the one that allows you to summon a random horse at your location.
The skill tree is the only reason that you will actually feel Guy improving, and it is a questionable choice to hide skills that are essential for the gameplay behind a somewhat arbitrary evolution system. You will need to do quite a few missions to unlock the more advanced skills, that could have been so useful while doing the missions to gather the XP to unlock them.
And this is the biggest issue with Rustler: in concept it sounds amazing, but the execution is found wanting. It feels like it was a fun project for the developers, that ended up turning into self-indulgence and an industrial production line of Monty Python references. On one hand you can feel the enthusiasm that was poured into the game, but on the other hand you will be annoyed by the very long riding and walking times between the key locations, of the fact that you have to buy new save points and they are placed in the most useless points of the map.
The visuals contribute to the peculiar atmosphere of the game, and the cell shaded graphics work well, but you cannot expect anything truly breath-taking. The sound design is just as crazy as the sense of humor, with the bards being a genuine delight. The biggest issue is that if you do not hire a bard to accompany you, in the countryside you will be left with no background music. The combat system works quite ok with a controller, but it still feels somewhat clunky.
The Good
- Clever and dark one-liners
- Classic GTA gameplay
- The bards are larger than life
The Bad
- Several gameplay mechanics need more polish
- The combat system is clunky
- Long and empty travels between objectives
Conclusion
It is a bit rough around the edges, sometimes it drowns you in Monty Python references and it could have used some more polishing, but it’s a fun experience. You have no real replay value here, but Rustler will keep you entertained for a weekend or two.
Review code provided by the publisher.
