The GTA-inspired Rustler is looking ace!
Later this month, developer Jotus Games and publisher Modus Games will release Rustler, a new GTA-inspired game set in the dank and dingy Dark Ages. Or medieval times. I don’t know. I write about games, not history.
I got to sit in on a hands-off preview last month where the developer showed the game running on the now current-gen consoles while giving us a rundown of its features and answering some questions. Here are the most important things I learned during that preview.
Game Information
Release Date: August 31st, 2021
Developer: Jutsu Games
Publisher: Modus Games
Availability: PSN (Digital) Retail (Buy on Amazon USA / UK)
What’s the story in Rustler?
The premise is that you play as Guy, a young up-and-coming thug who is entering The Great Tournament where the prize is… er, a woman. A princess woman, to be exact. She’s royalty, and she’s the prize that’s up for grabs.
You and your mate – conveniently named Buddy – want some of that prize, so you both set off to win the tournament by forming alliances, double-crossing your enemies, and much more.
Is Rustler enhanced for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S?
Rustler will play nicer on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, about 30 frames nicer, to be precise. The open-world old-timey crime game will run at 30fps on the last-gen consoles, PS4 and Xbox One, and that includes the Nintendo Switch.
On PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, you’ll be rolling in ye old horse-drawn wagon at 60fps. Nice.
Does Rustler have multiplayer?
If you were hoping to go on some medieval antics with your mates, you’ll have to stick to the LARP Games, you nerd. Rustler doesn’t have any multiplayer support and there’s no plan at present to add any. The reason is that just 10% of early testers wanted the feature, so the developer, Jutsu Games, didn’t pursue it. Fair enough.
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It’s a humourus GTA homage, not a history simulator
The game’s developer has stated that the game is obviously inspired by the earlier GTA games, and it’s a homage of sorts to GTA 2, though it looks a bit more like GTA Chinatown, I think you’ll agree?
As such, it’s a funny little game that’s full of humour, inspired by the likes of Monty Python – the game is full of references and cheeky nods and it’s certainly not going for historical accuracy – it’s a comical game that is playful with its content. The cops ride horses have red and blue lights for christ sake, of course it’s not going for historical accuracy.
You can level up your character and improve their stats
What modern game dares to release without some light RPG elements, right? If your game doesn’t have levelling up or stats, you’re asking for failure.
Rustler is not asking for failure, because it does indeed have a bunch of stats that you can upgrade as you level up your thug who looks a lot like the main character in Bully, don’t you reckon?
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You can pimp your horse
You can indeed pimp your horse. I mean that in the way Xzibit would pimp a ride, not the other way. Though… There is a market for a certain kind of horse lover, but Pure PlayStation is not that kind of place. Not during the week, at least…
The point is, you can doll up your horse and make it the prettiest trotter in all of the kingdom, and maybe the fastest. You can even hustle on the side by running your own Taxi Service. Just make sure your horse doesn’t have the squits…
There’s music and you punch the bard to change the station
Rustler is set in a time before Spotify and the world’s best rock band, The Killers, but there will still be some music and it’ll be a mix of rock, hip hop, and everything in between. The funny thing is that to change the in-game music, you need to punch the bard who is playing it. I can’t guarantee that when our review comes around, it won’t be 10 minutes of me beating the crap out of some poor bard. I just love the silly things.
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Rustler will release on August 31st, 2021 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
