For the past three console generations, the open-world genre of video games has been heavily influenced by earlier Grand Theft Auto titles such as Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, and San Andreas. At the core of that franchise’s roots is a top-down, pedal-to-the-metal thrill ride that some modern gamers don’t even know exists. Here in 2021, that pantheon of 90’s gaming has made its way to medieval times in the title Rustler, set to leave early access on August 31st.

Set in a “historically-inaccurate” medieval kingdom, you play a character literally named “Guy, whose parents apparently were too lazy to give him a proper name” who has a best friend also appropriately named “Buddy”. Rustler gets you acquainted with some odd-jobs messing about and committing crimes with the prime goal of conquering half the kingdom in the Grand Tournament. You’re locked away until you can gather 5,000 gold, though, which takes quite a bit of time in your playthrough.

While the whole map of Rustler is fairly small for an open-world game, it’s a pain to get around if you don’t have a horse handy. There’s a skill in your skill tree that lets you summon one, but if you want to make it past the first few hours of enemy encounters you’re going to need to spend your points buffing up Guy with stamina, health, and damage upgrades. This is a smart idea because checkpoints will cost you several minutes each time, especially considering if you traveled to a quest’s start on a horse, it will disappear on your second try.

On top of traversal woes, the quest types borrow from some of the worst variations in gaming, specifically escort missions and timed missions. There’s one particular timed side quest I had to skip because it called for locating a bard in a city with absolutely no indicators on where to find one. Another escort mission had me slapping a cow with a stick for almost 5 minutes because it “ran away” at the pace of a snail.

Apart from these shortcomings, Rustler is still a romp and I love when a game doesn’t take itself too seriously. With funny references everywhere and all dialogue delivered in a drunken Banjo Kazooie-esque tone, it’s hard not to keep a smile on your face when making your way through Guy’s grand quest.

To gamers accustomed to titles holding their hand and having ample forgiveness, Rustler would be a rude awakening with a steep difficulty and a checkpoint system I don’t necessarily agree with. However, for fans of crass humor and straightforward games that you can hoot and holler at, Rustler may just be what they’re looking for. After entering Early Access in February of 2021, it’s come quite a long way and has ended up in a strong spot for 1.0. With a physical release to accompany it, this may pop up on some year-end lists as an underdog!

A PlayStation 4 Review Copy of Rustler was provided by Modus Games for this Review.

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Rustler

$24.99

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Laugh-a-minute Sense of Humor
• Fleshed-out Setting

Cons

• Agonizing Checkpoints
• Rough Timed/Escort Quests