Rustler - Jutsu Games title preview

Rustler - Jutsu Games title preview

Kickstarter for many productions it is a real limbo where a faint light can bring hope (and investments) on some projects while an immense amount of ideas, more or less valid, may never reach a real goal. Among the software houses looking for funding for their project, we also find Jutsu Games with theirs Rustler, a nice melting pot of humorous and mechanical elements inspired by the first two Grand Theft Auto. The potential is there, but we are still in the embryonic stages of the title, with an alpha version that is far from definitive and for now only able to give an idea of ​​how the final product will be structured. But it is worth giving it a chance, despite the road being long and the title is only just beginning.



A guy named Guy

History has the usual established classics: we will impersonate Guy, a cheap, violent criminal with a passion for alcohol and money. After stealing a horse, we will discover in the saddlebags an invitation to the royal tournament that could guarantee us fame and wealth such as to make the local gentlemen envy. However, we will have to find a way to obtain a license of nobility in order to access the tournament, a necessity that will lead us to do the most varied missions. The short alpha we tested therefore lays the foundation for the rise of ours Guy, without wasting oneself on a narrative or in particularly multifaceted or in-depth characters. Rustler it is in fact a caciarone title and never gives the impression of wanting to take itself too seriously. The story is functional to give us a motivation to shoot and carry out missions, but nothing more. Indeed, it tries to make us breathe that crazy and unscrupulous air typical of Grand Theft Auto, reinserting it in a Middle Ages full of historical inaccuracies and pop references, from the Netflix series of The Witcher to Monty Python movies. The result is decidedly spot on, giving the title a carefree and goliardic air capable of getting us a few laughs, thanks to the numerous quotes present.



Rustler - Jutsu Games title preview

"It's just a superficial wound!"

But let's get to Rustler's core: fight, steal and ride horses. As simple as this triad is and, at the moment, minimalist, this is where a few knots come to a head. Let me be clear, the ideas are good, but the state of implementation at the moment still leaves ample room for improvement. On foot the attack input is often not received when trying different types of shots (fast and light or slow and heavy), while the movements are precise and fluid. On horseback the problems are reversed: the attacks are read more easily by the game, despite being limited to only one side of our steed, but the movements become awkward, inaccurate and, in the long run, frustrating. Hitting walls and obstacles therefore becomes frequent during escapes or chases, also due to the view from above which makes it more difficult to establish an optimal path, especially when galloping. The combination of these smudges makes the games fluctuating, with so demanding fights, in which 2-3 attacks will be enough to kill us, but also frustrating. At the moment there is also a lack of side activities - except for a clandestine mini tournament and plowing the fields - and ways to spend our hard-earned cash.


Rustler - Jutsu Games title preview

Medieval thieves wanted

Having to express ourselves with a partial judgment, Rustler it undoubtedly has the potential to become more than just a tribute to old GTAs. It has humor, an atypical setting (have you ever seen a knight with a police flashing light chasing you in the forest?) And the right dose of madness to make its mark, but at the same time it presents various playful problems that undermine its general playability, without forget the lack of content currently present, a problem that will certainly be remedied in the future. In short, for the moment the work certainly deserves to be kept an eye on, all pending further additions and due refinements to improve the current situation. If you like the project and think it deserves your support, you can support it here, on Kickstarter, by February 29th.


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