A GTA inspired by medieval times sells itself and invites you to run to play it. Rustler has a fantastic idea, with a performance that has left me quite cold and a duration not comparable to Rockstar games. In this analysis I will tell you why it is better that you continue creating chaos with cars and firearms.
I’m sure I’m not the only one to whom the proposal of Rustler, the new video game of Jutsu Games, It caught his attention powerfully. A game of medieval open world with a deep inspiration in the Grand Theft Auto saga and in its most classic installments, with an overhead view with modest graphics, but current. On paper, this is a caramelito worthy of raising passions in those who try it, but after having passed the game, I have to tell you that the flavor that remains is rather bittersweet.
Rustler does things well and I have to give him the great merit of taking Rockstar games to a very bygone era, when there are no submachine guns or sports cars to mess with in a city. I think the best thing about the game is precisely that: you feel like it’s a Miniature GTA Back when knights, kings, and corruption ruled the world. But, in the end, we are facing a title that leave indifferent, that it does something repetitive (and that it does not last long) and that does not leave you many arguments to continue playing for pleasure. The latter is what I blame him most for, because in GTA, creating chaos and enjoying the scenery is a hilarious part that invites you to keep playing non-stop. Here, unfortunately, it is not the same.
Grand theft horse
The development team has never avoided comparison with GTA, quite the contrary, encourages it. Even in the Steam installation itself, by accepting it, we can see what they call the game “Grand Theft Horse”, changing the “car” of the classic saga for “horse”. I don’t know if such ambition has ended up making the game feel a bit bad, because if they themselves are continually (and I say this because in the development itself there are many nods to GTA) reminding you of Rockstar’s work, it makes you inevitable start making comparisons.
Rustler puts us in the shoes of Guy, a poor bastard who fights for a better life with petty theft and the occasional murder. One good day, a friend of his bundled him up to participate in the Great Tournament organized by the king. The winner will have the honor of marrying the princess of the kingdom, which means that many of the problems that may arise in life are solved immediately. In order to get to this tournament, Guy has to raise money to sign up, but the story will be cut short when some of his partners betray him and he has to take the chestnuts out of the fire.
The development of the story is based on a main story and different side missions. The latter are partly mandatory, as they help us get money quickly. The monetary issue is a barrier that the game uses in several occasions to push us to have to do those missions And, honestly, it seems to me one of the big problems that the game has because it doesn’t know how to slow down your progress in a less forced way.
There’s a good part of Rustler that we spend doing errands to raise that money. I have to admit that luckily some of these side quests they entertain you by their story. These missions are really little stories that we live with minority NPCs and some bring a smile, like that of a character who wants to be a street rapper and the only thing that gives is quite shame. Several of these missions are more funny than the main story itself and put us in bizarre situations, that’s why I have lacked that they all have the same level.
But the reality is that, in general, are based on going from one point X to another Y and do various activities: just as you have to kill some characters, collect some bodies or burn a farm. Although it may sound varied, it doesn’t feel that way. The game story is very predictable and very hackneyed, although again, the humor that the game enjoys makes everything more bearable.
I know this all seems very negative, but there are also good things: towards the end of the game, we come to the Grand Tournament and everything is more varied, with fun fights and jousting battles (those fights of two soldiers on horseback with spears). I have to say that, in my opinion, the short duration of the title benefits you to dare to play it if something catches your attention. The main story, with several entire secondary finished, I have surpassed it in less than 6 hours (and it can be even faster). It’s a short game, yes, but that at least helps you not get tired of it.
Black and medieval humor
Needless to say, the game it is for adults, more for the comments and the humor it uses, than for the brutality of it, although we will see a lot of blood and some scenes not suitable for sensitive people. Rustler is situated in a medieval era, far removed from our reality, and what counts must be understood in that context: women are younger than men, and jokes are often black and today could offend more than one. Although, everything is said, the game is very satirical and I think there is some criticism in what it counts. Of course, I insist: you have to understand the context of the game, there is no anger that is worth it.
All of this halo of baseness is noticeable in the streets: rednecks spitting on the ground, people fighting with a clean fist just because, horses shitting everywhere (watch out, shit serves as a weapon) and some guards who don’t pass one. This is the best of the game: its setting, its adaptation of the idea of GTA to the medieval and how he laughs at himself. The horses are the cars and there are roads and parking lots; the guard is the police here and has its own siren with rotary beacons; there are search levels; we can “tune” our horse; bards brighten the streets and entertain enemies … Everything smells like GTA and adaptation is good, with its buts.
And the buts are that the combat is boringly simple, with a button to cover us, another to attack and another to roll, although in its favor I will say that the variety of weapons makes it more bearable (swords, spears, crossbows …). The game also sometimes feels unfair because it is very difficult to really fight when many guards with a certain power surround us.
There is no feeling that you can escape from these types of extreme situations without going through the workshop to modify the appearance of the horse (this removes the entire search level) or without removing posters with our face. Another aspect that I think could be improved is that spawn points Charging self-control points in the middle of missions is sometimes a bit frustrating and sometimes forces you to repeat one more time, for example, a tedious journey (that’s why I said before that the game can still last less if you do not pose any challenge or in low difficulties).
As complementary activities, we have the option of taking horse races, fighting in a ring or the aforementioned jousts. I think this is one of the big problems in the game: once passed, there’s not much to do. You can finish the secondary missions and even encourage you to buy the different houses (save and recovery points) that are in the world, but I feel that the endgame it is tremendously scarce and it was enough for much more. Also, even if it hurts, playing for playing games and creating chaos in the city ends up getting tired very quickly.
A compliant technical section
On a technical level, I have to tell you that I have played it mainly in a Nvidia GTX 1070 Ti, but I also tested it on a laptop Nvidia GTX 1650. Speaking of the 1070 Ti, I have played the title mainly at 1080p, but at 2K it has also worked well for me; in 4K it no longer reached a fixed 60 FPS, it stayed close.
Both at 1080p and 2K, I have had a stable level at 60 FPS, although with oscillations at some specific moments: I think that a little more optimization would not hurt, but there is not much to worry about. On both computers and graphics cards the game it has worked without major problems. By the way, you can only change the resolution in the main menu, in the game it will not let you. Take it into account because at first I thought that it was not possible and I was surprised.
At the graphic level, the title fulfills without fanfare, with a style between cartoon and realistic, with the settings with good level of detail. Cities, especially, are very cool places to walk around. The map is not as big as it might seem at first and many players will think that it is empty, although my main criticism, as I have mentioned, is the lack of activities.
Conclusions
Rustler has good intentions and may be interesting to take two afternoons with something light. Its short duration is actually a blessing, because its lack of variety in gameplay blends well with how quickly everything happens. His humor makes the adventure more bearable and if you like classic GTAs and medieval times drive you crazy, I would invite you to try it, but otherwise, I have a hard time recommending it to you.