Ye Olde Thievery
What do you get when you bring in the kid from Bully and plop him down in a medieval version of old-school(e?) Grand Theft Auto? Well, you get Rustler. The latest from Jutsu Games is exactly what it sounds like on paper. This top-down open-world game puts players into the shoes of “The Guy” as he takes on odd jobs and runs from the law in a game that looks and feels like classic GTA games. While it has an interesting premise and plenty of tongue-in-cheek gags that had me chuckling from start to finish. Even with these bright spots though the game suffers from some technical issues and tedious mission design that keep it from being a sure win.
Imitation is often referred to as the sincerest form of flattery. If that is the case, then Rustler has the original GTA games blushing. Everything from spraying your ride to the muffled dialogue is present here. The game wears its inspirations on its sleeve. Players take on the role of “The Guy” as he takes on jobs from people around the world in hopes to move up in status. These range from murdering certain guards to stealing horses and everything in between. It is a novel concept but one that comes with a ton of caveats.
MSRP: $29.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99
For example, the mission design is familiar while also kind of boring. I knew what I was going to be doing most times before I even got the mission. We have seen and done these a thousand times over and what Rustler does it relies on familiarity as opposed to ingenuity. I felt like I was pulling the same stuff over and over and it rarely gave me a sense of progression. Sure, I gained some coin or some clout, but rarely did I feel like I was making solid progress through the game itself.
It’s no secret that Rustler wants to be funny. It spends a lot of time with referential gags that are aimed to make the player point at the screen and chuckle. For the most part it misses the mark with most of the humor falling in line with parody movies. Nothing ever really hits as hard as it wants to. I found most of it to be more eye rolling than laugh out loud funny. The story of The Guy is an honest one that simply does not hit as intended. I didn’t care much for the protagonist nor any of the characters in the world.
More problems arise when we factor in the technical issues with the game. For an open world title, it is chock full of glitches and bugs that impede progress or downright break it. There are some missions where I had to reload saves and even some I was unable to complete. Thankfully those were side missions, so the main game was still playable from beginning to end. It feels like an early game in the genre that just needs more time to iron out the issues across the board.
This is Rustler’s biggest crime. The game just doesn’t work in the ways I wanted it to. I never felt compelled to keep going forward. Whether it was a glitch or just subpar writing Rustler never managed to draw me into its world. I struggled to finish the game and had little desire to return and mop up any side quests afterwards. There is a fun game buried underneath all of its issues, but Rustler never manages to achieve what it sets out to do. It would have made a solid addition to Game Pass, but for now I recommend waiting for a sale if you desire some Grand Theft Horse.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
