Rusty Rabbit

Rusty Rabbit from developer Nitro Plus is a fun, deep adventure led by fun characters, a good story, easy mechanics, and a strong RPG backbone. Repetitiveness does drag the experience down a bit, but this 2D platformer stands strong with its positives.

Rusty Rabbit is a cute and entertaining Metroidvania that offers such a unique and fresh experience that I found it hard to put down. However, if you're looking for more challenge and excitement then its laidback formula may not be for you.

If you're looking for a decent Metroidvania, then Rusty Rabbit is solid enough, though there's not a lot here to suggest it's more than towing the genre's line rather than branching out in unexpected new directions. Collecting junk is enjoyable in Rusty Rabbit, but maybe it could've done with more fervor and less grit, even if the game's name informs you of its weathered vibes.

Among metroidvania titles available, Rusty Rabbit holds its own, though it falls short of its contemporaries due to the disruptive flow of cutscenes and narration. Its controls could be more fluent and responsive, but the dense atmosphere and writing carry the weight of the experience, making it memorable and interesting enough to stand out from the crowd in a saturated genre.

Putting players in control of a mech-suit piloted by a rabbit, Rusty Rabbit lets them embark on an engaging adventure where they'll make their way through numerous dungeons while collecting junk, crafting new parts and unravelling the game's story. Its controls can be a little clunky and it's rather basic in some areas, but there's still fun to be had in control of old Rusty.

Rusty Rabbit isn't a bad game at all, but it is extremely simple for the genre it slots into. It fails at having any sort of real challenge, memorable bosses, interesting puzzles, or rewarding routing. The story is surprisingly lore-filled, intriguing, and emotional by the conclusion, and the cast of cute rabbit characters do lend a nice level of charm to the game as you occasionally reach a flow state of map clearing, dungeon-crawling, mindless fun. Still, the game overstays its welcome by the end of its 20+ hour runtime, and there are better options if you're looking for a more accessible take on the Steamworld Dig-meets-Metroidvania formula. The entry cost is low, however, so it's not one to completely write-off if you're looking for a breezy side-scroller to sink some free time into.

Rusty Rabbit shows that NITRO PLUS has potential, but the execution sticks to mediocrity. For twenty bucks it’s not a bad deal, but it never really becomes memorable.