Rusty Rabbit (Review)

 

Written By: Sam Delong- It's pretty ironic that Rusty Rabbit's protagonist, Stamp, collects junk because that is where this NetEase-published Metroidvania should have stayed. Rusty Rabbit revolves around Stamp and his red mech, the Junkster. As you traverse the land in this 2D Metroidvania, you will dig through rubble with your drill, hover in your jet back, and take down mechanical enemies.

And if you forgot that Stamp collects junk, don't worry, he will tell you. The best part is his straight-laced delivery of hard-boiled dialogue that sounds like it came out of the mouth of a 1940s detective. His gruff, serious voice is hilarious coming out of a 3-foot-tall bunny wearing a red leather jacket. Like any metroidvania, you will slowly gain more abilities as you harness parts to upgrade the jumpster. An upgraded jet back will allow you to float farther, and you'll also gain access to more powerful drill bits for the hydraulic drill, which is the Junkster's main weapon.

While the visuals during gameplay are nothing impressive, cut scenes are a different story. The brief moments of story in between levels are a joy to look at, with quick cuts and some pretty impressive and cinematic camera angles. It's not surprising given NetEase's visual flair with Marvel Rivals.

Rusty Rabbit is a mostly 2D affair, with levels usually being large factories and forests that go left to right and back again. You can also use your drill to dig downward and jump up to break cubes of junk. The junk is part collectible, part currency for Junkster.

Rusty Rabbit is a subpar Metroid Vania. It has boring (and incredibly easy) combat and stilted level design. The drilling mechanic is a cool idea, but unfortunately, it's wrapped around some dull exploration, and no part of the experience will likely encourage players to keep going. The key to a good Metroid Vania is like a stew-- you don't have to love all the ingredients, but it can't leave a bad taste in your mouth. There are simply other metroidvanias that do this better. If you want to play another rabbit driving a mech game -- try out F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadowtorch, it's better in every way.

2 out of 5.