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0 Rusty Rabbit is an action-adventure RPG from developers NITRO PLUS with publishing assistance from SoFun. I originally saw a glimpse of this game during Steam NextFest in Spring of last year. While the game’s premise and mechanics had me slightly excited, it was the fact that Kazuma Kiryu‘s Japanese voice actor was voicing the main protagonist, Stamp, that cemented my need to play it. I entered fanboy mode hard over that fact alone.
It’s been a long while since I got to enjoy collecting Junk again.
Let’s cut the chatter and figure out if this game is great or a McGregor.
Gameplay
You start out as the rabbit known as Stamp. A junk/mech fanatic rabbit existing in a world that seems like our Earth, but going through a second Ice Age. With a world consisting of just rabbits and ‘rust beasts’, Stamp ventures through Smokestake Mountain. While exploring, we come across various other rabbits, either junk collecting like Stamp, or engaging in other activities. During this time, we collect junk and blueprints to help enhance our trusty Junkster.
When it comes to the mechanics, it’s satisfyingly simplistic, but has moments that have me guessing at what to do. I played the game mostly using my PS5 Edge controller, and eventually managed to get the hang of the set-up. Even so, there were times I tried failed to properly make a jump and blamed my controller. In fact, the game doesn’t have a small jump ability in the beginning, and Stamp literally over does it with the jumping distance as well as height. So, I’m not only fighting the button set-up, but also my over jumping robo-butt.
Now, I do love the fact that once you’ve turned in quests, or first acquire the junk, you can then purchase it at the shop. The prices though are crazy, given that funds are hard to collect. Then there’s their create option that has a bit of RNG elements in it. While I’m thankful for the dismantle option, the fact that the amount of junk returned is small, and could be junk you already have in abundance, is not so helpful.
Graphics and Audio
I feel that NITRO PLUS really loves either fur, or rabbits, because the texture work on the characters is phenomenal. That was the top graphical thing I like and noticed, the second being the design of all the machines. From our trusty Junkster, to the various rusty beasts we encounter in each map, the designs are very creative. Lastly, the fact the world is still going through a never-ending Ice Age that anyone could have seen coming. Yet, my only gripe about anything dealing with graphics would be the size of the creatures and us. There’s even the bits of art when interacting with certain things like building weapons, or going to church to hear their teachings.
Seeing that all the rust beasts are bigger than all the living rabbits in the game, I wonder if they’re all mutated in more ways than one. From the sounds of machines, to the voice acting of the characters, I notice that NITRO PLUS did not hold back at all. It’s evident they had passion when looking for the right sounds for each rust beast, random machines on the map, and Junkster. The sounds are pretty unique to one another.
The voice acting for the Japanese side is well done, but the English side felt slightly slow. It might just be me, but it honestly kept throwing my timing off on some things going on in some cutscenes. But, I feel that the Japanese voice choice is the best with the pacing of the game. Where the English voice just always has those weird pauses between sentences that last too long.
Longevity
If you play diligently and try to aim for the best parts and leave no rock unturned, you can beat it in two sessions. Well, in my case, I got so absorbed that I actually went crazy in one session. So much so, that I almost forgot to even get screenshots for the review because I was so invested in the mystery of the world and about Stamp’s life before we entered it. Beating the game would take about 21 hours if you’re going for everything like I did. Though, I advise players to take your time, play around with the levels and have fun finding the little things left in each level.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed my time with Kiryu Stamp and the Ice Age II freezing boogaloo. I love the world building done here for the fact that only rabbits survived everything. No foxes, no wolves, just rabbits. It’s honestly clever with the fact that if you visit the church, you can learn the stories they have turned into a faith. Like seriously, you need to invest in getting the cost to get each story unlocked. It’s a bloody hoot.
While everything about the game is amazing to me, the only thing that holds me back from giving this game the Thumb Culture Platinum Award is the game handling. I died too many times because the Junkster jumped too high or far, meaning that I either land improperly or slid off the blocks. I’m willing to revisit my review if those issues are resolved. Now, go out there and enjoy the junk out of this game.
I give Rusty Rabbit the Thumb Culture Gold Award
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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