Looking to do your research before you purchase Rust? Look no further! As someone who has played close to 750 hours in the game, in varying progress systems, with a handful of differernt monuments and seeds, and with different groups of people, I feel confident I can give you the rundown on everything you need to know about Rust.
Although I have played Rust (and played it extensively,), I am not being compensated for this review in any way, shape or form by Facepunch Studios or any Facepunch associates.About Rust
Rust is a survival game first released by Facepunch studios in late 2013 through Steam’s Early Access program. It is a multiplayer-only game that allows players to fight wolves, bears, attack helicopters, and each other on the way to surviving the ‘wipe,’ or period of time before the map is cleaned of all structures and a new island is chosen.
Although it was initially released through Early Access, it was officially released and brought out of the beta on February 8, 2018. By March 2017, Rust had sold over five million copies on Steam. Over the past year, the game has a concurrent player base of 50,000 players, according to Steam Charts. Since the game’s release, players have continued to enjoy monthly updates featuring new additions like scuba-diving gear, motorboats, new monuments, and puzzles.
Rust’s Story
Although there is no official storyline, as the only objective of Rust is to survive, there are a few fan theories about how players ended up on the island, the role of the scientists, and the frequent flyovers by the Chinook and the attack Helicopter.
Some fans theorize that the island was a Soviet launch site gone wrong-- with radiation rampant and the inhabitants left bald. Others believe the island is set up as some elaborate experiment, with the scientists sent to observe and keep the peace.
Still, other fans think that the island represents the last handful of humans after overpopulation and nuclear war wiped out the majority of the population. One of the developers for the game, Gary Newman (who also developed Garry’s Mod) has alluded to having lore for the game but, so far, hasn’t released anything else about his plans.
Rust Gameplay
When you spawn into your first server, you are randomly assigned a race and gender combination, which sticks with you across servers for the rest of your time in the game. There is no character customization and no classes.
For the most part, players can expect to farm, trade, craft, and mine their way to success on the island, aided by the use of some recent trading developments like outposts, vending machines, and shop fronts.
Depending on what server you join (Hapis, Savas, Craggy Islands, and the seeds used to craft each one of these servers,) the map size and topography will be completely different, making the game one that you could play for hours on end. Each island comes with at least a handful of monuments, or hotspots for loot, PvP action, and crafting tools.
Currently, the only NPC’s present in the game are scientists-- both the ones along the roads in the map and the ones present to guard the “outpost,” one of the monuments present on every island.
The meta, including the aimcone for some of the guns, the balance of tools, and other small things could use improvement, but with the monthly updates, these items are being addressed.
You could play this game indefinitely-- with different maps, different players, and the updates that are continually being released, there is something new about the game nearly every week!
Two players head out to roam, or kill other players, with metal armor and AK-47s in hand.
Rust Combat
The combat system is relatively straightforward-- find guns and shoot them (using free aim!) There are no levels to gain, skill trees, or anything you must upgrade. There are a few melee weapons in the game, like the spear, machete, and bone club, a few lower-tier ranged weapons, like the bow, crossbow, Eoka pistol, and revolver, and then higher-tier pistols, SMG’s, and rifles that you can craft using components and a workbench. Multiplayer combat is relatively simple-- if you see someone, you either run or give them a run for their money. Some servers introduce rules like combat blocking, where you are unable to use any chat commands for a specified period after being shot at, but on vanilla servers, anything goes when it comes to combat.
PvE is also fairly straightforward-- there are no zombies on vanilla servers, but the animals and scientists can be killed for their loot. Animals are essential to the game’s hunger bar and for crafting early-game items, and scientists drop mid-game items when killed.
The combat animations and sound effects are relatively standard across survival games-- an excellent, crisp hitmarker sound, and a sound effect designated for headshots. The muzzle flare animation is well-done, and the shots from different guns all make distinct noises from one another.
Rust Graphics
Running on the Unity 5 engine, the graphics in Rust are realistic, crisp, and well-done. However, they don’t run very well on most PC’s, so many players have them set at the lowest setting. If any part of the graphics needed an overhaul, it would be how graphics-intensive they are in their current state.
Rust Developers
Facepunch Studios, the studio behind the game, releases monthly patches for their game, come rain or shine. Most of the developers contribute to the patch notes, so you can see who worked on each part of the patch. Besides, the developers are active on twitter-- especially Helk, one of the most prolific developers working on Rust.
The game is a bit buggy, especially with the animal and scientist UI and some of the ragdoll when players are killed, but generally is bug-free when it comes to crafting, farming, and mining.
Rust Price
Currently, Rust is only available on Steam and has a price tag of $34.99. There are no pay-to-win elements to the game, but there are skins for in-game items that you can purchase. The skins grant no additional skills or other benefits to the items.
FINAL VERDICT: 9/10
Although the community can be toxic, the gameplay is excellent in mid-to-late game, the developers are responsive, and the concept is one that is new and innovative.
Pros
- The developers are responsive.
- The game receives constant updates.
- The crafting, survival, and PvE elements are easy to learn
- The player-base remains active and dedicated, even after five years of the game.
Cons
- The community can be toxic.
- The animal UI needs improvement!
- The game is graphics-intensive to the point where some cannot run it.
- Can feel repetitive, especially when farming resources in the early stages of the game.
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