Aren’t bunnies adorable? Until they open their traps and sound like some Duke Nukem wannabe like old man Stamp in Rusty Bunny – a 2.5D platformer that packs in some early dungeon crawls and boss battles, set within an alternate Earth run by rabbits.
The latest from NetEase Games, it’s neither an open-world like Once Human nor a familiar brand such as… I don’t know – Marvel Rivals? Instead, it’s a wascally wabbit who digs underground seeking junk in his trusty mech, Junkster.
Rusty Rabbit’s adventure occurs on Smokestack Mountain – a sacred place with abundant areas to explore and pre-packed junk to haul. Stamp isn’t the only lepus on site – it’s chockful of ’em; setting up a diner, hardware store and church on the surface, whilst the ‘rust diggers’ pursue their fortune underground in an evolved, Dig Dug style of play.
Rusty Rabbit PS5 Review
Speaking of evolution, these rabbits have picked up where the humans left. The church will fill you in on the lore in exchange for carrots. Stamp, on the other hand, has his own story to tell. Aside from the rust and junk, he’s looking for his lost daughter and gathering clues from terminals in each biome.
The story element in Rusty Rabbit was the weak point, despite being ‘written by the bloke who did Psycho Pass‘. It’s wordy, many characters don’t make you empathetic (the voices don’t help), and there are walls of text – notably at the church and when you complete side quests where you restore mechanical contraptions for your bunny pals. Fortunately, the gameplay is very very moreish.
Putting the spotlight back on Dig Dug, while Stamp isn’t constantly digging to make paths, there are a lot of chances to explore and, naturally, dig. The skills in Rusty Bunny are as evolved as the bunny brains, as Junkster does all the heavy lifting with various tools. Included are three melee options: the drill, sword, and hammer. There’s a gun for projectile damage, and each has a charge attack.
At It Like Rabbits
Though gameplay uses a tried and tested old-school formula, the presentation is next-gen. These rabbits look the business, and while Rusty Bunny won’t evoke a panic attack from your PS5 hardware, it’s a pretty experience. The controls work well, including a Ninja Gaiden-style wall climb that prevents stop fall damage when descending, hot-key weapon selection, and a bunny booster to dash through areas. It would have been nice for the music to be as enthusiastic as the gameplay, but we’re being picky.
In the intro, you’ll have a taster of Junkster’s skills; then you will lose them. Through gameplay, there’ll be chances to unlock weapons, as well as weapon skills – such as being able to shoot through junk with the gun, and additional parts that boost defence, attack, and reduce debuffs like impairment (reduced damage) and stun (slow movement with restricted skills). Generally, Rusty Bunny is easy, and the parts aren’t a necessity, though they assist in boss battles.
If a challenge is more your thing, a boss rush feature for the bosses you unlock offers a speed run option. Aside from the urgency to fight the boss, you must also reach them and beat slightly harder enemies. It’s nice to have an early, optional challenge. The same applies to the unknown dungeons, which showcase some 100 or so levels to descend. Similar to the dungeons in Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, you unlock a checkpoint every five levels. This section is an enjoyable grind and is available quite early on.
Rusty Bunny Review Summary
When doing the news and PR releases, Rusty Bunny was covered on this site some time ago. The screenshots looked decent, but nothing stood out other than the cinematic. It’s been the game I’ve been playing most. While it’s not groundbreaking, the retro style of play is addictive and readily accessible with its simple gameplay and charming visuals. Rusty Bunny made me warm and fuzzy—like a bolt bunny.
