Rustler

Rustler, an upcoming title from developer Jutsu Games and publisher Modus might not be set in a bustling urban environment filled with glistening cars, firearms and daring heists, but it seems that its Medieval world will have more than its fair share of breakneck chases, shady deals and absurd goings on.

Jutsu Games has been in touch and sent along a handful of examples of the Middle Age mayhem you can expect in Rustler's top-down open world. Although you won't find be running over pedestrians in a commandeered Jester RR, it looks like there's plenty of Medieval mischief to get up to, from horse-and-cart antics to rocking out to a raucous remix of Greensleeves (probably) as you engage in shenanigans. And did someone say 'turd grenades'? Yes. Yes, they did.

Here's a run down of five activities that we'll be looking to try out when the game launches for Switch at the end of August...


Disguise yourself as Death

DRESS IN DEATHLY DISGUISES

First up, it's possible to don disguises and give enemies a fright by dressing up as guards or — and this sounds more appealing to us — grabbing a robe and a scythe (hey, it's the Middle Ages, anyone who's anyone had their own scythe) and putting the fear of Death into them.

Gotta love a little cosplay.

Pimp your horse

You can evade pursuit by swinging into a special stables and getting a custom paintbox for your sweet, sweaty ride. Yes, sweaty — have you ever ridden a horse for three hours straight under the Spanish afternoon sun having never previously spent more than a minute in equine company? Trust us, digital is better.

Anyway, as you can see above, a quick coat of paint and you'll fool the rozzers or any ne'er-do-wells that may have been on your tail — quite literally here — and be free to carry on racing, or doing whatever else you fancy on horseback.

Let's not think too much about the logistics of what exactly is going on inside that shed. It works, end of.

Throw stinky bombs

Crossbows, swords, spears? Yep, of course you'll have access to those boring weapons when you get into scrapes around town or engage in combat for money in cage matches.

However, if you're ever caught short, there's always the option of throwing a 'turd grenade' at your foes, too. We're not sure from where exactly you procure this ammunition, or how much it'll hurt (and we're not sure if appending the word 'grenade' to said item gives it more explosive properties than it might otherwise have), but nobody will want to go near your enemies once you've lobbed a stink bomb at them, that's for sure. Theoretically, that should make them easier to pick off in your horse and cart, right?

You're still lobbing poo with your hands, of course. But, you know, video games.

That name again is Mr Plow

Ploughing fields is a relatively harmless way to make some dough in Rustler; a little less murderous than bounty hunting and a tad more sophisticated than throwing turds.

That doesn't mean you can't unleash your inner-child and draw provocative doodles in the dirt with your horse and plough, though. For example, gaze in wonder at the massive Poké Ball above.

Hire a minstrel

HIRE A BARD

The radio stations in GTA helped provide the sort of chilled out atmosphere that made it seem more like a lark than a murderous drug-fuelled spree of wanton violence and thievery. Rustler has its own version in the form of bards for hire. Yes, you can employ a singer-songwriter to serenade your sprees with song's that change in real-time depending on what you're up to.

We haven't heard any of these yet, but we can but hope that Brave Sir Robin is on the playlist.


So, there are a handful of the ways Rustler is putting a Medieval slant on GTA's brand of open-world chaos. The game's out in 31st August — let us know if your interest is piqued by any of the above activities (we won't judge you).