Recoil Offgrid – August-September 2019

VIRTUAL

SURVIVAL

Facepunch Studios

Rust

Notes:
Survival has a steep learning curve, and so
does Rust. The game has no story, no dialogue,
and no missions. Your character is an anonymous,
completely naked man or woman who never speaks.
You’re dropped unceremoniously into a huge,
procedurally generated map with nothing but a rock
and a torch, and your only goal is to thrive in the
environment without starving or getting killed by
exposure, predators, hostile non-player characters,
or other humans. You’ll need to forage for food and
fresh water, collect resources, and build your way
out of the stone age. With enough time and patience,
your rock can be replaced by a stone axe, then a
sword and bow. Sooner or later you’ll get an impro-
vised shotgun, explosives, machine guns, and rocket
launchers. You can don armor, build a defensible
compound, decorate your home, start a garden, and
even pick up hobbies like playing a fully functional
guitar (yes, really).
Rust is exclusively multiplayer, so you’ll be occu-
pying the same map as dozens or hundreds of other

players — each might choose to befriend you, ignore

you, or hunt you down. Unsurprisingly, most choose

the third play style. This probably sounds harsh,

and that’s by design. The developers have said they

wanted to create a world where players could behave

any way they choose — a sort of a virtual Lord of the

Flies. You’re free to decide to trust others and work

together, or attempt to kill everyone you meet on

sight before looting (or even eating) their corpses.

Facepunch Studios founder Garry Newman wrote,

“You should be fearful of others. That is the whole

point. If you’re sick of getting killed — start a town.

Build town walls... set up trip wires and alarms. Watch

each other’s back.”

PLATFORMS

Microsoft Windows, Mac OS

PL AY ER S

Up to 300, depending on the server you join

PRICE AS TESTED

$35

URL

rust.facepunch.com

Pros:

You’ll immediately feel the punishing difficulty of

survival, and understand that the responsibility

to make it easier is yours alone. If you expect to

survive, you’d better get to work.

Just like in real life, you have total freedom to

help others or stab them in the back for your own

gain. This brings a psychological element and

makes every alliance a tentative one.

Cons:

Gameplay is often comical in its ruthlessness,

with a learning curve that’s more like a brick

wall. The first time we played, we unluckily

spawned next to a wolf that ran over and killed

us within 30 seconds. It didn’t take long after

that to come across some of the countless

hostile players with advanced gear who gleefully

annihilate the defenseless.

ISSUE 32

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