Medieval 'GTA'-Esque Action Game 'Rustler' Releases In Steam Early Access

Jutsu Games has launched “Rustler,” a medieval open-world action game that pays homage to the classic “GTA” style of top-down games.

Nearly one year after the successful launch of the “Rustler: Prologue” game demo, Jutsu Games has released the rest of the game in Steam’s early access. The game is published by Games Operators and Modus Games.

“Rustler” puts players in the boots of a poor, medieval peasant (simply named “The Guy”) who’s trying to make a name for himself by working as a thug. Players will take on odd jobs such as stealing horses, mugging pedestrians and fighting off heroes and other law enforcers.

The game throws authenticity and realism out the window to focus on humor and references to pop culture. Players will be able to drift around roads with horse-powered carriages, launch cows using trebuchets, hire bards to act as personal walking radios and take on silly quests filled with witty dialogue and comedic situations.

Players are also free to ignore the game’s main quest and just go around the world causing mayhem. There are plenty of weapons to play around with like swords, bows and assorted melee weapons. However, there are also historically inaccurate weapons such as an automatic crossbow and holy hand grenades.

“Rustler” plays very similarly to the old “GTA” games before they became third-person games. The camera will be restricted to a top-down view and much of “Rustler’s” gameplay will be quite similar to the first two “GTA” games. The developers have even given the game the subtitle of “Grand Theft Horse” for even more emphasis.

Initial impressions for the Early Access version of “Rustler” have been mixed, however, which comes as a surprise as the game’s demo version received generally positive reviews.

Many players have praised the game’s comedy, challenging combat, entertaining quests and overall tone of the game. But others criticized “Rustler’s” frustrating save system that often forces them to redo entire missions.

“Rustler’s” debut may not be as well-received as “Valheim’s,” but it still shows a lot of promise, especially considering that its main points of criticism can easily be fixed with a few gameplay tweaks.