Rusty Rabbit Review: Is This Mech-Powered Adventure Worth Your Time?

Rating: 8
Author: Jim Smale

by Jim Smale · April 15, 2025

Our Rusty Rabbit Review transports players into a post-apocalyptic world where rabbits, not humans, reign supreme. As Stamp, a grumpy yet determined rust digger, you’ll pilot your trusty mech through the frozen ruins of Smokestack Mountain, scavenging for treasure, upgrading your gear, and uncovering deep secrets about a lost civilization. But does this side-scrolling adventure truly deliver on its promise of exhilarating exploration and fast-paced action? Let’s dive into the gameplay, mechanics, and story to see if Rusty Rabbit is worth it.

Rusty Rabbit Review Pros:

Decent graphics.
10.70GB download size.
Platinum trophy.
3 save slots and a fourth autosave.
Game settings – text speed, confirm skip scenes, block guide, skip crafting animation, skip equipment animation, skip important items animation, screenshake, amd display rust beast.
Controller settings – two layout choices, and you can remap the controls.
In-game cutscenes and interactions have excellent voice work.
2D game with 3D backgrounds.
Metroidvania platformer gameplay.
Tutorial pop-ups as you play.
The database will fill in as you play in regards to enemies, items, story, etc.
The guide is a quick menu showing controls and actions.
Save and load when you want within the rest area.
Earn exp as you kill enemies and break cubes down, the exp bangs up as you earn it.
The map fills in as you explore.
Puzzle elements are scattered around.
Hack and slash style combat.
Unlock new abilities so you can climb walls, use a jetpack, turbo glide along the floor, drill blocks, use a grappling hook, and attack enemies efficiently.
Four-way shooting/drilling/hook.
You play as a rabbit called Stamp, and you go exploring in a mech-like suit called a Junkster.
The game world is massive and rewards exploration as you find secrets and alternate routes.
Health bar system.
You can equip items like healing gel in a quick select menu.
Earn EXP and level up to get skill points to put into the massive skill tree for upgrades and new abilities.
Your health and experience bar show at all times.
D Tams are machines you find and are used for checkpoints when one of you dies.
Rest areas can be found, and here you can save, use a D Tam, and buy and sell items at the shop terminal.
Break caches to get items and materials. Caches come in different colors, indicating how rare or higher-level the drops are within them.
The energy bar you have acts like stamina in a way; it goes down as you climb the walls or do jumps, etc.
Your home is where you can craft weapons, equip items, restore vehicles, and change appearance.
Find fast travel teleports to go back home or other found portals within a level.
All weapons and gear have rarity levels and can have buffs and abilities to unlock and equip.
The world map level select type of screen lets you choose a location and a portal to go to. Unlock new ones as you discover them.
The map fills in with points of interest as you play, and you can unlock the ability to put your own markers down.
Good soundtrack.
Replay dungeons and sections to farm materials and find secrets.
Junkster can be upgraded and have parts attached to them in the rest areas.
Wave-based survival areas can happen and lock you in.
Complete dungeons and unlock new ones by discovering the exit/entrance.
Each dungeon has a counter showing how many caches and blocks are left to be mined.
The Village is where your house is, there is a hardware store to buy parts, and weapon skills. A diner is where you can earn rewards by chatting and eating with characters using multiple-choice questions. The Church is another social hot spot, bar, etc.
Quests in the game are like in-game achievements with rewards.
Auto saves regularly.
Different environmental hazards, such as hot and cold that, can damage you.
Very solid game with responsive controls.
I really enjoyed exploring the world.
Unlock the Rust Beast index, where you can select and play any cleared dungeon and have it randomised with a boss at the end.
You can dismantle unwanted weapons for parts.
No matter what,t the game always held my attention even if it was just farming an area for material or hunting down caches and blocks.

Rusty Rabbit Review Cons:

It has so many stop-and-start sequences as the cutscenes just drag them down.
You don’t get much feedback on damage taken.
The wall jumping is fine, but it can get a bit too sticky, or it won’t recognise you landing on it.
Very slow starter.
I found the constant mumbling of Stamp to be a bit grating over time.
You cannot save when you want.
Combat early on is clumsy, and hard to kill enemies without taking needless damage.
Health is not readily available and is quite scarce.
You have to activate the fast travel portals and boot up the map before you can have it.
The skill tree bottoms out every now and then as unlocks become locked under progression rather than skill points.
You have to go back to the village a lot to hand in quests, get upgrades, and it’s just slow and tedious.
Had sections where it wouldn’t trigger until I did one little thing beforehand.
I hate how enemies can hit you through blocks, but you cannot.
The game will always have a good reason why, all of a sudden, you have the right new ability to go forward.
It’s not always clear or straightforward where to go and what to do, what has to be left until later.
Each area starts to feel the same in regards to the loop, it’s a case of just finding keys and opening doors.

Rusty Rabbit:

Official website.

Developer: NetEase Games

Publisher: NetEase Games

Store Links –

PlayStation

8/10

Graphics - 8/10
8/10

Sound - 8/10
8/10

Accessibility - 8/10
7/10

Length - 7/10
9/10

Fun Factor - 9/10

8/10

Summary

Rusty Rabbit delivers a compelling Metroidvania platformer experience, offering deep exploration, a rewarding progression system, and plenty of customization. As Stamp, a rabbit piloting a Junkster mech suit, players navigate a massive interconnected world filled with secrets, puzzles, and tough enemies. The game shines with its engaging hack-and-slash combat, solid controls, and satisfying ability upgrades, allowing players to unlock mechanics like wall climbing, jetpacking, and turbo gliding to enhance movement and combat. Visually, the 2D gameplay blended with 3D backgrounds creates a dynamic and immersive atmosphere, complemented by excellent voice work and a strong soundtrack.

Progression remains at the heart of Rusty Rabbit, with an expansive skill tree allowing players to level up, earn skill points, and refine combat efficiency. The world rewards exploration, hiding alternate routes, caches filled with materials, and even survival areas where enemies attack in waves. With rest areas doubling as save points, upgrade hubs, and item shops, the game ensures players can fine-tune their loadout before diving deeper into its dungeons and unlocking new ones. The Rust Beast index also adds an extra layer of replayability, enabling players to randomize cleared dungeons for additional challenges and boss fights.

Despite its strengths, Rusty Rabbit has some noticeable drawbacks. The game suffers from a slow start, with early combat feeling clumsy and punishing due to scarce health pickups and unclear enemy damage feedback. While its world is vast, navigating can sometimes feel frustrating, as progression is tied to unlocking fast-travel portals and manually booting up the map before using them. Frequent trips back to the village for upgrades and quests can feel tedious, and some areas lack variety, often boiling down to finding keys and opening doors. In-game cutscenes, while well-acted, disrupt the pacing with frequent stop-and-start sequences. Stamp’s constant mumbling might grate on some players over time, and certain mechanics, such as wall jumping, can feel inconsistent or sticky.

Yet, despite its missteps, Rusty Rabbit keeps players hooked with its rewarding exploration, layered progression, and robust customization. Whether hunting materials, upgrading weapons, or tackling dungeons, there’s always something to do, and its mech-powered action remains engaging throughout.

It’s a game that proves that sometimes, a little rust just adds character.