Rusted Moss Review
If you could have one feature in every game you played, what would it be? Altogether on 3. 1…2…GRAPPLING HOOK! Wait, what? Anyway…
The debut game from faxdoc, happysquared and sunnydaze, Rusted Moss is an action Metroidvania in which you play as Fern, a changeling, on a journey to return Fae to the world. You are joined by a companion, Puck, who transforms into a grappling hook (Fun fact: I never knew changeling was a real word in the dictionary and just thought I knew it from various fantasy movies and books I have read over the years). Can you survive this physics based platformer to save the world?
When you first start Rusted Moss, you are greeted with…
Yes, most PC games use keyboard and mouse but I can honestly say I have never seen it recommended for a 2D platformer nor would I even think to use it. Go with it though. I even tried a controller and the scheme actually makes more sense with keyboard and mouse. Also, throw out anything you know about grappling hooks in video games. If you have played Bionic Commando, you will feel close to home. Puck may become a grappling hook but you will not be reeling yourself in towards any targets or pulling them towards you a la Scorpion. The rope is, well, a rope. There is no double jump in Rusted Moss so the hook acts as an extension. Use the hook too soon off a jump and you’ll just end up with too much slack and hang there. Use it too late and you still hang there but with no room to swing. Words do not do it justice as it is extremely to get the hang of but very difficult to master. Odd as it may sound, the mouse actually allows for way more precise targeting. The cursor is where your mouse is versus an analog stick on the controller. As this is a Metroidvania, early mastery can net you some better loot as you can reach harder to reach and not so obvious locations on the map. There is also enough of a challenge to even the simpler of gaps that you get a feeling of satisfaction after clearing an especially trickier one.
Said mastery is not a requirement to still enjoy the exploration key to any Metroidvania. Your map only shows where you have been but it will hit if there are rooms above, below or to either side. Until you get there though, you will not know if the path is blocked or not. Even if you go off on a wild tangent exploring and find no treasure, you usually will at least unlock a shortcut or two to the areas that were previously blocked off.
Fern does have a fair amount of enemies to deal with and what better way than a few firearms (a few - this is not Borderlands and GUNS!!!!).
Plus, you rarely have more than a handful of things to shoot at once. All guns can be either fired repeatedly or charged up for an alternative firing mode. Gun gameplay operates similar to a twin stick shooter with you having the ability to shoot in 360 degree field. Once you feel comfortable grappling around, you can swing right past an enemy and easily spin around and shoot them all before hitting the ground. In addition to guns, there are trinkets hidden and not so hidden that provide passive buffs such as enemies dropping more money (used to upgrade those weapons) or doing more damage the longer you were in the air.
Now, if you are still on the fence because the difficulty of utilizing the grappling hooks scares you, fear not. It does have a learning curve but the game does an excellent job of making it much less daunting than described. For starters, falling to your doom resets you to the last time you stood on solid ground as long as you have health remaining. Unless you fail a dozen times, you should have enough chances to get it right. If you do die, you have to start over at the last save point, of which there are plenty. If you still need a little extra help, the developers want above and beyond in the accessibility department.
You do have to choose the Flexible difficulty to access the menu but you can freely turn off each option as you please. It is like Burger King, have it your way.
Rusted Moss is a phenomenal entry in the Metroidvania genre. I mean, I was all in at the mention of grappling hook but it plays even better than I could have imagined and frankly, it is just straight up fun. Even towards the end of my time with the game, I still found plenty of joy in reaching what I thought was not reachable 15 attempts prior. Hopefully, this can make the jump to consoles, quirky controls and all, just to reach that many more people and have this game in their life.
