Side-scroller Rusty Rabbit surprised me. I hadn’t heard of this game before reviewing it, nor was I familiar with the work of the anime writer Gen Urobuchi who wrote the story, but it made a strong first impression that carried through all the way to the end. The story kept me interested, but the exploration and action of the gameplay was just as important to keeping me going, and together they added up to one of the better games I’ve played in a while.

Set in a post-apocalyptic future where humans are gone and rabbits have become sentient, the world of Rusty Rabbit is very well-developed. You play as Stamp, a grizzled old rabbit who explores the ruins of Smokestack Mountain, collecting junk to sell or build things with, and along the way you meet an entertaining cast of characters who help you piece together the intricate lore of the history of the “giants,” a.k.a. humans, and how the world became what it is now. The story can be almost overwhelming at times with how much of it there is, and while some cutscenes are fully voice-acted, other sections are just large blocks of text, which can be cumbersome to get through. Despite that, the game never wore out its welcome for me, and kept me interested in unraveling its mysteries right up through the conclusion.

The gameplay of Rusty Rabbit involves Stamp in his mech, exploring the depths of the mountain, breaking through blocks and fighting off mechanical rust beasts that infest those areas. This is very reminiscent of the SteamWorld Dig series, where digging further down allows you to upgrade your mech with new capabilities and weapons that in turn allow you to go even deeper. The junk you collect can be sold, but is also necessary to craft the new weapons you acquire blueprints for along the way, and the XP you get from digging gets you skill points to be spent on a very deep skill tree. Together, there’s a real sense of progression and empowerment that changes the way you play.

Like a good Metroid-style game, Rusty Rabbit’s big world allows for a lot of exploration, but there’s a specific path it’s guiding you down. Going off the beaten path will get you more junk and experience, and frequent fast-travel points make it relatively painless to go back to areas when new abilities allow you to explore further. The map does a good job of telling you where things are and what obstacles are in your way. Stamp has four main weapon types that each have their advantages and weaknesses. The drill and hammer are mostly used for environmental puzzles and traversal, while the gun and sword are more focused on combat. When you find blueprints for new and better versions of each of these it feels like a big deal, and each of them can also be upgraded with plasma cores you find throughout the world.

Combat in Rusty Rabbit largely feels very good, with different enemy types requiring different strategies, which helps keep things fresh. There are also some interesting bosses with unique patterns, but sometimes they can feel too easy, where if you’re leveled up properly and come in with some healing items, you can more or less just stand there and hack at them and they’ll die before you do. Along the way you unlock the ability to fight more powerful versions of them, which can be interesting, as well as randomly generated levels that are handy if you want to level up or collect certain kinds of items.

With a big world to explore and a compelling story full of twists and turns, Rusty Rabbit offers a pretty meaty campaign that stays interesting all the way through. The gameplay loop and upgrades are very satisfying and keep things fresh along the way. Whether you’re familiar with the artist’s work or you’re brand new to it like me, I fully recommend Rusty Rabbit.