When I picked up this game to review, I thought it was a match made in heaven. Do you mean to tell me that I get to review a Metroidvania-style game with cute mascot characters in a story written by the man who has written some of my favorite anime of all time? I'll tell you that I sat down in my chair gripping my controller, expecting something dark and twisted that would keep me up at night! But instead…what I ended up with…was a very cute and surprisingly wholesome adventure about passing the baton onto the next generation.
Yes, you read that last sentence correctly: a game written by Gen Urobuchi in the year of our lord 2025 actually left me feeling happy and hopeful with its wholesome vibes. I could be reading too much into this, but it's possible that many of the developers' feelings were personified in their main character, Stamp. This is an old, semi-cynical junk digger who carries himself with a sort of “I'm getting too old for this” type of energy. However, he's far from cynical, he's just been around the block a lot and tells it like it is. I like him as a protagonist because he has a very seasoned wit about him, and the way that he communicates things to the player via his desire to reminisce about the world is surprisingly organic. The game very much feels like you are playing through the lens of an older, seasoned veteran. There's always something new to discover, whether it's from your environment or from the next generation.
Stamp's interactions with the BBs, a group of young and scrappy young diggers, are undoubtedly one of the highlights of the game. I was waiting for the game to either make these young characters incredibly annoying or have Stamp come off as some kind of jerk. But he bounces off of this group incredibly well, and there's this sense that both groups are learning from each other as they progress through these junk tunnels. A lot of the characters do come off as one note, but the dialogue itself can be incredibly witty and funny. I did find myself smiling for both childish and mature reasons throughout the entire ten-hour experience. Heck, there were moments towards the end when I felt downright sentimental for this old man and what he'd been through.
The game has some darker themes, as it technically takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. How the game conveys its lore, whether through Stamp's backstory or the formation of these tunnels, is also a highlight. A lot of this is pretty standard for what you would expect in a Metroidvania that uses environmental storytelling or specific points to exposite lore at your leisure. However, I will admit that Rusty Rabbit doesn't really do anything new with the Metroidvania formula. If you've played any Metroidvania game, you have played this game before, but that does make it a great introduction to that genre.
I love Metroidvania, but it's been a while since I've played one with this slow of a start. While the dialogue and cutscenes are charming, the first two zones of the game are pretty heavily inundated with cut scenes that take place every time you come across a new hallway. It genuinely felt like the game was stopping me every couple of minutes to teach me how to access new areas. While this information was necessary, the constant stop-and-go pace didn't leave a strong impression. Thankfully, things became spaced out more as the game went on, and eventually, after the first hour, I was leaping and drilling through everything with ease.
The control scheme is not as snappy or conventional as what you might be used to. You pilot a small mech with a drill, and it definitely has a lot of weight behind it. There's some wind-up to movements when you make long jumps or pull yourself up a ledge. But this was fairly easy to get used to. What might take some time is the combat, which seems to lean more towards close-quarters combat. However, you take damage every time you make contact with any enemy, and the hitboxes can be a little bit tight. Hitting an enemy also leaves you vulnerable, so you really need to pick and choose when to attack. The fights are especially challenging when we get to this point, so make sure to bring your A-game when you get to the second half of the experience.
That being said, the sound design is extra crunchy. You hear every thump that your robot makes, and the drill sounds stimulate a very particular part of my brain. The soundtrack is very atmospheric, and while the game will try to mix it up a little bit when you visit different areas, the general vibe is still the same. It works for building atmosphere but isn't really memorable outside of that. I do like the BBs' theme, as it sounds a lot more youthful and energetic, which contrasts well with Stamp's theme. Speaking of Stamp, I know a big selling point of this game was that he's voiced by Takaya Kuroda in the Japanese version, but that wasn't the version I played. In the dub, he's played by Yong Yea, who does a great job of sounding like a tired old man without making him sound ancient. I could listen to him monologue about the good old days for hours, which is good considering that he is definitely the character you'll hear the most throughout this entire game. Everyone else ranges from sounding laid-back to spunky, but I appreciate how varied everybody sounds, considering how limited the characters' facial expressions are.
On the Switch, the game mostly runs at a stable framerate, but there are a few moments where it noticeably dips. Particularly during late-game, when a bunch of objects are thrown at you, or you're trying to speed your way through an environment, you'll have a slight hiccup here and there. It's not enough to ruin the overall experience, but it is definitely noticeable. Also, some cutscenes also run at a lower frame rate, and I'm not really sure why. Still though, despite the lower graphical fidelity, there is still a lot to notice and appreciate about the game from a visual standpoint, both in its environmental design and its use of particle effects to communicate impact.
I was pleasantly surprised by this. If I had a friend who was curious about Metroidvania-style games, this would probably be at the top of my list of beginner games to recommend to them. What it lacks in originality, it makes up for with a lot of down-to-earth charm. The voice acting and interactions really do a lot to make this game feel like it wants you to join it on this adventure. Even if the adventure is a bit standard compared to other games in the genre, I had a wonderful time, and I think you will, too.
