Games are heavily weighed on the importance of having a particular mechanic or style that makes them stand out in a crowded space. Rusted Moss seems to have found its niche — for better or worse — in its grappling hook mechanic. It ties all of the gameplay together with its physics-based approach to traversal, even offering ways for players to sequence-break, a heavily sought-after technique for metroidvanias such as itself.
Rusted Moss is a twin-stick shooter turned metroidvania, intended for mouse-and-keyboard users, with optional controller options. The keyboard controls Fern, the faerie protagonist of the story, and the mouse offers pinpoint control over the grappling hook. Physics comes into play in that any jump or fall will increase the tension on the line from the hook and propel Fern accordingly.
A normal jump in any other game would be about judging based on previous information regarding height and speed but Rusted Moss and its physics-based approach change the potential of where you could go with any small alteration to angle or jump button press. It’s often a happy surprise when it works out in your favor, and it feels quite nice to fling yourself through the air the way a spider does.
I was often able to make the appropriate jumps through trial and error, yet some places in the game require the perfect balance of timed key presses and mouse clicks to make a jump. It wells up a frustration that would make anyone who plays games just for the fun of the gameplay loop drop the game entirely. While it’s a tricky system to get used to, if you’d rather enjoy the story and gunplay, the developers have graciously offered accessibility options such as a flight mode that allows you to fly around the arenas instead of using the hook.
When you’re not worried about swinging from a moss-covered wall to the next moss-covered surface, there are plenty of gorgeous pixels to gawk at. Rusted Moss does a great job of defining the foreground and background with equal detail, with each area a dimly-lit setpiece for Fern to swing about, perfectly imperfect with a minimalist design showcasing the strength of the art style. Pair that with a moody, foreboding soundtrack that taps into the Metroid feel quite heavily and you have a recipe for a game that does a great job selling the atmosphere it’s trying to create.
Rusted Moss is not a game for everyone, but with accessibility options that open the door to players who otherwise might shy away from its challenge, there’s a reason for anyone to give it a shot.
Rusted Moss is available now on Steam, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation.
