If you’re looking for a way to virtually hang out with your friends for several hours a couple times a week, Rust is your game. Rust is a survival game developed by Facepunch Studios and published by Double Eleven. It is a multiplayer game where you and your team will have to survive the harsh environment of a randomly-generated map, building a base out of raw materials which exists even after you log off (along with your sleeping body).
The game’s base-maintaining requirements mean that you’ll be in touch with your core team members several times throughout the week, and probably be chatting on Discord for hours. Who maintained the base? Were we raiding? When are we all getting on to go destroy our neighbors’ dreams?
It’s a great way to virtually hang out with friends, or even make new ones, no matter where they live. The game also has a map wipe mechanic which means that every session is like another page in a story book you’re writing in real time with your team and every other player on your server. Your game can effectively come to an end before the map gets wiped — by having your base totally raided, or you can become king of the island. Then, the map wipes and it all starts over again!
One of the most enjoyable parts of Rust is the creative but practical base building dynamics. Building your own base is essential if you want to survive the harsh environment, but if you make it too big, it’s expensive. Also, if you unknowingly build a weakness in it, then it could get raided easier.
Your base is the only safe place for you and your team, and it’s your responsibility to maintain it. You have to build walls, towers, and other defenses to fend off enemies and raiders. It’s like a multiplayer FPS tower defense game where you need to use your creativity to build an impenetrable fortress. It’s kinda like building a house in the Sims online, but in a post apocalyptic world, and you equip it with incredibly deadly weapons.
Rust is similar to other survival games such as Ark: Survival Evolved or Stranded Deep or basically anything where you start with a rock and have to hit a tree. But Rust has a uniquely powerful lure to those of us who want to feel like they are under siege with some friends, which forces you to use a lot of teamwork and communication.
Basically, you’ll stay in touch with friends by playing this game. And that rules.
For me, Rust is the best way to talk to my male friends for several hours a couple times a week. And honestly, there’s no way I’d rather stay in touch with my friends across the country than to coordinate the home break in, robbery, and murder of our neighbors. It’s just damn fun.
Rust is definitely for:
- People who want to stay in touch with friends
- Men who need something to do for several hours, long enough to get to an emotional conversation or catch up
- People who like multiplayer survival games
And is not for:
- Those who fear catastrophic losses in video games
- Those who fear time sink
You can purchase Rust for PS4, Xbox One, or Steam.
