Rustler: Grand Theft Horse, an Early Access quick peek

Although Rustler has been in Steam’s Early Access library since 2019, the game’s developers, Jutsu Games, have recently announced that this medieval open-world crime game will be launching at the end of August. The self-proclaimed title of Grand Theft Horse is rather fitting as this game is just that, a medieval version of GTA 2 in which cars are traded for horses and you gallop around the forests and small settlements in and around the castle.

The game features many references to classic comedy bits and easter eggs, and does not take itself too seriously, something that still cracks me up every time, is the guard horses that have red and blue lights on their foreheads. As you’d expect different horses deliver different riding styles and speeds and these “cop” horses are the ones to get – just like the cop cars in GTA these horses will outrun any other horse in the game. Getting one may be tricky as you’ll need to kill a guard. Doing so will give you a wanted level which you can only remove by evading the guards or running through a “paintshop” to wipe your wanted level and give your horse a new coat of, uhm, paint.

There are plenty of missions to keep you busy, but messing around is strongly encouraged. Completing missions will allow you to unlock upgrades and abilities. You can choose which upgrades to unlock and how to shape your character’s abilities by spending upgrade points.

As you roam the medieval streets and terrorise townsfolk you can take on various side-quests or just cause mayhem, there is quite a bit to do, even for an Early Access game. Rustler is one of those games you can jump into for a few minutes of mayhem, or you can settle in for a few hours to grind through the quests.

I’m a few hours in and while the game plays pretty smoothly, even on my not-so-new Alienware 17 R4, of course, as to be expected the full game should offer a more polished feel with hopefully a lot more content and missions to complete.

If you enjoyed the original GTA games, then Rustler is a must-buy for your Steam collection. Keep an eye out for a full review when the game launches at the end of the month.

Rustler is available now on Steam as an Early Access title and will be coming to the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and the Nintendo Switch on 31 August.