Rust: literally survival of the fittest

I spawned on a beach, naked and afraid. I heard the footsteps of a person running behind me. I quickly turned around to see a man, bare-skinned, holding a pretty big rock. The man used it to smash my head, making some red jelly come out of my body for some reason. He then loudly screamed into his low-quality microphone. It was so distorted, like switching to the other HDMI channel on a television. I watched in confusion as he ran away.

Rust, not the programming language but the survival game, has only one goal which is to survive. You are not morally bound and have the freedom to do whatever you want. This means you can be an absolute bastard and kill everything that moves, or you can be a pacifist if you so wish.

One of the interesting mechanics in Rust is that wherever you log-off or disconnect, your body goes into a sleeping position. You can literally sleep anywhere. On the road, on the roof, fully submerged in the water, or even in mid-air if you have the skills.

Teaming up with random people does not work in this survival game. Once you turn your back towards a person you’ve just met, they will take advantage of that and backstab you for all of your loot. This is a backstab-or-be-backstabbed sort of situation. Trust me, I have experienced, and done it many times before. Saying this unironically: don’t trust anyone except for yourself.

In my warm wooden shack that somehow wasn’t on fire from the blazing furnace, I stand still as the other rooms were pitch-black. This was when I learned that light can’t bounce off wood. Inside of the furnace was a heap of coal, smelting metal ore, part of my plans for further enhancing my shack’s foundation. Suddenly, I heard multiple footsteps, triggering my in-game PTSD. It sounded like a group of raiders. I then heard a voice–a kind of cracked-screaming that sounded like a fourteen-year-old, “Stop! I don’t have anything bruh.” 

I went outside and saw a couple of bandits wearing hide clothing and wielding spears. As I step closer I soon realize they were t-bagging an innocent, wounded player as he furiously and helplessly raged. I was so stunned from the event that I had forgotten I had my wooden torch lit in the darkness. I quickly ran to my door and locked it. It’s a good thing that those nasty bandits don’t know how to pick a three-pin lock. They yelled, “Let me in!” I responded with a polite, “No!” Failing at raiding my little home, they soon left.

After slaving away and collecting all sorts of materials for about two minutes, I had finally made an Eoka pistol also known as the “Banana” for its curvature shape. It’s one of the deadliest weapons in the game and I’ve got my hands on it. As for clothing, I was still naked but all I needed was a dozen pumpkins so that I wouldn’t starve. It would at least last me a while. Time to head out and see what this bad boy banana can do.

Across the mountain, I see a person jumping around and mining rock with a metal pickaxe. I quietly crouch walked my way towards the unknown man, ready the banana and “Ch”, the sound of an empty gun. The most important thing is that I forgot was to make handmade shells. The man jumped, did a 360-degree turn and pulled out his spear in mid-air. Before I knew it, a big long stick was in my head. I lay there, bleeding, as he collects my loot and runs away. 

In that split second, I thought about how I was that dumb for forgetting the shells. I guess survival of the fittest really does exist. Curse you, brain. 

Rust is available on PC.

Image Credit: Flickr/steamXO