I put a lot of hours intoRust, but I can’t say I’m itching to go back anytime soon. When I was in sixth form, it was a great way to kill an evening and put off doing homework and all the things you thought were the end of the world back when you were young. Now, it’s a pain in the backside.
I tried to get into it again duringthe pandemicwhen we were stuck indoors and had nothing better to do. But I still worked a couple of jobs and had my dissertation to write, so I wasn’t exactly overflowing with free time.
So I carved out a day to build a base, get some supplies, and start the ball rolling. I was happy with my progress, had some defences laid out, and thought I’d picked a decent enough spot to go unnoticed. I didn’t find time to play for a couple more days, so when I finally logged back in, everything had been destroyed and raided. My scraps were gone and my efforts were wasted.
The worst part is that your body stays in-game when you log off, so people can kill you.
A little disheartened, I picked up the pieces and started over. New base, new defences, new attitude. But because I couldn’t play the next day, I missed the action and logged into a pile of dust yet again. I even tried to play on quieter servers and coral my friends, but as an adult, that’s like trying to herd cats.
I’m only 23, but I’m getting too old for survival games. At least, the online ones. Games like Rust andArkdemand so much of your free time to stay afloat, and people (read: kids) with all the free time in the world get so far ahead of you with ease, rendering fights unwinnable. That’s if you even see them. Since a lot of people are online longer than you, chances are you’ll wake up dead with nothing left to your name, unable to even take part in those fights.
Even if you find a server with no raiding, that’s half the fun of Rust gone. It’s a bit sore losing everything while you’re offline, but taking part in these frantic fights with other players, testing their mettle as they hold the line is a key part of the gameplay loop. Otherwise, you’re hoarding resources for hoarding’s sake.
It’s deflating to spend hours laying foundations knowing that the second you log off and go live your life, you’re only going to return to a smoking ruin. Even if you find calm servers with more rules and less destruction, the regular wipes grind progression to a halt. By the time I’m in a comfortable place, we’re starting over. Being an adult sucks.
I don’t think I’ll ever relivethe glory days of Rust, playing nothing else over the Summer holidays when I don’t have responsibilities and can afford to funnel hours into grinding because I know I’ll be no-lifeing it enough to defend my progress. You can technically play solo by hosting your own server, but it’s hardly the same experience. There’s no communal feel, you don’t find others dotted about the map and get the organic interactions with strangers that bring the world to life. Games like this thrive when communities flourish and tell their own stories. It’s just a shame mine was left to rust.
Survival Week at TheGamer is brought to you by Nightingale -available on PC in early access February 20
Survival Week
Welcome to the home of TheGamer’s Survival Week, a celebration of all things, well, survival. Here you’ll find features, interviews, and more dedicated to this popular genre, brought to you by Inflexion Games' upcoming open-world survival crafter, Nightingale.
