Release Notes:
- New playable character - Maya (Unlocked after clearing the game, uses speedrun mode rules - dialogue disabled)
- Extra difficult challenge zone (Juni’s Village - must have completed Juni's climb)
- 2 new areas to explore
- 300+ new rooms
- Standard boss rush
- Challenge boss rush
- 7-8 more hours of content
All the new content is considered “bonus content” and will not affect map % and achievements. This means that the current Rusted Platinum achievement (100% the game) can be unlocked without doing any bonus content.
The content update also has no new achievements.
To access the new zones:
Go to the right of Abby. You can see it in the trailer linked above.
Rambling dev notes or, how this update came to be
by happysquared
art by Emlise
Inception of the major content update began during the tail end of Rusted Moss’ development. Emlise had designed an exceptionally challenging area that ended up being excluded from the base game due to its difficulty. She considered it tougher than Juni’s climb.
We were not sure what kind of players Rusted Moss would attract and ended up underestimating how insanely skilled some of you are. Due to player interest, we decided to add the challenge area back into the game - but better. Originally consisting of only 15 rooms, it now features around 200.
This ended up increasing our scope and we also made new zones with less intense difficulty. Each of these areas will debut with new sprites and music! While we don’t have an exact date, the Rusted Moss soundtrack (available on Bandcamp, Steam, Spotify) will also be updated accordingly.
We’re also excited to have Maya as an unlockable character. During development, we had joked about having a Maya mode and a lot of laughs were had as we listed out crazy ideas of what her kit would be like. I guess you have to be careful what you joke about, it might just come true…
Boss rush was also a popular request and we are happy we figured out a way to implement it! Due to how Rusted Moss was made, it was a complex feature we weren’t sure we could pull off.
We would not have been able to make such an extensive update without your support. We faced a lot of uncertainty during development.
Will anybody even play our game?
What if the challenge area is so hard that 0% of players will be able to complete it…
Is this mechanic too complex?
Earlier this week, Emlise was just telling me how she had to remind herself that people did like her game.
Making a game involves a mix of arrogance and desperation. We wanted to make a game catered to our own personal tastes - a game we wished existed but could not find. Who cares if nobody else likes it? However, we could not ignore the desire for others to experience our creation. I think it is an eternal conflict for creators; you’re torn between wanting to express yourself without restraint and also knowing that if nobody plays your game... you'll be sad.
I’ve seen Emlise’s skill in Rusted Moss and also harder level designs that she revised because she wasn’t sure if others could repeat her acrobatics. Compromise easily sneaked in the cracks of worry left by development. However, the experience and feedback from Rusted Moss’ conclusion left Emlise with a more positive mindset. She told me that if she had the chance to remake the game, she’d make it even weirder.
However, knowing her, I think the doubt will always be there. It ebbs and flows. Throughout the development of Rusted Moss (and her other games), she had a constant worry that the game would be terrible. She worried nobody would play it while also simultaneously fearing that too many people would play it - development fuelled by anxiety and panic.
Emlise feels that Rusted Moss’ development was fun overall because of how self-indulgent it was. However, it was also fraught with anxiety as we feared players would not invest time in mastering our unconventional grappling hook. In the end, it was humbling to see players surpass Emlise’s grappling hook skills - something she did not think would happen.
To be fair, Rusted Moss is the largest game we have worked on and we’ve never had so many players before; Emlise’s previous game, TWWWR, sits at just 52 reviews on Steam. Rev sits at just 44. I don’t think she expected so many players to be engaging with Rusted Moss.
Sorry, I think I am rambling at this point. It just feels a bit sad and surreal releasing this final update. It is hard putting all of our feelings into words and how impactful your support has been! We love reading all your comments and watching all your gameplay.
At the very least, the takeaway is that we’re so grateful to all of you. Thanks for taking the time to play Rusted Moss. Your support has fuelled this update and it would not exist without you. We’d also like to thank PLAYISM for believing in our game and for their support.
We hope you enjoy the extra content. And if you don’t, at least you didn’t have to pay for it!
If you'd like to support us, you can buy 10,000 copies of Rusted Moss. Or, you can buy the artbook, and soundtrack - both available as DLC on Steam.
(The soundtrack is also available on bandcamp: HERE)
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