FIRST SIGNAL / PRE-RELEASE DISCOVERY / HAND-DRAWN ACTION-PUZZLE PLATFORMER
There is something particularly affecting about an abandoned world viewed through the eyes of a creature that still remembers loyalty. In The Rusted, the creature is Rex, a robot dog looking for the human family he has lost. The streets, factories and data centres he explores are full of machines, but the absence of people is what gives this post-apocalyptic journey its emotional centre.
A loyal companion after humanity
Rodd Games describes The Rusted as a hand-drawn 2D action-puzzle platformer. Rex travels through deserted cities, sand-buried landscapes, industrial ruins and enormous data centres, navigating environmental hazards while avoiding or confronting corrupted machines. The world itself is intended to carry much of the narrative: instead of relying on long conversations, its abandoned places and visual details reveal fragments of what happened to humanity.
The premise could easily have been a standard robots-versus-robots adventure. Making the protagonist a companion animal changes the tone. Rex is not trying to reclaim a kingdom or save the planet; he is searching for the people he loved. Whether the finished game can sustain that quieter emotional thread through its action remains to be seen, but it gives the project an immediately identifiable heart.
Action and puzzles in a hand-drawn wasteland
The Steam description highlights platforming, environmental puzzles and fights against machines with differing behaviours. The art direction uses hand-drawn characters and backgrounds rather than a conventional pixel-art approach, giving the ruined settings a storybook quality that contrasts with their mechanical threats.
Those ingredients invite two questions worth keeping in mind as launch approaches: whether movement and combat feel as expressive as the environments look, and whether Rex’s search is told through genuinely memorable discoveries rather than exposition. We have not tested the demo or final build, so these remain points of interest rather than conclusions.
The release is close, and the demo is already available
Rodd Games has confirmed Monday 2 November 2026 as the planned full launch. Its official Steam page independently shows the same date and offers a downloadable demo. The listed PC versions are Windows and macOS. As of our 31 October check, Steam still labels the full game as not yet available.
The developer also confirmed that the public demo may be streamed on Twitch and that short clips may be shared, with no demo-specific embargo or footage restrictions. That permission does not imply that Coloured Static Press has played it or committed to a livestream.
You can try the free demo or wishlist The Rusted on Steam, and watch the official trailer. The game belongs in First Signal until its full release is confirmed, not in the released-games Switchboard.
Editorial disclosure: This discovery feature uses Rodd Games’ original submission, its follow-up confirming the 2 November target and streaming permissions, its supplied original art/screenshots, and the official Steam listing verified 31 October 2026. Coloured Static Press has not played or reviewed this game. No score or hands-on verdict is implied. Details and release plans may change. Coverage is editorially independent.