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Rust

Rust

Facepunch Studios · released Feb 7, 2018

ActionAdventureIndieMassively MultiplayerRPGPCPlayStation 4, PlayStation 5Xbox One, Xbox Series X

The only aim in Rust is to survive. Everything wants you to die - the island’s wildlife, other inhabitants, the environment, and other survivors. Do whatever it takes to last another night.

Steam page ↗OpenCritic ↗Metacritic 69 · users 6.5 ↗
77
VGC Score
■Stablehigh confidence

anchored at patch: “UPGRADE HARD, RAID HARDER” (3mo ago)

73%
At launch
87%
Steam all-time
67%
Press
55%
Player sentiment
81%
Recent sentiment

PC 77 · Xbox 56

Screenshots & trailers

What players say

Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 448 sampled Steam reviews (300 positive / 148 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.

What positive reviews talk about

  • Multiplayer & servers6% mention it

What negative reviews complain about

  • Multiplayer & servers20% mention it

Satisfaction by hours played

Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.

Under 5h

46%

28 reviews

5-15h

71%

41 reviews

15-40h

67%

51 reviews

40-100h

74%

57 reviews

100h+

67%

271 reviews

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)–6710
All-time Steam reviews87%802145
Metacritic user ratings–6782
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)81%753000
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Scoring window: since the last significant patch (May 7, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 43821 total reviews in window · weighted 214.5 up / 49.1 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (34)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 70
    Gaming ProfessorsGaming Professors
    trust 76May 5, 2022

    “Rust is a game you’ll both love and hate. You’ll love it when you manage to outsmart an opponent and strip them of everything, and hate it when the same thing happens to you. However, I’d recommend that new players don’t give up, stick with it, and success will come sooner or later. I do recommend taking about a week off, though, because learning the game mechanics will take you several hours, or even dozens of hours. And at least while you’re learning Rust, I’d definitely skip the official servers, as well as any servers with a population over 150 players and servers with maps smaller than 3,500, so you don’t get crushed right from the start. Studying the game’s basic mechanics, such as mining, building, and the like, is an absolute must, because no one is going to go easy on you. In any case, you’ll have a blast if you stick with it. Happy hunting!”

    read full review ↗
  • 75
    GRYOnline.plGRYOnline.pl
    trust 75Feb 23, 2018

    “Rust is a true survival game phenomenon. There's no other game like this with equally fierce and aggressive community. The gameplay is a unique experience that makes you feel and think primal, therefore it's not a title for everyone. The thrill may be addictive, but it's not a game that can be played for several hours a day.”

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    Push SquarePush Square
    trust 69May 24, 2021

    “Rust Console Edition is punishing and a real test of your resolve. The game's persistent online world, which continues to exist even when you're offline, paired with its rewarding survival loop make it hard to get out of your head, however. The ephemeral nature of your progress means it's oddly unique, and the human interactions you'll encounter along the way give the title limitless replayability and unpredictability. Yes, it looks like garbage and is clearly in need of a patch or 10,000, but even now, as we write this, we can't help but wonder whether someone's blown the door off our base and is rifling through our belongings.”

    read full review ↗
  • 65
    PPE.plPPE.pl
    trust 67May 28, 2021

    “Rust is a good game, but it has his ills. On average, it works and looks, and at the same time can be quite frustrating. It takes a huge amount of time, but it can get very caught up in. However, it can also discourage or even get you bored, because it requires looking for a job. Moreover, some solutions raise doubts.”

    read full review ↗
  • 30
    GameSpotGameSpot
    trust 66Feb 18, 2018

    “Its lack of survival depth and inclination to only reward time served instead of clever play saps whatever life it might have had to give.”

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    GameGrinGameGrin
    trust 65Aug 4, 2021

    “Overall I enjoyed my time with Rust, it may need a few updates and features to really stand out, but even at this level the game is a strong contender in the survival game genre.”

    read full review ↗
  • 60
    TheSixthAxisTheSixthAxis
    trust 65Jun 10, 2021

    “Rust Console Edition manages to transcribe the wildly popular PC experience, but a few key missing features mean it falls short of what it should be. It could be great in time, but right now it feels like a disappointing misstep in comparison to the fleshed out PC version.”

    read full review ↗
  • 60
    GameSkinnyGameSkinny
    trust 65May 20, 2021

    “Rust Console Edition is a solid survival sim that refuses to fix some of its biggest issues.”

    read full review ↗
  • 65
    SomHráč.skSomHráč.sk
    trust 64Mar 24, 2018

    “Rust used to be a promising title, but unfortunately, today it's just a boring survival simulator without any tension and a toxic community as a bonus.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    PC GamerPC Gamer
    trust 64Feb 20, 2018

    “Rust is a malicious experience rife with betrayal, cruelty and greed. That can make it both frustrating and sublime in equal doses.”

    read full review ↗
  • 60
    TechRaptorTechRaptor
    trust 63May 25, 2021

    “Rust Console Edition manages to capture the same brutally difficult experience from the PC version, but a poor control scheme and outdated mechanics make the overall game frustrating for fans.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    GamingBoltGamingBolt
    trust 63May 21, 2021

    “Rust Console Edition generally maintains its core tenants and starts its console life on the right foot in most areas.”

    read full review ↗

…and 22 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

  1. UPGRADE HARD, RAID HARDER
    May 7, 2026significant · resets scoring window
  2. SPRING CLEAN
    Apr 2, 2026significant · resets scoring window
  3. NAVAL UPDATE
    Feb 5, 2026significant · resets scoring window
  4. COMMUNITY UPDATE 268
    Jan 22, 2026
  5. SURVIVING 12 YEARS
    Jan 1, 2026significant · resets scoring window
  6. PIVOT OR DIE
    Nov 6, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  7. META SHIFT
    Oct 2, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  8. COMMUNITY UPDATE 267
    Sep 25, 2025
  9. MAINTENANCE
    Sep 4, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  10. COMMUNITY UPDATE 266
    Jul 24, 2025
  11. FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS
    Jul 3, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  12. COMMUNITY UPDATE 265
    May 29, 2025
  13. JUNGLE UPDATE
    May 1, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  14. SOFT REFRESH
    Apr 3, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  15. PREMIUM SERVERS
    Mar 13, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  16. The Crafting Update
    Mar 6, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  17. COMMUNITY UPDATE 264
    Feb 20, 2025
  18. 11 YEARS STRONG
    Jan 2, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  19. POLISH AND PROGRESS
    Dec 5, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  20. THE WORLD UPDATE 2.0
    Oct 3, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  21. COMMUNITY UPDATE 262
    Jul 16, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  22. COMMUNITY UPDATE 261
    Jun 24, 2024
  23. SEISMIC SHIFT
    Jun 6, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  24. META MADNESS
    May 2, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  25. COMMUNITY UPDATE 260
    Apr 25, 2024
  26. WAVES OF CHANGE
    Apr 4, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  27. COMMUNITY UPDATE 259
    Feb 27, 2024
  28. 10 YEARS OF RUST
    Dec 7, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  29. COMMUNITY UPDATE 258
    Nov 27, 2023
  30. COMMUNITY UPDATE 257
    Oct 26, 2023
  31. COMMUNITY UPDATE 256
    Sep 22, 2023
  32. COMMUNITY UPDATE 255
    Aug 22, 2023
  33. WOUNDED
    Aug 3, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  34. COMMUNITY UPDATE 254
    Jul 27, 2023
  35. COMMUNITY UPDATE 253
    Jun 30, 2023
  36. BAGS TO BATTLES
    Jun 1, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  37. COMMUNITY UPDATE 252
    May 27, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  38. COMMUNITY UPDATE 251
    Apr 24, 2023
  39. EYE IN THE SKY
    Mar 2, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  40. INDUSTRIAL UPDATE
    Feb 2, 2023significant · resets scoring window

…and 14 earlier patch announcements.