Strayed VR Is Just As Ruthless As Rust

As evidenced by the Youtube videos I’ve released showcasing some gameplay stories in Strayed, it is worthy of being called a Rust VR Game. That’s probably why everyone call is that (it’s also good for SEO).

You can look at a lot of elements in Strayed and say “Oh so they just did what Rust did, but in a Virtual Reality game.” That’s pretty true, and I don’t see anybody else other than Combat Waffle Studios rushing to make another Multiplayer VR Base Building survival game ala Rust. So I’d also hesitate to try and call Strayed a copy of any sort because well… VR is a whole different medium from flatscreen games. Either way somebody is going to make a game like Rust in Virtual Reality eventually.

I’m glad it’s Strayed that is currently really shining as that VR Rust game though. Outside of the fact that you spawn in as a naked baldy and that a lot of weapons and structures sort of fit the scrappy apocalyptic Rust aesthetic, it really nails the Rust feel in VR in the way that matters the most.

It is an absolutely ruthless game.

Strayed Is As Rust Is - A Dog Eat Dog World

In Strayed it’s all about having better equipment than the other guy… and then taking the other guy’s stuff.

Just like in Rust, Strayed nails the feeling of living in a world where the strong prey on the weak. That’s evidenced through the progression of the game.

You don’t get better stats to get more powerful, you get better equipment to get more powerful. You start with a rock that is a barely capable of hurting someone when you hit them with it. You can quickly upgrade that to a bat by hitting a tree. Hit a tree and a rock and gather some plants and you’ve got a bow.

With a bow you can easily defeat anyone with a melee weapon. Boom, you’ve moved up the Strayed food chain. Now you can look down on the people who are just like you just were, practically unarmed. You can take them out with ease.

Someone who has managed to scavenge or craft a gun and ammunition for it though… they’re still a level above you.

Every upgrade feels like going another rung up the totem pole in Strayed, much like in Rust.

Even a pistol is very superior to a bow, unless you’ve got a ton of practice and are fantastically accurate with a bow. Of course even then the armor either party wears can be the deciding factor in who walks away with the other person’s stuff and who respawns in their base with nothing.

Up and up the food chain goes until you’ve got the best armor in the game, pipe bombs, healing syringes, and assault rifles. Even then, when you’re the most powerful player around and you can take anything from whoever you come across… what if you run across a large group of players? There is strength in numbers.

The ability to take what other people have gathered in Strayed with just a little bit of force can easily propel you through tons of otherwise tedious gathering and scavenging, and it’s much more fun to fight than to grind. So people naturally do that in Strayed just as they would in Rust. That is the best way Strayed continues the legacy of Rust, but as a Virtual Reality experience.

At a certain level most people aren’t even threats anymore.

It is this more than anything else that gives Strayed the moniker of a Rust VR game, and why that title is so fitting. People who know they stand no chance against you because of your equipment advantage will mostly beg for mercy, and people above you in regards to equipment will generally shoot first and ask questions later. You’re just a free bag full of gathered valuables to them.

The only separator is stuff. Equipment, armor, weapons, and whatever else you can store in your base is all that differentiates you from the horde of nakeds freshly spawned on the beaches. Lose those things and you are back to square one no matter how much you scavenged or how many fights you succeeded in.

Of course you can always reject violent human nature and try to encourage peace and understanding. You could work together with those you come across and try to succeed more together.

Where is the fun in that? There’s only so much scavenge to go around in any given area and well… any stranger could easily ambush you if you turn your back to them.

Strayed, much like Rust, is an apocalyptic dog eat dog game.

Rust VR is Coming To The Oculus Quest 3 and PCVR

So we’ve got a VR Escape From Tarkov now, and even a VR Pokemon game, but what about VR Rust? Well luckily you won’t have to wait any longer to have a Rust VR game.

That’s right, you can have the full Rust experience of gathering resources, building a base, and raiding your neighbors all in Virtual Reality with a new Rust VR game that is in development by indie VR developer Torched Games.

This is yet another example of a great flatscreen game making its way to Virtual Reality through the efforts of a small studio. It’s not an official VR Rust title, but wow does it hit the same satisfying gameplay as the original game, but now with immersive VR hand controls.

Strayed - The VR Rust Game We’ve Been Waiting For

A version of the Strayed Logo

This new Rust VR game is called Strayed, and it is set to deliver the whole Rust package in Virtual Reality. You can wishlist it on Steam to be notified when it releases, but if you want to play it right now there’s an option to do so that we’ll talk about soon.

Now keep in mind that Strayed is still in active development and hasn’t even entered open Alpha at the time of writing this article, and so we won’t get into a deep review of the game yet.

It would be unfair to judge a project that still has so much development ahead of it well before it is finished, but we can say that it does deliver on the experience of Rust in VR.

Though there are, of course, still rough edges that need to be smoothed out before full release.

The wide open world of Strayed

You start, just as in Rust, with a Rock and a dream. You use that rock to harvest some resources and get better tools.

Of course you’ll need to keep yourself fed and drink water along the way. All of the survival mechanics present in Rust are already here in Strayed.

There are even animals to hunt for food and skins, and airdrops to chase after. Landmarks are also present with loot spawns that you and other players can fight over.

Two players fighting over a landmark in Strayed

While not being an official Rust title, this VR Rust like game definitely delivers on most of the features already present in Rust, but in VR.

Like building a base.

Base building in Strayed

Whether the game will be an experience truly worth of calling Rust VR in the long term remains to be seen, but it’s shaping up to give a true Rust type of experience.

By now you might be wondering if you can play Strayed, and how.

Well while you used to have to sign up for the game’s Patreon to play, Strayed is now available for PCVR as an Early Access title on Steam. A Quest 3 release is also planned, but not out yet.

You can also support the game and get access to it through its Patreon for a monthly fee if you want to.

If you want to support the development of this VR Rust game then join the Patreon and help the developers out, but if you want a complete and polished Rust VR experience, maybe wait a while for the game to get more time in the oven.

Well there you have it, VR Rust is coming (and if you’re willing to join the Patreon it’s already here). If you want to know more about Strayed and get updates on its development you can also check out the Strayed Discord. The developer Drew Mileham and his team also post updates on his Youtube channel about new improvements and features to the game.

Whether you’re going to join the Patreon and jump right in, or wait for later to play some VR Rust, enjoy!