Take Medieval Exploration to the Next Level with the Dual Sense Controller in Rustler

Posted on August 6, 2021

Rustler, is a top-down action-adventure sandbox set in a historically inaccurate medieval world. You’ll play as Guy, a ruffian with parents too lazy to give him a proper name. Your ultimate goal in Rustler is to scheme your way into the Grand Tournament with the ultimate prize of winning the princess’s hand. Of course, you’ll be wreaking as much medieval chaos as you can along the way.

And on the PlayStation 5, you will experience some of the unique ways we are taking advantage of the powerful technology inside of the PlayStation 5’s Dual Sense controller. Keep reading to find out how this next-gen technology is shaping your journey to become the Grand Tournament Champion.

Haptic Feedback

When thinking about ways to implement the Dual Sense’s powerful new haptic feedback, we wanted the feature to add a sense of depth to some of the actions you’ll most routinely engage in throughout your journey in Rustler: horseback riding and fighting.

While galloping through the open countryside or plodding through the streets of the city, your Dual Sense controller will vibrate based on the speed of your horse. Walking with a slow horse through town? Your controller will offer a subtle vibration. Taking an all-out spring while trying to outmaneuver the authorities? The controller will shake intensely.

In combat, the controller will vibrate based on the direction from which Guy is hit. This adds to the chaos of a brawl with multiple enemies. The intensity gets ramped up even more when taking damage during a joust.

Adaptive Triggers

A medieval game without a powerful crossbow would be creative malpractice, and we are using the Dual Sense to add another layer of complexity to this important weapon. If Guy is in the middle of his reload animation and the player attempts to shoot the crossbow, they will be met with resistance from the controller’s adaptive triggers.

Similarly, as Guy runs out of Steam in the middle of a fight, the adaptive triggers will begin to work against you, forcing you to slow down and take a breather.

Built-In Speaker

We decided to go all out when implementing the Dual Sense’s built-in speaker into the game. If Guy has commandeered an oversized vehicle (read: a horse drawn cart) and needs to back up, the built-in speaker will unleash a backup warning beep to advice all bystanders to clear the way.

3D Audio

It wasn’t just the PlayStation’s Dual Sense controller that we took advantage of in Rustler. We also wanted to leverage PlayStation’s powerful 3D audio. We did this in two ways. First, while Guy is being pursued by the police, sirens will sound from the direction they will be coming. This will allow the player additional information when deciding how to shake the pursuit. Secondly, the bard’s unique blend of hip-hop tunes will take advantage of this immersive audio technology.

We can’t wait for you to try out all of these features, exclusive to the PlayStation 5, when Rustler launches on August 31st!