One of our favorite Metroidvania’s grappling hook action gets 7-8 hours of new content and a second playable character in a free update big enough to fill an entire sequel

Rusted Moss is the excellent grappling hook side-scroller that enamored plenty of Metroidvania enjoyers when it launched last year. While fans might be disappointed to hear that it isn’t receiving a sequel, its upcoming update is big enough to fill a second game and, even better, it’s totally free.

“Rusted Moss will not have a sequel,” its developers wrote in a recent blog post, before adding that the major content update “might as well be one” when it drops on June 20, 2024, alongside a full port on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.

The upcoming update is reportedly adding in two new explorable areas, 7-8 hours of new content, over 300 more rooms, a boss rush mode, and a slightly more mysterious Maya mode that will (spoilers!) let you “play the whole game again as Maya after you beat it the first time.”

For those who fear missing out, the second playable character won’t bring any “new dialogue or ending stuff” because speedrun mode rules apply here. But it’s still worth checking out for “some nifty new ways to play,” which begs the question: What could possibly be niftier than a grapple/rifle twin-stick combo? I’m excited to find out.

Anyone looking to sling their way into the game now is in luck. Rusted Moss is currently going cheap on Steam with a 40% discount available until June 1. 

Metroidvanias have swamped most of my playtime this year, with banger after banger releasing seemingly out of nowhere. Ubisoft‘s Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, the psychedelic gardening hybrid Ultros, the unexpectedly personal Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, and most recently Animal Well have all been major 2024 highlights thus far – and Rusted Moss 1.5 should only keep up that incredible winning streak. Fingers crossed!

While we wait, why not check out the best Metroidvania games to sink into?