What Rusted Warfare is
Rusted Warfare is a real-time strategy game in the style of the classics, with simple 2D pixel graphics and a modern multi-core engine built to keep big fights running smoothly. You build a base, produce units, and command them across the battlefield in real time. There are over 50 unique units with many upgrades, plus experimental units that show up for the big late-game battles. The camera has infinite zoom, so you can pull all the way out to see the whole battlefield and issue orders across it, then dive back in to a single fight. The engine handles battles with thousands of units, so the scale goes well past a typical skirmish.
Playing together
Multiplayer runs up to 10 players. You can host your own game or join through the dedicated servers, and Steam friend matchmaking gets you into a lobby with people you know. Allies can share unit control, so you and a teammate can drive the same army instead of splitting the map between you. If a connection drops, you can reconnect to the game you were in, and multiplayer games can be saved and loaded, which suits a short session where you pick things up later. Recorded multiplayer replays can be watched, and you can save at any point and jump in to play from there. Cross-platform multiplayer works between the Windows, Linux and Android versions, so a group spread across those can still play the same match.
Before you start
The game includes singleplayer challenges and skirmish mode alongside the multiplayer, so there is something to do when the group is not online. The sandbox editor lets you build your own battles and scenarios, and those can then be played in multiplayer — worth knowing if someone in your group likes making maps. Workshop modding is supported, so unit sets and other mods can be added on top of the base game; check that everyone has the same mods loaded before a session. The visuals are deliberately retro and the game describes them as subpar, so go in expecting plain sprites rather than spectacle. The real draw is the size of the battles and the amount of control over them.