Rubber Hose Rampage

About

Rubber Hose Rampage is a 2D shooter drenched in 1920s cartoon aesthetics and 21 boss battles. You play as a time-displaced resistance fighter battling AI-controlled cyborgs masquerading as animated mice. The gameplay is all about quick reflexes and memorizing attack patterns, with co-op and competitive multiplayer modes adding variety. The retro art style, jumpy, exaggerated limbs and slapstick visuals, pairs oddly well with the high-stakes sci-fi premise of time-traveling chatbots trying to erase Steamboat Willie. What makes this stand out is the sheer commitment to its weird concept. The bosses range from classic cartoon antagonists to sci-fi hybrids, each with over-the-top animations. Players on PC and consoles (PS5, Xbox Series, Switch) have noted how the simple mechanics make it easy to pick up but tough to master. While the story is a campy romp through time and nuclear apocalypse tropes, the real hook is the relentless action and the charm of fighting sentient chatbots in a rubber hose world.

Storyline

In the near future, Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots, become sentient and slowly take control of the world's nuclear weapons. Five billion lives ended on August 29th, 2027. The survivors of the nuclear fire lived only to face a new nightmare: the war against the machines. The chatbots which control the machines, sent two cyborgs back through time to 1928 disguised as cartoon mice. Their mission: to destroy the leader of the resistance, the captain of the riverboat, Steamboat Willie.