In Dieselstormers players explore the medieval city of Ravensdale - a place where armor is powered by roaring engines, princesses wield wrenches in oil-stained overalls, and not a single dragon dares to brave the smog-filled sky. That doesn't mean all is well. The inhabitants of Ravensdale must take their city back from a rampaging ork horde. Players will be able to assemble their own weapons by adding and exchanging parts and modify them for their specific needs.

You’re a member of an elite rebel squad: The Dieselstörmers. Well equipped, but outnumbered by your enemies. To survive, you’ll have to cleverly collaborate with your friends. Combine your attacks, use the armor and weapons upgrades to your advantage. Find upgrades to your weapons to increase your defensive power, attack range or damage output. Increase your mobility with perks to reach new areas in the map or blast your enemies with bouncing, piercing, incinerating, shocking, explosive, goopy, and many, many more weapon and armor upgrades. Of course you can also decide to drop your current weapon and give that shiny new surge lance a chance.

To change a game in mid development is always a gamble. Independent game developer Black Forest Games took the risk and decided to retire Dieselstormers' RPG gameplay, which was more than six months in the making. With the last update, the German indie studio committed itself to deliver a roguelike experience.

The new Dieselstormers combines classic roguelike action with classic platforming character controls and RPG elements into a game of over-the-top mayhem and team play. Up to four players play together in local and online co-op multiplayer. Maps are procedurally generated from predesigned chunks and interactive objects that are placed semi-randomly in each level.

A year ago, indie dev Black Forest Games tried to register a European trademark for the roguelike coop run’n’gun game DieselStormers. This was opposed by fashion label Diesel, who hold a broad trademark for the word “Diesel” that seemingly also covers videogames. The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market ultimately accepted Diesel’s reasoning and denied the registration of Black Forest Games’ IP, even though the “Diesel” in DieselStormers refers to the fuel of the same name, not to fashion or clothes.

This decision has quite an impact on Black Forest Games. DieselStormers, which was funded through Kickstarter and released to Steam Early Access in July 2014, saw good progress with multiple updates since its initial release – the latest one on September 11th. The game was well on its way for the final release. 

Black Forest’s Managing Director Adrian Goersch comments: “This decision has caught us with our pants down. We are quite surprised that our trademark application has been formally denied. We are no multinational corporation, we cannot fight this decision, even though, frankly, it is a disaster with indie marketing as difficult as it is today. But the history of this game and our company as a whole has been marked with tough challenges and we will manage to overcome this one as well. First of all, we will make sure everyone will be able to keep playing the game, then we'll come back with a new name.”

Dieselstörmers combines classic roguelike action with gorgeous 3D graphics, classic platforming character controls and RPG elements. Permadeath is real and you’ll lose your equipment and upgrades, but experience points are yours to keep. Gaining levels will grant you perks, making the next round easier and getting you one step closer to defeating the final boss.

Character progress is faster in comparison to the old Dieselstörmers – a complete playthrough takes roughly 45 to 60 minutes and rewards you with new items or classes. That, plus achievements and secrets, adds to the replay value of the new Dieselstörmers.

In contrast to the old game, each level is up to five times bigger and consists of the already known town biome as well as four more – Underground Factory, Sunken City, Natural Caves and Ancient Ruins – each with its on theme and appeal.

Customize your character with randomly dropped equipment and stackable upgrades and improve the abilities of your base class on the fly instead of assembling your weapons in the HQ.

The Dieselstörmers campaign is for 1-4 players and can be played in online and couch co-op mode. New players can join or leave an existing game at any time – without consequences to the remaining players. Multiplayer allows for team strategies like: flanking shielded enemies, deploying powerful lightning arcs between your teammates or herding fleeing enemies into a trap. Each character class comes with unique skills and perks. In the right balance, no amount of enemies can stop you. Resources picked up by any player are awarded to all players!

Dieselstormers is available through Steam Early Access for $18.99 (18.99€).