Dieselpunk Wars (DPW) is a third-person vehicle-based sandbox with post-apocalyptic setting. In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war: hulking, crude machines battle each other in a land devastated by past conflicts. As members of one of the factions, players will be tasked with increasingly important, complex missions by their leaders, in order to secure power (and a future) for the group.



https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2498530393

1.
Tanks, amphibious transports, flying fortresses and everything in-between are concrete possibilities in DPW. The amount of parts unlocked throughout the campaign is extensive, even more so in the Sandbox, which has better variety. The design process is well-explained, straightforward and user-friendly, yet it manages to retain enough depth to please the experts.

2.
Using armor sloping and design efficiency as pivotal points, the combat really tells if a vehicle is successfully designed or not. Threats like fire, internal explosions, component damage, armor wear and more, all equally play a part in determining who blows up in a huge fireball. Piloting and aiming skills only take one so far in DPW - clever design does the rest.

3.
There is more than combat to master, in order to secure victory. Timed races, transport missions, escorts and other special-purpose, unique assignments will often be in one's way as primary or secondary quests. Such tasks will often require re-designing a vehicle from scratch, or heavily modifying an existing one. Crafting the right tool for the job is fundamental, promotes creativity in a good way.

4.
The extra game modes like Sandbox with unlimited budget cap, Endless wave survival and Battle Simulator to pit one's own or others' creations against each other are all good additions that add content. The fact other people's vehicles can be downloaded, used, modified and disassembled is a fun way to see clever, alternative ways to get things done.

1.
A very thick distance fog, along with poor distance LOD and generally subpar textures, models and effects (save those of vehicles, which are good) make DPW underwhelming, visually at least. For this year (2021), the graphics aren't exactly top notch, much less so in fact.

2.
Flying vehicles. They're way too good, seriously. Once the budget cap allows putting some serious armor and guns on an airship without making it an immovable boulder, that's it: game over for any foe. The high altitude of such vessels, combined with extremely long range weapons such as Heavy Rockets or high caliber guns, enable sniping most enemies without them even realizing what's going on... until too late.

3.
Vehicle driving, be it on land, sea or air, feels clunky and at times rather unresponsive. Even supposedly agile vehicles can inexplicably get stuck or capsize without a clear reason. Physics are decent but not always reliable. Some bugs with mission triggers and enemy AI can happen, especially the latter with foes driving into lakes, flipping or just standing still doing nothing being not uncommon sights.

4.
The final battle is just... useless. This mighty war machine will prove a trivial matter, simply because it will never rush at the player, instead it will move in a pre-defined pattern that doesn't allow it to be close enough for its own guns to hit anything. Consequently, end-game tier guns with very high range can snipe the boss from afar, without risk. Disappointing.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2506365995


Exploration
Is performed using the currently handled vehicle. The radar on the bottom-right highlights allies, enemies and quest starting points, however there is no proper map of each area. Fast-travel is available between "checkpoints" if needed, to engage side-quests one may have left unattended. Exploring per-se doesn't have a purpose, as defeating enemies or discovering ruins gives nothing in return: only mission completion awards XP and Vehicle Budget improvements.

Vehicle Design
Is the core of gameplay, and is done using a specialized interface that contains four quickbars where one can assign their favorite components, other than various functions like highlighting center of mass, mirror placement, paining, decals and block rotation. Any vehicle needs fundamental components to function, such as engines, ammunition, crew compartments and more - all of this is explained in a well-designed tutorial. Making a vehicle that is balanced in offense, defense and agility is paramount to face a variety of terrains, challenges and enemies. Anytime outside of combat, vehicles can be repaired and modified freely, but always within the budget (in the campaign).

Combat
Plays out in third person, with players having the option of manning the guns themselves or leave that to the crew - although bigger ones don't have this option. Piloting is always up to the player, and can be as important as shooting, since armor orientation plays a vital role in deflecting enemy shells: learning how sloping works is highly suggested. There are many types of guns such as cannons, machineguns, rocket launchers and even devastating melee weapons like saws or drills: offensive possibilities are many, it all comes down to how they're used. Destroying a vehicle's command block results in an instant kill, while exploding engines, ammunition reserves and such causes huge fires and internal damage. Later on, some active skills like fire extinguishers or additional power to guns can be used if needed, with a cooldown.

Quests
Consist in a variety of assignments, such as destroying specific enemies or static defenses, scouting a position, reaching a destination in time or defending a VIP target. There is a good diversity, with side-quests usually being more difficult but also awarding vital Budget Points and XP to build more and more impressive machines. Expect to swap and alter designs very often, depending on the objective at hand.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2506366226

Complete Ratings List here
It took me almost 16 hours to complete DPW's four-act campaign, along with all the side missions I could find. After that Endless Mode, Sandbox and Battle Simulation are there to offer more content, to those interested. Given the overall good quality and relatively low price of 12,50€, I can definitely recommend buying this game without any discount.

Want to see even more reviews of the same quality? Check out Tamaster's Review Archive.

[h1]The Premise[/h1] [h3]This review contains no spoilers.[/h3] [b]Dieselpunk Wars[/b] (DPW) is a third-person vehicle-based sandbox with post-apocalyptic setting. [i]In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war[/i]: hulking, crude machines battle each other in a land devastated by past conflicts. As members of one of the factions, players will be tasked with increasingly important, complex missions by their leaders, in order to secure power (and a future) for the group. [h1]Quick Sum-Up[/h1] [table] [tr] [th]🟩 [b]The Pros[/b][/th] [th]🟥 [b]The Cons[/b][/th] [/tr] [tr] [td] 1. Excellent vehicle editor, with massive component variety. 2. Enjoyable combat system that truly puts one's design to the test. 3. Very good variety of campaign missions: most require diverse strategies. 4. Several additional game modes, Workshop integration to share blueprints. [/td] [td] 1. Overall mediocre visuals for a 2021 release. 2. Balance problems with certain vehicle designs in the campaign. 3. Noticeable lack of polishing along with a few annoying bugs. 4. Disappointing final boss fight. [/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [th]🟨 [b]Bugs & Other Issues[/b][/th] [th]🔧 [b]PC Specs[/b][/th] [/tr] [tr] [td] - Issues with vehicle saving or loading can occur. [/td] [td] - Ryzen 3900X - RTX 2080Ti - 32GB RAM - NvME SSD - 1440p Display [/td] [/tr] [/table] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2498530393 [h1]In-Depth Analysis[/h1] [h3]Pros[/h3] [b]1.[/b] Tanks, amphibious transports, flying fortresses and everything in-between are concrete possibilities in DPW. The amount of parts unlocked throughout the campaign is extensive, even more so in the Sandbox, which has better variety. The design process is well-explained, straightforward and user-friendly, yet it manages to retain enough depth to please the experts. [b]2.[/b] Using armor sloping and design efficiency as pivotal points, the combat really tells if a vehicle is successfully designed or not. Threats like fire, internal explosions, component damage, armor wear and more, all equally play a part in determining who blows up in a huge fireball. Piloting and aiming skills only take one so far in DPW - clever design does the rest. [b]3.[/b] There is more than combat to master, in order to secure victory. Timed races, transport missions, escorts and other special-purpose, unique assignments will often be in one's way as primary or secondary quests. Such tasks will often require re-designing a vehicle from scratch, or heavily modifying an existing one. Crafting the right tool for the job is fundamental, promotes creativity in a good way. [b]4.[/b] The extra game modes like Sandbox with unlimited budget cap, Endless wave survival and Battle Simulator to pit one's own or others' creations against each other are all good additions that add content. The fact other people's vehicles can be downloaded, used, modified and disassembled is a fun way to see clever, alternative ways to get things done. [h3]Cons[/h3] [b]1.[/b] A very thick distance fog, along with poor distance LOD and generally subpar textures, models and effects (save those of vehicles, which are good) make DPW underwhelming, visually at least. For this year (2021), the graphics aren't exactly top notch, much less so in fact. [b]2.[/b] Flying vehicles. They're way too good, seriously. Once the budget cap allows putting some serious armor and guns on an airship without making it an immovable boulder, that's it: game over for any foe. The high altitude of such vessels, combined with extremely long range weapons such as Heavy Rockets or high caliber guns, enable sniping most enemies without them even realizing what's going on... until too late. [b]3.[/b] Vehicle driving, be it on land, sea or air, feels clunky and at times rather unresponsive. Even supposedly agile vehicles can inexplicably get stuck or capsize without a clear reason. Physics are decent but not always reliable. Some bugs with mission triggers and enemy AI can happen, especially the latter with foes driving into lakes, flipping or just standing still doing nothing being not uncommon sights. [b]4.[/b] The final battle is just... useless. This mighty war machine will prove a trivial matter, simply because it will never rush at the player, instead it will move in a pre-defined pattern that doesn't allow it to be close enough for its own guns to hit anything. Consequently, end-game tier guns with very high range can snipe the boss from afar, without risk. Disappointing. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2506365995 [h1]Gameplay Breakdown[/h1] [b]Exploration[/b] Is performed using the currently handled vehicle. The radar on the bottom-right highlights allies, enemies and quest starting points, however there is no proper map of each area. Fast-travel is available between "checkpoints" if needed, to engage side-quests one may have left unattended. Exploring per-se doesn't have a purpose, as defeating enemies or discovering ruins gives nothing in return: only mission completion awards XP and Vehicle Budget improvements. [b]Vehicle Design[/b] Is the core of gameplay, and is done using a specialized interface that contains four quickbars where one can assign their favorite components, other than various functions like highlighting center of mass, mirror placement, paining, decals and block rotation. Any vehicle needs fundamental components to function, such as engines, ammunition, crew compartments and more - all of this is explained in a well-designed tutorial. Making a vehicle that is balanced in offense, defense and agility is paramount to face a variety of terrains, challenges and enemies. Anytime outside of combat, vehicles can be repaired and modified freely, but always within the budget (in the campaign). [b]Combat[/b] Plays out in third person, with players having the option of manning the guns themselves or leave that to the crew - although bigger ones don't have this option. Piloting is always up to the player, and can be as important as shooting, since armor orientation plays a vital role in deflecting enemy shells: learning how sloping works is highly suggested. There are many types of guns such as cannons, machineguns, rocket launchers and even devastating melee weapons like saws or drills: offensive possibilities are many, it all comes down to how they're used. Destroying a vehicle's command block results in an instant kill, while exploding engines, ammunition reserves and such causes huge fires and internal damage. Later on, some active skills like fire extinguishers or additional power to guns can be used if needed, with a cooldown. [b]Quests[/b] Consist in a variety of assignments, such as destroying specific enemies or static defenses, scouting a position, reaching a destination in time or defending a VIP target. There is a good diversity, with side-quests usually being more difficult but also awarding vital Budget Points and XP to build more and more impressive machines. Expect to swap and alter designs very often, depending on the objective at hand. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2506366226 [h1]The Judgment: Good[/h1] [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1989090445]Complete Ratings List here[/url] [i]It took me almost 16 hours to complete DPW's four-act campaign, along with all the side missions I could find. After that Endless Mode, Sandbox and Battle Simulation are there to offer more content, to those interested. Given the overall good quality and relatively low price of 12,50€, I can definitely recommend buying this game without any discount.[/i] [quote]Want to see even more reviews of the same quality? Check out [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/39323490]Tamaster's Review Archive[/url].[/quote]