We've been looking forward to Maximum Entertainment's Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age since we first tried it last year. Co-op fighting games are a rare and special thing, after all, and the game looks pretty slick to boot. It seems that development is making good progress because Maximum has released a fresh Steam demo that showcases a new fighter called Dieselmech. He's large and in charge! The demo supports 2-player local co-op, so be sure to give it a shot.
The demo begins with a new tutorial that teaches the basics of gameplay. Diesel Legacy plays a bit like the latest Samurai Shodown in that it uses four face buttons for attacks: three punches and one kick. The innovation here is Fatal Fury and Guardian Heroes-style lane switching; this game uses three lanes for combat. The use of multiple lanes facilitates the game's 2-on-2 battles. Things would be too chaotic if everyone was confined to a single plane!
The demo allows players to navigate a bar that acts as the game's hub world. There, players can choose to play local matches, online matchmaking, private games, or spectate games. Among those options, only local matches seem to support co-op. Just choose Team Battle and then have both players join the same team. The opposing team will be controlled by the AI. My team won a match against the AI this time, so it seems like the developers have improved the difficulty.
Here's the official description of Dieselmech, the new fighter:
Dieselmech, originally designed as a friendly automaton, was repurposed into a mass-produced super soldier after his creator was abducted. These soldiers, camouflaged as “peacekeepers,” were armed with destructive weapons like cannons, using innocent civilians in slums as target practice. However, one particular Dieselmech (DM-00337), retains traces of his creator’s ideals, triggered by a lonely, orphaned kitten. Dieselmech may have the naivety of a child, but his strength is no joke. While still a force to be reckoned with in battle, he is beginning to learn the value of aiding others.
Diesel Legacy will be released on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and Steam sometime this year. Physical versions for PlayStation 5 and Switch are already available to preorder at Amazon for $29.99 each.