Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age Review

Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age is a 2D fighting game developed by Maximum Games, an American publisher originally founded in 2009 that also published games for Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii. Later, the studio expanded and developed a new publishing label called Modus Games, and they did quite well with titles like Morbid: The Lords of Ire, Soulstice, Cris Tales, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of The Dragons, and Until Then.

Maximum Games has been publishing games for the last fifteen years, including several successful games, as mentioned above, but their success mostly came from the Nintendo consoles. This time, however, they made a bold move and released Diesel Legacy on major platforms. Obviously, their publishing experience had a major influence on such a bold move, and the game being launched on Steam surely had a large player base based on its target. With games like Them's Fightin' Herds and Overthrown under their name, Diesel Legacy surely sounds promising.

As a lot of Hype was circulating around Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age, I got curious as games like the game reminded me of Tekken 6 and DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO, which were all available on PSP. As it's a fighting game, I didn't hold any high expectations, but it surely did catch me by surprise; even at some point, I caught myself being a little too excited to dive into the world of Dieselpunk setting with a unique 2v2 combat style with amazing mechanics and graphics.

Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age's story is set out to be in a sprawling industrial metropolis; the game starts to unfold in a world that is shaped by the technological revolution. It feels very lively when you look at the background and notice the details the developers added, from the neon-lit backstreets to the industrial complexes; this game was really trying to tell the story of ambition, the time it's taking to progress, and the inevitable conflict that comes with all the good things.

The storyline in Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age does a very good job as it caught me on the hook, surely immersing me in the world of Dieselpunk. The game is set 35 years after a destruction of technology outburst that forever changed the face of New Libertus. At the center of it all Lies Hieronymous Fraser, an ambitious industrialist who is determined to leave a long-lasting legacy with great costs of redemption, justice, or power.

The first thing I noticed about this game was that, unlike other games, it has a richness and a taste of original work. Now, what I mean by this is that I have a lot of games with similar storylines and mechanics. I felt like they really tried their best to make it unique, and as someone who likes to try games out, I really appreciated it.

Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age's fighting impressed me the most. As I play a lot of fighting games, most of the games stick to their ordinary 1v1 mode, which is, well, a classic, right? But in this case, Diesel Legacy is so much different. What stood out for me was the 2v2 feature in the fighting system. Now imagine a fighting game where four players are battling it out, trying to see who wins, working together as a team, trying to outmaneuver and outsmart the other team.

The thought of it is very chaotic, thrilling, and very addicting for me. Also, a very cool feature is that the games offer a three-lane mechanic, which adds another layer of strategy, allowing you to switch between three places: the foreground, middle ground, and the background to dodge attacks, flank your opponents, and hit them with killer combos.

One thing I found pretty amusing was that once someone defeats you in the game, you won't be entirely out of the fight. To spice things up, Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age added a feature called Ghost Ability, which lets you assist your teammates even when you are knocked out. It's honestly a great way to keep me engaged, as I always seem to lose interest when I'm defeated, adding an extra layer of depth to the battles. I don't like to sit out on the action, and the Ghost Ability mechanic had me engaged until the very end of the game.

As for the gameplay, apart from the Story mode, there is also an Online mode in Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age. While the story mode does have a decent amount of content, the real deal is the multiplayer mode for me. It doesn't matter if I am battling my friends or just playing against random players and trying out different characters; there is a lot of replay value. The unique style of this game's mechanics and the fast-paced actions are a big factor as they can hook you in the game, costing you hours.

Speaking of the gameplay, Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age also features other features like 3 Lanes, 1 Battle, where you can move the level by alternating between three set lanes, fight enemies one-on-one, and provide a hand to the other player. There's also a meter mechanic called Meltdown that fills up your meter to unleash powerful supers that come really handy during fights. And not to mention the Team Assists, which is the Ghost Ability, where you help your teammate even after being knocked down.

Since it's a brand-new entry to the fighting genre, I didn't expect the character roster to be that extensive, and so was the case. There are ten playable characters at this moment, each with distinct abilities. Rory seems to be the main character, while Ruby, Fritz, Rotwang, Eleanora, Nyra, Diselmech, Damkina, Saga, and Adrik are all a proper match to him when you master everyone's control. I mostly enjoyed playing with Rory, Ruby, and Nyra.

Apart from the gameplay, I loved Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age's visuals. The visuals are top-notch, have a very artsy style, and look even better than several AAA fighting games that we play regularly. The game was created with the help of Abare Engine, which is something I was unaware of, but it did the job for this game. The graphics really held on to the traditional old combat style gameplay while giving us a glimpse of a fresh art style, making the game very unique and fun to play.

I'm going on to the visuals because they are nothing short of stunning. From the hand-drawn character animations, which are a feast for the eyes, with each character, you can tell the depth and the amount of work put in. It has great attention to detail with very good animation. Apparently, it is said that each fighter has around 800 individual animation frames, which I can tell as the developers tried their best to make the characters come alive.

Dieselpunk is what people call aesthetically beautiful, which I realized when the match started. From the stage design, you can see grimy factories to opulent cityscapes. Every match feels like it takes place in a world lived with brimming personalities.

The sound design of Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age comes in a big play where the game truly takes over. The soundtrack is the perfect match for the dieselpunk theme, featuring beats according to the atmosphere that surely got my blood pumping during the matches. The gameplay sound effects are also very impressive; with every punch, kick, and special move, you get a bit of satisfaction. I felt that the audio added a lot to the overall experience, making the gameplay feel more intense.

Of course, no game is perfect, and Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age does have a fair share of issues. One of the problems I noticed was the character power scale imbalance. Some characters feel significantly stronger than others, which can sometimes make the match one-sided. For instance, Diselmech, a robotic war machine character, can dominate if the player knows how to use it effectively, while other characters, like Damkina, seem to struggle in comparison even though she looks amazingly sexy. As I like competitive-style gameplay, the imbalance can be really frustrating for people who are more interested in the competitive side of games.

Another issue I faced was the technical side of this game. As with most fighting games, online matchmaking can be hit or miss, especially when I am trying to play with my friends. When I was able to play online, I also encountered issues like the game lagging and sometimes freezing for a few seconds. Even though this is mostly related to the internet connection, this might be a minor issue, but it does impact the outcome of the gameplay.

Overall, Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age's Dieselpunk theme is stunning, with hand-drawn animations and very detailed stages that immersed me in the world of New Libertus. Each character's unique arc in story mode adds more personality and depth to the characters.

The multiplayer offers an endless number of matches, with engaging soundtracks and good sound effects to each action. Diesel Legacy surely left a good impression on me. It's a game that pushes your boundaries, making it exceptionally good in the 2024 gaming lineup.