Game: Olympus 2249 (Early Access)
Developer: Dieselship Studio
Publisher: Dieselship Studio
Genre: Isometric Turn-Based cRPG
Early Access: Since October 6, 2026
Price: $19.99 (rising with content)
Platform: PC (Steam)
Steam Deck: Unknown
☢️ How we reviewed it: we played the Early Access build of Olympus 2249 on PC. This is an Early Access review, so treat it as impressions of an unfinished game rather than a final verdict. Our take also draws on the experiences of other players since launch.
1 of 3Acts Available
3–7Hours
5Karmic Types
5Peaceful Specializations
18–24Months in EA
⚙️ Know this first: it’s roughly a quarter of a game right now. The Early Access build contains Act 1 of a planned three, about a quarter of the story, and a playthrough takes around 3–7 hours. All of the planned systems and mechanics are already in. Dieselship expects to stay in Early Access for 18–24 months, and plans to raise the price gradually from $19.99 as content is added. Its Steam rating currently sits at Mixed.
🛢️ From the Makers of Olympus 2207
If the name rings a bell, that’s because Dieselship Studio is the team known for Olympus 2207, the ambitious total-conversion mod for the original Fallout 2. Now they’ve made a standalone game, set in a post-nuclear, dieselpunk America.
It’s a single-player, turn-based, isometric cRPG full of meaningful choices, branching dialogue, and brutal, bloody battles. One player who loved the mod bought in early just to see a full-fledged standalone game set in its enigmatic world.
Fight dirty. Talk smart. Expect consequences.
Fallout fans will feel right at home. One player says it feels like a refreshed Fallout 2, a different game that takes them right back to playing Fallout 2 for the first time. Another describes it as Fallout 2 meets ATOM RPG, with a dash of Underrail, and thinks it could become a very nice “Fallout 2.5”. It’s obvious the developers are Fallout fans themselves, says a third.
Our verdict: “This brutal dieselpunk cRPG delivers engaging turn-based combat with real tactical depth, rewarding both combat and pacifist approaches equally.”
Choose Who You Are
⚖️ Karmic Types
- Pick one of five, from Moralist to Asshole and everything in between
- People react differently, and dialogues, quests and opportunities change
- Karma shifts with your choices, so who you start as isn’t who you finish as
🗣️ Peaceful Specializations
- Five non-combat specializations, each as important as your combat build
- Each unlocks new dialogue options and new ways to solve problems
- Say exactly what you want, but some factions and quests may close to you
Conversations here aren’t endless lists of “Tell me about…” questions. They flow like real ones, and saying the wrong thing can cost you a faction or a quest. One player loves that it’s an RPG that makes you use your own brain instead of solving every problem with a skill check, set in a grounded, believable world.
Fight Dirty
🛢️ Use the Battlefield
Kick a fuel barrel at an enemy and blow it up, set oil spills ablaze, or use electricity and traps.
🎯 Aimed Shots
Target arms, legs or the head, with dismemberment on the table.
💪 Stamina Abilities
Spend Stamina on special combat abilities. Hard fights are puzzles with more than one solution.
🕊️ Or Don’t Fight
Quests rarely just ask you to kill someone, and many problems can be solved without firing a shot.
🧰 A Deep Toolbox, Even Now
Even in Early Access, there’s a lot to play with: crafting, stealth, desert storms that reshape the gameplay, radiation and poison zones, an armour system, procedurally generated enemies and loot for random encounters and raids, and a day/night cycle where NPCs keep their own routines (and their own beds). Quests are built around these systems, so even simple fetch quests turn into small adventures. One player adds that it looks and sounds great.
Where It Stumbles
⚠️ Early Access Growing Pains
1. Not much content yet. With just Act 1 available, several players point out you’ll be done in a few hours. One calls it a “bold demo” for now, and others suggest buying to support the team but waiting if you want a polished game with lots of content.
2. Bugs. Most players hit a few. One saw items vanish after loading a save, which blocked their progress. Another hit a couple of bugs but says 99% of their time ran smoothly. A third ran into one annoying bug in the last quest before Act 2.
3. It can be confusing. One player found it promising but pretty confusing, with lots of questions about how the mechanics work.
4. Too dark in places. One player found interiors too dark, especially early on.
5. Missing quality-of-life features. One player’s wishlist includes key rebinding, a toggle for the highlight button (and highlighted doors), giving companions orders outside combat, and fixing interactions that force your character into awkward spots.
⚠️ Opening-area specifics from one player’s bug list: tap to reveal
• The opening Molotov disappeared after one player reloaded a save, which stopped them progressing.
• Looting the dumpster in the opening alleyway forced their character to stand in toxic gas, even though it could be looted from the safe side.
• Shooting an electric box with the ethereal pistol during the beastmaster fight did nothing, which they expected would have an effect.
• Killing an isolated enemy with no witnesses still alerted the whole map.
• And a cosmetic one: a hat the game gives you makes your character model bald.
🛠️ Performance, Feedback & Disclosures
Good news on performance: one player says it runs extremely well, with no need for an SSD or 100+ GB of space (it needs just 3.5 GB). There’s a built-in bug report and feedback button, and the team says it will use that feedback to prioritise fixes. On Steam, the developers disclose that AI tools were used to check visual concepts, translate text into some languages, and create music placeholders. They plan to replace the placeholder music with original compositions and have the translations reviewed by human editors before release. Content: frequent violence, blood, gore and dismemberment.
Things to Know
📋 Before You Buy
• $19.99 in Early Access, with the price planned to rise as content is added
• Act 1 of 3 available now, at about 3–7 hours depending on your build and side quests
• Single-player · full controller support · 12 achievements · Steam Cloud · 7 languages
• Minimum: Core i5-4590, 8 GB RAM, GTX 750 Ti and 3.5 GB of storage
• New to the series? One fan recommends going back to play the Olympus 2207 mod for Fallout 2 after you finish the current build
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
| The Good |
The Bad |
The Ugly |
| Tactical CombatBarrels, oil, electricity and aimed shots make fights into puzzles. |
Limited ContentJust Act 1, at 3–7 hours. |
Progress-Blocking BugsVanishing items can stop you in your tracks. |
| Pacifist PathsPeaceful specializations are as viable as combat. |
Confusing SystemsMechanics aren’t always clearly explained. |
— |
| Karmic TypesYour personality genuinely reshapes the game. |
Missing QoLNo key rebinding, and limited companion control. |
— |
| Fallout 2 DNAA refreshed classic feel from proven mod makers. |
Dark InteriorsHard to see early on. |
— |
| Runs GreatLight on storage and smooth on performance. |
— |
— |
The Verdict (So Far)
Olympus 2249 has the bones of something special. The turn-based combat is genuinely tactical, the Karmic Types and peaceful specializations make your character feel distinct, and the systems-driven quests reward creative thinking over brute force. For anyone who grew up on Fallout 2, it’s a nostalgic, refreshing return to the classic cRPG formula from a team that clearly loves it.
But it’s very much Early Access. There’s only one act of three, a handful of bugs (some of them progress-blocking), some confusing mechanics and missing quality-of-life features. That’s why its Steam rating is Mixed, though one player feels that undersells it. With 18–24 months of development planned and a built-in feedback system, there’s every reason to be optimistic.
The honest read: if you’re a Fallout 2 or Olympus 2207 fan who wants to support a passionate team and shape the game, jump in now, before the planned price increases. If you want a complete, polished cRPG, wishlist it and check back after a few more updates.
For more game reviews, check out our full reviews section.
Score Breakdown
UI & Quality of Life6.0/10
Clarity & Onboarding6.0/10
Content (Early Access)5.5/10
Early Access Impressions
7.2/10
Olympus 2249 (Early Access) — Dieselship Studio
A promising Fallout 2.5 in the making. It just needs time, content and a few more bug fixes.
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