I played a Steam demo about GTA-like raccoon heists and it almost broke me

I’ve found a real groove when it comes to playing indie games this year and it’s led me down some bizarre rabbit holes.

My library has been home to its fair share of AAAs of course, like Phantom Blade Zero and Star Wars: Galactic Racer, but it’s been nice to play some more bitesize titles for a bit of a break.

Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus have been a big help in this regard, but Steam demos in particular have kept catching my eye. My latest at the time of writing triggered a laughing fit that almost sent me to an early grave.

Dumpster Gang is a co-op raccoon game launching on PC this year, and it got me good

Recently added to Steam’s treasure trove of indie games is Dumpster Gang. It’s another game that’s attempting to capitalise on the ‘friendslop’ genre, which was made popular by the likes of PEAK and R.E.P.O.

This one sees you and your friends become a gang of mischievous raccoons, with a hunger for stolen goods.

Its synopsis reads: “Play as a gang of mischievous raccoons in this chaotic co-op sandbox for 1-4 players. Complete ridiculous missions, steal everything you can carry, and outsmart a relentless Exterminator determined to throw your gang behind bars.”

Now I loaded this one up onto my Steam Deck this week to see what it was all about, and whether it’d run, and to give a bit of context it was very late at the time.

At the time of writing this I’m also a little under the weather, so I’d imagine the flu-like symptoms, medicines and general fatigue had a part to play in my unique reaction to this game.

Things were relatively normal at the beginning. I broke into a house and quickly started raiding cupboards like any good raccoon would, only to then have a confrontation with the exterminator.

The game’s a little janky, in a fun kind of way, so whilst getting to grips with my evasive options my locked-in attitude turned to hysterics when this grown man bodyslammed me into a wall.

Again, I’ve got no idea what came over me, but seeing my little raccoon body go hurtling into a wall just sent me off the edge.

Suddenly my concentration was gone and I was ultimately captured, but it left me giggling for a good 5-10 minutes afterwards. It honestly shouldn’t have been that funny and yet it really got me good.

I’m well-aware that I have to play the full-game now when it comes out on December 3, because if I had that much playing solo, one can only imagine the joys of playing with other people.

If you want an idea of the other wacky hijinks you can get up to check out the game’s teaser trailer, and the demo reviews for some more first--hand experiences.

Dumpster Gang probably won’t win any awards or gain the same notoriety as PEAK did, but based on my limited play session I’m confidently telling you it’s a jolly good time so far. A game hasn’t made me laugh like that in a while now.

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