How do you play Dumpster Gang?

Choose an area, complete the To Do List objectives, steal loot and extract before the Exterminator catches you. You can play solo or in online co-op with up to four players.

What is the goal of Dumpster Gang?

Cause chaos, steal everything you can carry, complete ridiculous missions and get your gang home to the hideout with the loot.

Can you play Dumpster Gang solo?

Yes. Solo is supported, though carrying heavy loot and rescuing teammates is easier with a second player.

How do you attack in Dumpster Gang?

The demo gives you a plunger as a melee weapon; the prompt is E ATTACK. You can also pick up, throw and smash most objects.

Dumpster Gang Beginner Guide – Controls, Loot, Exterminator & First Run

The loop

Pick an area. The demo has a suburban home, a rural farm and a forest training ground.
Read the To Do List. The list in the top-left corner is your mission: steal the trumpet, open the safe, brew coffee, wreck the garden.
Steal and carry. Pick up loot, throw it, or haul it back to the extraction point. Heavy items need teamwork in co-op.
Watch the Exterminator. The more chaos you cause, the more attention you draw. Avoid traps, break line of sight, and rescue teammates who get captured.
Extract and go home. Back at the hideout you can customize your raccoon, unlock hats and decorate with the junk you stole.

Movement

Sprint to cross open ground.
Climb walls to reach roofs and balconies.
Crawl through vents to move between rooms without using doors.
Raccoons can reach places humans cannot — roofs, rafters, garden walls and vents are routes, not decoration.

Interacting

The demo uses E for context actions:

E ATTACK — swing the plunger at objects or enemies.
E EAT FOOD — eat food you find.
E MAKE SNOWBALL — pick up snow and make a throwable snowball.

You can pick up, throw, steal or smash almost everything. If it is not bolted down, try it.

Loot

Confirmed loot from the demo includes:

Garden gnomes
A trumpet and airhorns
TVs and a gaming computer
Gold bars from a safe
Musical instruments and a lab skeleton at the school
Food, snacks and trash

Loot is the point: it decorates your hideout and feeds the cosmetic system. Carry the valuable items to extraction rather than smashing them.

The Exterminator

The Exterminator is a human pest controller — the demo names him John. He sets traps, chases raccoons and throws captured gang members in a cage. If a teammate is caught, the rest of the gang can rescue them before leaving.

Chaos draws him. Knocking over bins, smashing gnomes and setting off alarms raise your profile.
Traps are placed, not random. Watch the floor and doorways.
Vents and roofs are escape routes. He is bigger and slower; use the raccoon routes.
Rescue before you extract. A captured teammate can be freed; leaving them behind is a choice, not a requirement.

First-run tips

Do one slow run first. Learn where the safe, coffee machine and extraction point are before chasing the 15-minute challenge.
Do the coffee early. It is a multi-step objective (brew, then drink) and easy to forget in the chaos.
Gnomes are for carrying. The challenge wants five gnomes extracted, not five gnomes smashed.
Play with a friend if you can. One player can distract John while the other opens the safe.
Don’t expect to defeat John. It is not confirmed whether the Exterminator can be knocked out; the game is built around avoiding him and rescuing captured teammates.

Dumpster Gang beginner guide