Devolver Direct 2023 (Recap)

Devolver Digital is notorious for always putting on the most insane gaming showcase of the year, with each show serving as the next chapter in an ongoing live-action skit. Last year ended the saga of host Nina Struthers (played by Mahria Zook) and her torture and madness through the so-called “future’s future future”. It’s always been an intentionally ridiculous story that poked fun at whatever the biggest gaming controversy of that year was (microtransactions, cryptocurrency, etc.), and last year’s show saw an end to the narrative that’s been going since the first show in 2017. For this year, Devolver has introduced a new character named Volvy, a totally real retro video game mascot that absolutely wasn’t made up solely for the sake of the show. You can watch the whole thing here (it’s not too long), but below you’ll find a detailed recap of the games shown between the Volvy story segments.

Shadows of the Damned: Remastered

Before the Devolver Direct started there was a pre-show that played a few previously released trailers for some of Devolver’s upcoming titles. I’m not going to write about these trailers since they were all published weeks to months before the show and didn’t offer any new footage (the games were The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, Sludge Life 2, Bleak Sword DX, Karmazoo, and Hellboy: Web of Wyrd) but the pre-show did end with an actual new game announcement: a remaster of Shadows of the Damned. Originally released in 2011, Shadows of the Damned puts you in the shoes of a Mexican demon hunter named Garcia Hotspur as he travels to the City of the Damned in search of his kidnapped girlfriend. No release date or platform has been announced, but they also revealed a Grasshopper Direct coming June 14, 2023, which should have more information.

Wizard With a Gun

This “online cooperative sandbox survival game” lets you and your friends play as wizards… with guns. You explore a magical wilderness while crafting supplies, searching for powerful gear, and leveling up your wizard to survive the dangers that inhabit the land. It has a fun graphic novel aesthetic that makes good use of the theme and setting while delivering a mix of magic and firearms that looks like a lot of fun. Wizard With a Gun is shooting for a 2023 release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, with a free single-player demo available on Steam.

The Talos Principle II

I consider The Talos Principle to be one of the best puzzle games of all time, largely due to how beautifully it blends its puzzles with ruminations on philosophy and theology. Needless to say, I was elated when the sequel was announced late last month during PlayStation’s Showcase, and was grinning ear to ear when this new trailer gave us our first look at the gameplay. The Talos Principle is all about solving increasingly complex laser puzzles, often tasking you with working out where to move your portable reflectors to bounce the light to specific points in the environment. This sequel looks to be taking things even further, introducing new tools and a new type of laser while also giving you the ability to walk up metal walls. I really want to dive into this one, and since it’s set for a 2023 release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, I hopefully won’t have to wait too much longer.

Baby Steps

Baby Steps is about a 35-year-old man living in his parent’s basement who gets sucked into a video game and has to learn how to move forward by taking, you guessed it, baby steps. It’s created by the people responsible for Ape Out and Getting Over It and features a gameplay system that literally can be defined as a “walking simulator”. You move forward one leg at a time in a manner that looks goofy and will most assuredly be super awkward and frustrating to control. Baby Steps is scheduled to release sometime in 2024 for PC and PS5.

Human Fall Flat 2

The last game of the show was Human Fall Flat 2, a sequel to the popular physics platformer game that can either make or break friendships. It’s just a short teaser with no gameplay shown, and since no release date or window was given it might be a while before we see more.



FINAL VERDICT

Devolver Direct was incredibly short this year with only a small handful of games, but this show has almost become more about the crazy live-action skit each year than the actual games Devolver has to feature. The whole Volvy bit is hilarious and does a great job of commenting on the current trend of chasing nostalgia, but the few games shown are also solid and all look interesting in their own way.

– Zack Burrows