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.

Olija (Review)

Developer: Thomas Olsson, Skeleton Crew Studio
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Available On: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One
Xbox One version reviewed on Xbox Series S

The hard part in writing about Olija is that I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I finished the game over the course of two afternoons and managed to mop up all of the Xbox Achievements, but despite voraciously consuming the game, I’m not convinced that it’s one I would easily recommend. Don’t get me wrong, Olija is far from a bad game, but while there are certain areas in which it excels, there’s others that left me wanting more.

Devolver Digital Showcase 2022 (Recap)

One of the highlights of the E3 season is Devolver Digital’s insane showcases, and while E3 isn’t technically happening this year, Devolver still showed up. This 25-minute show only had a handful of games, but each one looked fantastic and was wrapped up in a hilariously satirical sketch about the games industry cannibalizing itself in acquisitions. Devolver has always had these zany live-action bits in their showcases and it’s honestly one of the reasons their show typically ends up being one of my favorites every year. The full showcase can be found here, and you should totally watch it for a good laugh, but below you’ll find a curated list of every game announcement/trailer as well as my quick thoughts on each. Enjoy!