The Devolver Direct has become one of the most anticipated gaming showcases in recent years, serving as both a bizarre, surreal satire of the gaming industry and a showcase for some genuinely impressive games. But this year’s presentation promised to be their biggest yet, all thanks to the return of one of gaming’s most legendary figures: Volvy. Yes, THAT Volvy. The iconic gaming mascot of the ’80s and ’90s, the staple of many a player’s youth, and the big-handed figure that redefined the gaming landscape for decades ever since their debut in Field Run, Volvy. Devolver promised a full-on Volvy reboot, and where we haven’t been covering Volvy’s presence in Devolver’s various games due to odd circumstances, we were certainly there to see Volvy’s rebirth, and any other Devolver Digital games that would be revealed alongside it.
In true Devolver fashion, the Devolver Direct began with countdowns to trailers within the countdown to the actual event (alongside plugs for merchandise, of course). It started off with a new trailer for Sludge Life 2, the sequel to Terri Vellmann and Doseone’ssurreal urban adventure,announcing both a release date of June 27 and a demo of the game - The Big Mud Sessions - being available now, covering events between the original and the new game. This was then followed bythe launch trailerforBleak Sword DX,which you should definitely check out, followed by another quick look at the adorable multiplayer co-op gameKarmaZoo,giving us a bit of a refresher on it.
Next was a unique trailer, if only because it came not from Devolver, but Good Shepherd (though Devolver is GS' parent company), that being another quick look at the upcoming Hellboy: Web of Wyrd. Then came news of a trailer paid for by Suda 51, and it revealed that Grasshopper Interactive was announcing a welcome surprise, that being Shadows of the Damned: Remastered. Yes, the cult seventh-gen action game finally gets the comeback and glow-up that it deserves, giving us the return of Garcia Hotspur, as seen in the clip. This was followed by news of a Grasshopper Direct on June 14 at 9 PM PST, and we’ll see what shows up there.
All of this, by the way, was just basically the pre-show. We haven’t even gotten to that actual Devolver Direct announcements yet! But first came a refresher on the history of Volvy (as if you didn’t know), chronicling their pop culture empire as they start out competing with titans like Gex and Bonk, before they crashed with Volvy 2.0 in the 2000s. Finally, we came to the full presentation, hosted by professional Loud Person Chris Jake and featuring Volvy creator Ronathan Trodfield as Devolver debuted Volvy’s grand reboot: Volv-E, an AI that can use generative algorithms and deep-learning techniques to instantly generate full playable games via prompts, with no actual creative process needed. It was a bold move (some one even say one that took shots at current tech trends), especially with the controversial removal of Volvy’s trademark giant hand.
The first game to be generate by Volv-E was Galvanic Games’Wizard With a Gun,returning after its debut last year with a spiffy new animated trailer, evoking a mix of fantasy and Westerns, before showing some gameplay as our characters explore an open, broken world. We got a great look at the survival sandbox gameplay, featuring a lot of creative design as players hunt for resources, craft enchanted bullets, improve your base, and you know, possibly rebuild the world and fight back evil if you have the time. The gameplay overview ended with the news that a single-player demo is available now on Steam, taking players up to the first boss and givign everyone a taste before Wizard With a Gun launches later this year for PC, PS5, and XSX.
Next up, Volv-E generated a gameplay trailer for Croteam’s The Talos Principle II, a welcome sight afterits recent unveiling.The puzzles this time around are even more complex than before, as seen with the likes of changing platforming, gravity manipulation, possible portals, and more. These puzzles come courtesy of a giant megastructure that the robot society designed to help human culture live on past extinction will explore, and in doing so, once again question the nature of everything, including the purposes of these tests, with the characters in-universe are even questioning “Why? Why all the puzzles?” Topeed off with amazing visuals, The Talos Principle II should be good mind-bender when it arrives this year for PC, XSX, and PS5.
Next up, a lucky fan helped Volv-E create Baby Steps, a walking simulator fromApe Outcreators Gabe Cuzillo and Maxi Boch and Getting Over It creator Bennett Foddy, where you control the legs of Nate, an unemployed nobody unlucky enough to be suddenly transported to a strange world. Right, just the legs, independent of the rest of the body. Yes, it is very much a literal, full-on walking simulator. Did we mention the involvement of Bennett Foddy? Because that explains quite a bit. Walk around, take nature, hike over mountains, bump into stuff (intentionally or not). The definition of being something crazy enough to work, baby Steps comes out in 2024 for the PC and PS5.
Famous gamer Skill Up then gave Volv-E the idea for a sequel to a famous game, and in an instant, Volv-E whipped up none other than Human: Fall Flat 2, a sequel to No Brakes Games’classic slapstick puzzle-platformer.The sequel will have you and up to eight friends stumbling through new levels with new mechanics, new gameplay interactions, a new engine, and even customizable characters. Unfortunately, there was no gameplay yet, just the initial announcement teaser, and no release window or platforms at the moment. Still, stay tuned to Hardcore Gamer as more details for Human: Fall Flat 2 arrive in the future.
Alas, after all of that, things took a turn for the tragic when after Volv-E was connected to Devolver’s network and became an open source tool, causing Volv-E to become a twisted monstrosity that could potentially end the world. Granted, such an incident is a tradition at the Devolver Direct, but Volv-E still ended up killing Chris, and then Ronathan Trodfield was forced to kill his own creation in order to end the madness, sadly killing off one of gaming’s most beloved icons. But Volvy will always be remembered through gamers everywhere, as well as throughthe Volvy merchandise being sold for half off on the Devolver Direct official website.For a full look at all of the insanity, you can watch the 2023 Devolver Directright here.
