Devolver Digital is a brash, devil may care publisher of indie titles, and this reputation has bled out into the real world as they have pulled some antics which has rubbed the ESA (the group responsible for E3) the wrong way this include hosting a non-sanctioned event across the street from the LA Convention Center during E3 festivities. Not content with taking the ESA down a peg, their recent target appears to be the bloated press conferences that publishers have been subjecting to the public. Starting in 2017, Devolver hosted its own pre-recorded affair where they attempt to lambast industry trends as well as showcase a few of their upcoming titles. Will it be funny? Will the games be good? Let?s find out.
Devolver Digital – Big Fancy Press Conference 2018:
The stream opens with montage of last year affair, a montage of the bloody female ?executive? screaming about the future of video games before we are treated to fancy Devolver Digital logo treated. We are shown an exterior shot of the ?Dave Lang Memorial Convention Center? where the festivities will take place. The very new and very permanent CEO of Devolver, Cinco Miller is introduced and enters the stage. Rapid cuts of the stage and the ?crowd? is shown. Miller then goes for about half a minute for just jargon and business buzzwords before announcing that Devolver is entering the battle royale space. Before Miller can further elaborate, a figure rises from behind him and snaps his neck. It?s Nina Struthers, the female executive from last year?s conference, apparently surviving having her mind blown (quite literally). Struthers takes jabs at gaming press conferences as a whole, addresses feedback regarding last years Devolver conference and how it failed to showcase enough titles. So to correct that, Struthers presents SCUM, which dubbed as a supermax open world survival game. Struthers exclaims it will be a great title despite that she does not play any of this garbage. A trailer is shown briefly detailing changes in season 2, ending with the reveal that zombies will probably be in the title. SCUM will be entering Early Access on PC August 2018
A bit that runs way too long about how Devolver jumping into the world of lootboxes and cryptocurrencies leads to the reveal that the actual product Lootboxcoin. It?s a 3D printed token whose price will fluctuate randomly that doesn?t do anything. Being curious I visited the site flashed on the screen (lootboxcoin.com) and was mildly amused to find that they were not kidding. Several refreshes showed the priced did jump around, although only in the upward direction. The next title in the showcase My Friend Pedro is introduced before a skit about the pronunciation of ?Gif? breaks out and we are treated to a trailer after the discussion is resolved in the typical violent Devolver . A masked figure is firing two guns as he is pirouetting while an Antonio Banderas sound alike laments while it has a disdain for violence, but will make an exception for bad guys (I should probably mention the voice came from a talking banana). Classical music breaks out as we are treated to a clips of masked man gracefully killing a bunch of assailants, leaping over tables, bounding over ledges. Bullet time, explosions, environmental kills are shown. The title is then confirmed for the Switch and PC coming in 2019.
This next segment lambasts the mini console as they reveal their own mini console. The Devolver Digital Entertainment System Classic is shown, not before it is debunked by executive?s son Jeffery who reveals that?s it?s just a repainted Dreamcast with a disc in it?s tray which is not even a Devolver game title. Perturbed by the ruse being revealed, Jeffery is beaten as the female executive preps for the final announcement of the night. Struthers spins a tale dating back to 2004, where japanese developer From Software unwittingly released a title which foresaw the current american political landscape. Struthers whips herself into a frenzy as she announces…Metal Wolf Chaos. An audience member explodes from the revelation and we are treated to a teaser trailer. Visually remastered, but retaining its original voice acting. The title now rebranded Metal Wolf Chaos XD will be landing on xbox one, PS4, and PC later this year. They also managed to snag the website mechamericagreatagain.com. A show ends where Struthers is gunned down implying she will be rebuilt…Robocop style.
Author?s Take
Comedy is subjective and boy does most of Devolver?s skits fall flat with me. Setting aside what a humorless sod I am, their game offerings were extremely interesting. SCUM is a survival title where you control a convict trying to survival a deranged tv show, it?s evokes the movie Running Man. I ended up doing a little external reading and the game features some very interesting systems such as wetness which affects weight and energy consumption. The team at Gamepires also share that cheeky humor that devolver does and they look like they have a solid product on hand for those that enjoy hardcore survival titles. My Friend Pedro is a side scroller where you use the two guns in your hand to gun down anything in your way. You can do this while looking badass as the playable character seems to be a master of parkour and all that fun cirque du soleil skills. The biggest question now is how does the talking banana fit into this picture. Finally the 3rd title was probably the only reason I stayed up late to watch their showcase. As they stated this was a game that garnered a cult following on the internet despite never being released on the internet. I?ve heard rumors that other companies have tried to bring it to America (most notably Vic Ireland of Working Designs fame), but Devolver pulled it off. Upgraded visually and localized, Metal Wolf Chaos is finally making it to the shores of the country it satirically depicts, and I for one have never been happier (even if it means the price for the original copy drops…a game which I paid over 250 dollars for a sealed copy). My only hope is the hard metal soundtrack stays relatively intact as it got no play during the reveal trailer. Since their presser was extremely short it left me wondering what is the status of some of the other titles they?ve announced in the past, the biggest ones being Ape Out as well as the newest entry in the Serious Sam series. Overall I will say I was extremely satisfied with the products they announced, even if I had very little affinity for their antics (Although lootboxcoin being a real thing you can blow your money all did generate a smile out of me).
See an assortment of media from the titles that Devolver Digital presented during their Big Fancy Press Conference, below.
Metal Wolf Chaos XD:
My Friend Pedro:
Serious Sam 4:
SCUM:
