One of the things that players love about Devolver Digital is the publisher's willingness to delve into the realm of weird. Perhaps the way that it showcases this feeling most effectively is with its annual Devolver Direct broadcast. Now it seems that Devolver wants to put the power of weird in the hands of its players with the surprise launch of a free game on Steam.
Devolver Direct is a broadcast that Devolver Digital puts together every year, showcasing new games that players can look forward to over the coming year. This year's show was no exception and revealed many new trailers and information for upcoming games, like Shadow Warrior 3. Couple those reveals with over-the-top skits and an overarching story between Directs, and the end result is an eye-catching and engaging press event.
It seems that this year, however, Devolver Digital wants to take that engagement to the next level. The last game that was revealed as part of this year's Devolver Direct is called Devolverland Expo, which it describes as "a first-person 'marketing simulator' set within an abandoned convention center after the annual Devolver Digital game expo was mysteriously canceled." It went on to then announce that the game is free and available now on Steam.
From the trailer, players can see that they will be exploring not only the convention center itself but multiple booth-like areas that have been themed to look like many of Devolver's upcoming games. These areas not only bring different graphical styles and enemies to the table but give players an opportunity to watch trailers for the games as well. Some of the games that can be spotted from the trailer include Shadow Warrior 3, Carrion, and Serious Sam 4.
As interesting as this all sounds, Devolver Digital is not the first to create a weird, marketing-inspired game like this. Back in 2017, KFC released the KFC VR Training Game which employees would use to train for their jobs. The weird part, however, came when the "training" suddenly turned into a Saw-like puzzle game. There hasn't been any word on if players should expect a similar twist with Devolverland Expo, however, with Devolver Digital it's usually safe to say that nothing is off of the table.
Devolverland Expo is available now for free on Steam