Devolver Digital: The Actual Gamer Uprising

Jakob Johns | Misfit Media Columnist

Out there, in the terrible over-monetised open-world we call our planet, there’s a perpetual stream of artists that go their entire lives without ever being recognised. This stream is fairly often fished from by larger companies that seek their talents for large projects, only to file their passion down with crunch times and bad pay. The Activisions, the Rockstars, the EAS, and so on. The guys that need scores of tired artists to perfectly render horse balls for biannual franchise milking.

But, over yonder, there’s a company that sets an important precedent. I’m not going to jack them off to completion, because nobody’s perfect, but I wholeheartedly believe that the aptly named Devolver Digital is setting an important example for the gaming industry. You could consider them the A24 of gaming: they pluck choice artists from the aforementioned stream of brilliance and… let them do whatever they want (within reason). Then they publish their game, and market it as it is.

Ain’t it grand.

After a string of remasters for the Serious Sam series, their big breakout hit was the colourfully indecent title Hotline Miami – a game you’ve probably either played or watched someone be tortured by. This lucky grab thrust them onto the scene and allowed them to serve as a middleman between artists on the bottom and the fame on top. Since Hotline Miami, they’ve published gems like Enter the Gungeon, Reigns, and Sub Rosa – the latter of which was recently pulled from early access. 

Their catalogue is almost entirely filled with quirky low-spec games made by passionate creators that never might have had a launchpad otherwise. Just look at Hotline Miami – an incredibly difficult top-down shooter, peppered with scenes of the protagonist losing his mind and talking to ghosts in animal masks. Without Devolver, there’s a good-to-fair chance the game wouldn’t exist. The same goes for games like Gungeon (although, Americans would probably love that one) and Sub Rosa, a uniquely fast-paced 80s action-business simulator.

There’s a reason I want you to be aware of Devolver’s existence. They’re not the most important company in the world or anything, but they do something of incredible value to people like you and I; they give us a hand. The little people at the bottom that can’t get anywhere in this ridiculous gated community. Just like the film equivalent, A24, they let artists express themselves without choking their creativity, and that is the most important thing in the world to me. And I want it to matter to more people.

If you haven’t taken a look at Devolver’s whole catalogue before, you might as well take a look. You’ve probably accidentally played one or more of their games already. And, if you have any, go give your fellow indie dev friends a hug and support them too. There aren’t many Devolver-type companies out there, so there’s a good chance they’ll drown in a digital ocean of wasted talent. 

Meanwhile, look forward to the next COD I suppose.

(PS: Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is actually banned down here for us. If that doesn’t make it more alluring for you, I don’t know what will.)