devolverdigital
Latest
A tour of Devolver's E3 anti-booth
Devolver Digital sees itself as the punk rockstar of video-game publishing. Although it's never officially had a booth at E3, it has done the conference equivalent of sneaking round the back, setting up shop in a parking lot opposite the Los Angeles Convention Center and next to a Hooters. After our day on the actual show floor, the Engadget E3 crew descended on Devolver's lot to check out what the publisher had to offer.
The pulsing 'Hotline Miami' soundtrack gets physical
Hotline Miami and its sequel Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number have two of the best soundtracks in all of gaming. But for whatever reason, until now there hasn't been a way to get a physical version of the first game's pulsing, futuristic score. As of this writing though, over a thousand people have pledged $75,033 on Kickstarter to change that.
Cast your vote for March's free PlayStation 4 indie game
With the Iowa caucuses behind us, it's understandable if you want to make your voice heard again before this November. Well, PlayStation has your back because Vote to Play is making a return. Starting February 9th, you can once again vote for which of three indie game candidates will be a free PS Plus download for March. The program's been on hiatus since August for whatever reason, but this month's crop looks pretty solid.
Video game tie-ins shouldn't feel 'cheap'
It used to be that if you loved a video game, your options for showing it beyond buying the cartridge or disc were pretty limited. Now there's a whole cottage industry for gaming fandom. Want a rad vinyl soundtrack for a hyper-violent indie game? Say no more. How about an evocative statue showcasing the duality of a game's strong, female protagonist? You're covered there, too.But for every one of the former, there were seemingly a dozen tasteless cash-ins. When these brand extensions are done right, we wind up with heartfelt keepsakes or ways to keep a game in our lives while we're away from the controller. But when a company blows it, you get crap like tacky game-branded mini-fridges.
'Hotline Miami' sale benefits the artists behind those wild soundtracks
Hotline Miami and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number are both dense, addictive and brutal -- and a lot of those adjectives come courtesy of the games' soundtracks. In recognition of this musical magnificence, Dennaton Games is holding a sale this weekend that benefits the aural artists responsible for both Hotline Miami soundtracks. Hotline Miami 2 is 40 percent off ($9) and Hotline Miami is 75 percent off ($2.50), and 100 percent of the proceeds during this sale go directly to the games' musicians. The combo pack, offering both games, is just $11 during the sale, and both soundtracks are discounted as well: 75 percent off for Hotline Miami's ($2.50) and 40 percent off for the sequel's ($9). The sale is live now through Monday at 10AM PT. If you've never heard the Hotline Miami soundtracks (Seriously, what are you doing with your life?), listen to a few songs below.
Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck on his first video game soundtrack
Robin Finck's slow entry into the video game industry began, as he puts it, "a hundred years ago." Around that time, Finck -- best known as the guitarist for Nine Inch Nails -- ran into Devolver Digital co-founder Mike Wilson in a fairly unconventional place. "Mike Wilson and I camped adjacent one another at Burning Man," Finck explains. "I think he was dressed in shades and a flag and not much more, save the dust."
'Dropsy' the clown wants to hug everything in the world, starting today
Dropsy looks like the kind of game that will produce one of two responses from anyone who plays it: People who like clowns will finish Dropsy huddled in a corner, terrified of circuses, suspenders and bright red lips for the rest of their lives. People who despise clowns will finish Dropsy with a new-found appreciation for the humanity behind the face paint.
JXE Streams: A piece of puzzle pie in 'The Talos Principle' DLC
There's nothing about pies in The Talos Principle. We're probably just hungry. Either way, today we jump into The Road to Gehenna, a bit of DLC for The Talos Principle that features brand new puzzles, a fresh storyline and (most likely) philosophical questions about the meaning of life, humanity and the technological singularity. We're going deep, people. The Talos Principle is a truly incredible game, blending a rich story of gods and robots with mind-bending spatial puzzles in a gorgeous 3D environment. Join us at 5PM ET (2PM PT) on Twitch.tv/Joystiq, the Engadget Gaming homepage, or right here in this post. And, please, try not to laugh too hard when it takes forever to figure out some of these riddles. We can't all be puzzle gods.
'Dropsy' the clown threatens to hug you in September
Dropsy, a new game from publisher Devolver Digital, is a pixelated acid trip disguised as a point-and-click adventure. It's stars a bald, nearly toothless clown covered in thick white face paint, bright red lipstick, too-small suspenders and high-water pants, who wanders around giving people hugs and going on adventures. It's a non-linear game emphasizing exploration and bright, oozing colors. Yeah, terrifying.
Your favorite pigeon-dating simulator hits PS4, Vita in July
Hatoful Boyfriend, the best game about a human dating birds in a creepy post-apocalyptic world, is coming to PlayStation 4 and Vita on July 21st. The PC version launched on Steam in September to critical acclaim and public bewilderment -- and then some public acclaim, too. Hatoful Boyfriend literally is a video game about a human girl navigating high school life in a world run by birds, though after the dating aspect of the game fizzles out, the story gets dense and fairly dark.
'The Talos Principle: Road to Ghenna' promises more robotic philosophy
Haunting. Creative. Beautiful. Intelligent--these are the words we used to describe The Talos Principle and its narrative-driven first-person puzzles. It's a charming, well-written game that gently convinces the player to question the very nature of consciousness. If you liked it, you're about to get more of it--Croteam and Devolver Digital recently announced The Talos Principle: Road to Gehenna, the game's first episodic expansion pack.
'Sailor Moon' in a post-apocalyptic pigeon-dating simulator
Hatoful Boyfriend is a pigeon-dating simulator. You read that correctly and, yes, it means exactly what it sounds like. However, Hatoful Boyfriend is also much more than a pigeon-dating simulator: It's a dark tale of science experiments gone awry and a formerly human world now run by birds. In Hatoful Boyfriend -- released on Steam in September and on its way to PlayStation 4 and Vita this year -- you play as a young (human) woman and uncover truly terrifying things about this strange new avian world. Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star is a new game in the same pigeon-dating universe, due to hit PS4, Vita and PC this fall. As Mediatonic Producer Luke Borrett explains direct from E3 2015, Holiday Star features even wackier stories, including scenes reminiscent of Sailor Moon, a trip to a manga convention and birds in tanks. Watch a portion of our interview with Borrett below.
'Shadow Warrior 2' hits PC, PS4, Xbox One in 2016
The cult classic PC shooter/slasher Shadow Warrior got an over-the-top revamp not long ago and now a sequel is en route from the fine folks at Flying Wild Hog and Devolver Digital. Protagonist Lo Wang isn't alone again in Shadow Warrior 2 -- he's bringing four-player co-op with him to PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One next year. Over on the PlayStation Blog, Devolver CFO Fork Parker says that the game's environments are procedurally generated (think Minecraft or No Man's Sky) and that five years after the first game's events, humans and demons are living side-by-side. That's a bit crazier than dogs and cats cohabitating, if you ask me.
JXE Streams: Acid Nerve teaches us how to topple 'Titan Souls'
Welcome to the new masochism! For a decade now, games have held our hands and walked us patiently through their soft hallways. Playing BioShock Infinite? Try easy mode, darling. Rollicking your way through New Super Mario Bros. U? Fail too many times and the game will play itself. No more! The new breed of punishers like Bloodborne have brought out the gleeful self-flagellator in everyone. Acid Nerve's Titan Souls is another banner carrier for the new masochism. Don't let its old-school adventure, Zelda-meets-Shadow of the Colossus facade fool you; this is one tough cookie. That's why we're having Acid Nerve, its creators, come on to JXE Streams to teach us how to play.
JXE Streams: 'Hotline Miami 2' creators discuss its neon violence
Hotline Miami makes you feel things that you don't want to feel. It shows you a veritable smorgasbord of ugly -- from its jagged artwork to its stomach churning cartoon violence -- and somehow makes you love it. Which is precisely the point. Dennis Wedin and Jonatan Söderström, the duo comprising Hotline Miami studio Dennaton Games, returned to their signature world of psychosis, brutality, and '80s flash this March with Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. The sequel puts even more emphasis on story and character, which makes its ugliness even more affecting. We'll discuss that and more with the studio during today's two-hour stream of the game.
