Devolverland Expo is a first-person ‘marketing simulator’ set within an abandoned convention center after the annual Devolver Digital game expo was mysteriously canceled. Basically, Devolver turned their convention promos into a game! Devolver is one of my favorite developers so I immediately knew I wanted to explore this.
Since conventions are only virtual if happening at all this year, many developers aren’t able to promote their upcoming games like usual. So what better way to find a new way to promote your games than to make it a game?
You enter the abandoned convention center that is still set up for the fictional Devolverland Expo. AI security robots are patrolling though so you have to sneak around to get to the different booths and check out the games. There are some puzzle elements to the game as well as you have to figure out how to access certain areas that are locked. You can also equip yourself with a t-shirt launcher that you can use to stun the security bots and use to solve puzzles.
Entering this game feels like a horror game, but the tension doesn’t ever cross into actual horror. The setting is what makes it seem scary but it actually isn’t. I did struggle a little bit trying to get to certain booths because it was so dark and a swarm of bots would be in my way so I couldn’t really get to look around for the entrance. I’m not used to first-person games and their controls though so that was a personal problem that didn’t help.
This is a really cool way to take advantage of the current state of the world and still promote your games. The game is free so if you have any interest in it you should definitely check it out.
How do you usually find out about new games? Let me know with a comment below.
Great article! Thanks to a plethora of indie game Youtubers, I discover games that are new to me, multiple times a day. Not to mention blogs such as yours that steer me in the right direction too.
I also find a ton of games thanks to indie game YouTubers!
I loved the Devolver Expo they did over the weekend, I found out at the very end of the stream about this concept. I’m downloading it today, and I’m stoked to see what happens. I usually find out about content through the blogosphere or twitter.
I noticed this game recently too, it’s such a novel idea!