It’s such a thrill to see major companies create a game, seemingly “taking the mickey”or make fun of themselves in a good way. Ubisoft did it with their game Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon, Rare did it with their raunchy adult take on a lovable creature Conkers Bad Fur Day & THQ had their mayhem ensuing onslaught with Saints Row. All of the previously mentioned games take their genre aspect and blow it out of the water, usually by providing either ridiculous graphics and/or characters.

Having come off the massive wave that was E3 2019, our favourite indie company Devolver Digital, (creators of ‘Gods Will Be Watching’, ‘Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number’, ‘Broforce’, ‘Katana ZERO’ & most recently ‘Gato Roboto’) announced that they were releasing a huge parody game, making fun of all their current work!
Ladies and Gents, we give you the review of Devolver Bootleg!

STORY

According to their Steam product page, Devolver Bootleg “contains eight original rip-offs of Devolver Digital games. Pay money for it now.” Hilarious! The game parodies 8 current releases of Devolver Digital, giving them a knock off/retro 8-bit make over.
The eight games retrofied are:

1) Enter the Gun Dungeon (original game: Enter the Gungeon)
2) Hotline Milwaukee (original game: Hotline Miami)
3) Ape Out Jr (original game: Ape Out)
4) Shootyboots (original game: Downwell)
5) Luftrousers 3 (original game: Luftrausers)
6) Super Absolver Mini: Turbo Fighting Championship (original game: Absolver)
7) Cat Game/Catsylvania (original game: Gato Roboto)
8) Pikuniku Ball-Stars (original game: Pikuniku)

GAMEPLAY + CONTROLS

Devolver Bootleg gameplay is made up for a similar control scheme each game. All 8 of the available games are 8-bit rip offs of their A+ list originals, therefore most of the games react on a slower, yet manageable pace. This is not a negative, as it’s clearly done on purpose. This also allows for an addictive replay-value, giving of a nostalgic ‘I swear I can beat this level if I try once more’ vibe.

The bootlegs mock the original gaming scripts and moments too, providing an additional comedic level-sense that only certain developers have had the integrity to go to. Playing the originals and catching on to these moments make the game that much more enjoyable to undertake.

The brilliant thing about providing ‘bootleg’ versions is that in a weird way, it makes you want to play and re-live the original games! Having just recently reviewed Gato Roboto here at MKAU Gaming, playing ‘Cat Game’ after Gato Roboto really makes you enjoy the bootleg that much more!

GRAPHICS + SOUND

Stripping down the graphics and generating the game to run in an 8-bit bootleg vibe really does this game wonders. Providing a throwback to the 80s era of gaming, whilst making fun of their own successfully indies titles really goes to show just how confident and successfully both the company, and how wonderful the concept, has paid off.

The sound may be crowned the king coming out of this bootleg kingdom. From the start up of the menu, to the movement of characters, using of weapons and on screen reactions have all be encapsulated in a midi-tone / 8-bit soundtrack and all are extremely well executed.

CONCLUSION

Devolver Bootleg is a fun, parody version of 8 of their original independent titles. Devolver Digital have done an impressive job on making fun of themselves, whilst providing a wide assortment of games!

Written by: Brutaleo