The Best Games Published By Devolver Digital

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When it comes to indie game publishers, few names are as well-known as Devolver Digital. From its beginning as stewards of the Serious Sam franchise to then breaking on the scene with Hotline Miami and beyond, the Devolver name is one that has become synonymous with quality indie titles. Seeing that a new, upcoming game is being published by Devolver Digital is almost tantamount to it receiving a gold seal of approval for being a quality game, as the publisher’s misses are few and far between. Very few publishers, indie or otherwise, have the kind of track record that Devolver Digital has. Throw in the generally positive perception that most developers have about Devolver after working with them, and you have a studio that’s one of the few names you can almost implicitly trust in the games industry. So, knowing that, it’s time to take a look at the best games to come from Devolver Digital throughout the years.

Hotline Miami

• Release Date — October 23, 2012
• Developer — Dennaton Games
• Genre — Shooter
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 97% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

The first few years that Devolver was around were mostly focused on bringing the Serious Sam games to modern platforms while also helping to revitalize developer Croteam, but it would be the 2012 indie breakout hit Hotline Miami that would put the publisher on most players’ radars. Aside from being one of the small handful of indie games responsible for the rise of the format in the 2010s, Hotline Miami is just a great action game that was poised to become a hit from its mix of fast, satisfying gameplay, pixel art visuals, and a banger of a soundtrack — all elements that have almost come to define indie games since its release. Were it not for Hotline Miami, who knows where Devolver might be today?

The Talos Principle

• Release Date — December 11, 2014
• Developer — Croteam
• Genre — Puzzle
• Review Aggregate Score — 88% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 95% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

The success of Hotline Miami would help Devolver shore up its business to start putting some real push behind newer, more experimental titles, and one of the first was the new game from Serious Sam developer Croteam. But rather than a high-octane “monster closet” FPS like the Serious Sam titles, Croteam’s first original game for Devolver was the excellent The Talos Principle; an atmospheric, moody, and thought-provoking puzzle game with some incredibly ingenious solutions to its conundrums and truly impressive visuals. Like Hotline Miami before it, the success of The Talos Principle would help to influence plenty of other indie devs to put their own spin on the first-person puzzler.

Enter the Gungeon

• Release Date — April 5, 2016
• Developer — Dodge Roll
• Genre — Action Roguelike, Shooter
• Review Aggregate Score — 82% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 95% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

The next groundbreaking hit to come from Devolver Digital was Enter the Gungeon, which is one of a small handful of titles responsible for kicking off the modern action roguelike craze. Enter the Gungeon is practically a perfect game — it’s easy for anyone to pick up and play, but difficult to master, it’s cheap, it’s fun, and it features some unforgettable visuals and music. Enter the Gungeon would prove to be so successful that developer Dodge Roll was able to take its time working on a sequel, which was just revealed earlier this year and is set to release in 2026. It’s a safe bet it’ll end up being one of the best games published by Devolver Digital, too.

The Messenger

• Release Date — August 30, 2018
• Developer — Sabotage
• Genre — Action Platformer, Metroidvania
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 93% (Very Positive)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

Sabotage’s The Messenger is another one of the greatest indie games of all time, a near-perfect blend of Ninja Gaiden-style action platforming in its first half before switching gears to a 16-bit Metroidvania in its second. Devolver struck gold by publishing The Messenger, helping to kick off an ongoing renaissance of both action-platformers and more nonlinear Metroidvanias, all while delivering yet another retro-inspired indie with incredible pixel art visuals and an amazing soundtrack. And, were it not for the success of The Messenger, we might never have gotten Sabotage’s next game, the incredible Sea of Stars.

Katana ZERO

• Release Date — April 18, 2019
• Developer — Askiisoft
• Genre — Action Platformer, Hack and Slash
• Review Aggregate Score — 83% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 98% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

Developer Askiisoft had previously made some smaller titles using Game Maker Studio, but for its first full game, it made the smart decision to partner with a publisher that could bring its vision to the widest possible audience. That game was Katana ZERO, and the publisher was — who else — Devolver Digital. The time-bending, narrative-driven action of Katana ZERO is second-to-none when stacked up against other similar indie titles, and it still stands out as one of the best action games that Devolver has ever published more than 6 years since its initial release. It’s a short game, but Katana ZERO packs more thrills per minute in its runtime than most AA or AAA titles could ever hope to.

Death’s Door

• Release Date — July 20, 2021
• Developer — Acid Nerve
• Genre — Metroidvania, Soulslike
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 93% (Very Positive)
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Despite the fact that Devolver helped inspire the ongoing Metroidvania renaissance by publishing The Messenger, the number of other Metroidvanias that the studio has chosen to publish is surprisingly small. One of the rare exceptions is Death’s Door. It might not be a “pure” Metroidvania since it toes the line of being a Zelda-like, but Death’s Door is close enough to count and also happens to be one of the best action-adventure games of the last few years. Death’s Door has some excellent, Soulslike-inspired combat, interesting environmental design, and a surprising amount of humor and charm that come through in its story. It’s always one of my first recommendations for players looking for great indie games.

Inscryption

• Release Date — October 19, 2021
• Developer — Daniel Mullins Games
• Genre — Adventure, Card-Battler, Horror
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 96% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Daniel Mullins’ Inscryption is one of those games where the less you know about it going in, the better. That said, what just about everyone knows about Inscryption is that it’s arguably one of the greatest indie games of the last few years and a genre-bending experience that defies classification. In other words, a perfect title for Devolver Digital to publish. Devolver has a knack for selecting critically acclaimed and award-winning titles to prop up and release, and Inscryption is one of the few to receive several end-of-year awards nominations and wins for its one-of-a-kind blend of deckbuilding card-battler and survival horror.

Cult of the Lamb

• Release Date — August 11, 2022
• Developer — Massive Monster
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Action Roguelike, Survival
• Review Aggregate Score — 82% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 95% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Lots of Devolver Digital games are successful, but few can come close to the heights reached by Cult of the Lamb. To date, Cult of the Lamb is Devolver’s most commercially successful title, netting a reported $90 million in sales. Aside from its success, though, Cult of the Lamb is a great action roguelike that blends Zelda-style dungeon exploration and combat with a hilariously dark and morbid cultist simulator where cruelty, violence, and absurdity aren’t just part of the game; they’re the whole point.

Return to Monkey Island

• Release Date — September 19, 2022
• Developer — Terrible Toybox
• Genre — Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 91% (Very Positive)
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S

Similar to how Devolver’s success helped pave the way for Serious Sam developer Croteam to make a hard-left pivot into puzzle game territory with its new IP The Talos Principle, the publisher’s sterling track record made it the perfect launchpad for bringing the world something most of us never thought we’d get: a sequel to Escape From Monkey Island. In the long gap between the fourth Monkey Island game and the fifth, point-and-click adventure titles had a major comeback thanks to indie devs and publishers, making Devolver Digital the perfect partner to publish the return of one of the genre’s all-time greats. In terms of its puzzles, writing, and humor, Return to Monkey Island proves that creator Ron Gilbert never skipped a beat.

Neva

• Release Date — October 15, 2024
• Developer — Nomada Studio
• Genre — Adventure, Puzzle Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 94% (Very Positive)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S

After having initially wowed audiences with the deeply introspective and moving puzzle game Gris (another Devolver Digital title that could easily have gone on this list), Nomada Studio came back with a vengeance last year with Neva. Neva switches up gameplay styles to be more of an adventure game along with its fair share of puzzles, but it’s still a visually striking and emotionally affecting game just like Gris, maybe even more so.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©CheatCC/Matt Karoglou.

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