Devolverland Expo is one of those games where I think the idea is more interesting than the actual gameplay, but I still had a good time with it. I am dropped into an abandoned convention centre after a fictional Devolver Digital expo has been cancelled, and my job is basically to sneak inside and find out what happened. Instead of just watching a collection of trailers from a menu, I am actually walking through the empty expo and finding the videos and secrets myself. It is a weird concept, but it works surprisingly well as a small free experience.
The convention centre is easily my favourite part. Each area is designed around a different game, so I get to walk through themed booths and see how much detail has gone into making the expo feel like a real event that was suddenly abandoned. There are posters, displays, decorations and plenty of things to look at while I explore. I like the atmosphere because there is something slightly creepy about walking through a huge empty convention centre that should normally be packed with people.
There is more to do than simply walking around and watching trailers too. I have to avoid security systems, deal with drones and use a t shirt launcher as my main weapon. There are also hidden collectibles and secrets to find, along with a few small puzzles and challenges. I like these parts because they give me an actual reason to explore instead of making the whole thing feel like a video player disguised as a game. The shooting is obviously very basic, but it adds enough interaction to keep the experience moving.
The biggest problem is that the gameplay is not especially deep. Once I understand that I am exploring the convention, finding videos and avoiding security, there is not much more to learn. The stealth sections can be simple, and the combat is more of a novelty than something I would want to build a whole game around. There is also a boss encounter towards the end, but I do not think it is strong enough to suddenly turn Devolverland Expo into a proper action game. For me, the exploration and strange setting are doing most of the work.
The trailers are also a strange part of the experience because they are technically the main reason the game exists, but they are not really gameplay. I can discover trailers and demo videos for other Devolver games as I move around the expo, and some of the booths are more interesting to me than others. I appreciate the way the game presents them because it makes the marketing feel like part of the world instead of simply interrupting me with advertisements. At the same time, once I have seen everything, there is not much reason to return unless I want to collect everything or replay the experience.
I think the length is actually appropriate for what this is. It is a short game and I can get through the main experience without making a huge commitment, but I do not think adding several more hours would necessarily have made it better. The whole point is the novelty of exploring a cancelled game expo, and I would rather have a short idea that stays interesting than a longer version padded with repetitive tasks. The fact that it is completely free also makes the limited gameplay much easier for me to accept.
Overall, Devolverland Expo is a clever experiment that I enjoyed more for its atmosphere and concept than its mechanics. I like exploring the abandoned convention centre, finding hidden secrets, avoiding security and discovering the different themed areas. The gameplay is basic, the combat is mostly there to add some interaction and there is not much reason to replay it once I have seen everything. Still, it is free, unusual and genuinely feels like somebody tried to turn a game showcase into an actual playable place instead of just putting trailers on a website. For me, that makes it worth experiencing even if I would not call it a deep game.
Rating: 7.8/10
