How a Game Initially Designed for Game Boy Color Is Competing with GTA 6

Grand Theft Auto 6 is set to drop on November 19, and it seems most studios are steering clear of that date for good reason. Who would want to go head-to-head with Rockstar’s behemoth?

Well, two games are taking the plunge: a port of The Binding of Isaac and a quirky release from Devolver Digital, known for their offbeat titles.

Doinksoft, Devolver’s in-house team, is launching a Game Boy Color-inspired 2D platformer called Volvy’s Adventure: Reslimed on PC the same day. Embracing the absurdity of the timing, the studio has made a playful announcement that had us double-checking to ensure this was indeed a legitimate game.

It is, and it wasn’t just a marketing gimmick. Doinksoft designer Britt Brady and Devolver co-founder Nigel Lowrie shared that Brady pitched the game to Devolver “well before” GTA 6 was even on the radar, sending a package that included an Analog Pocket and a custom Game Boy Color cartridge featuring a playable level of Volvy’s Adventure.

Originally prototyped for the GBC as a fun side project, the team decided it deserved a larger audience and opted to port it to PC, with plans for modern console releases down the line.

Internally, Devolver had joked about launching a game—no specific title—in tandem with GTA 6. As Volvy’s Adventure evolved into a full-fledged game, it felt fitting for their quirky mascot to take on the challenge of sharing a release date with GTA 6.

There’s a layer of unintentional irony here, as the news embargo for their game lifted right alongside several GTA 6 embargoes, resulting in Volvy’s Adventure being announced amid a flurry of GTA-related headlines.

Despite the inevitable spotlight on GTA 6, Devolver and Doinksoft are committed. “There’s no doubt GTA 6 will dominate the conversation before, during, and after November 19, but it’s not for everyone, nor is it releasing on Steam the same day. We think there’s a bit of ‘counter-programming’ that could work in Volvy’s favor.”

Volvy, the official Devolver Digital mascot, is a quirky character resembling a rat with one large hand and one small hand, serving as a parody of mainstream mascots and the trend of reviving classic characters. He’s appeared in several Devolver games, evolving from a parody into a genuine mascot, albeit one that doesn’t quite reach the fame of icons like Mario or the cult status of characters like Gex.

Volvy’s Adventure is indeed a real, retro-style 2D platformer. As Lowrie and Brady describe it: “[Volvy] is centered entirely on kinetic force, chain reactions, dynamic combos, and intense destruction. His expansive moveset naturally keeps him airborne, chaining combos that prevent him from ever needing to touch the ground. Volvy boasts a large, versatile toolkit mapped to minimal, highly intuitive inputs, allowing players to easily execute complex, momentum-based destructive sequences without battling the controls, prioritizing expression and continuous movement.”

The game features four worlds filled with levels where Volvy is on a mission to rescue his kidnapped friends from a wizard who unleashed some slime. The details are a bit fuzzy, but that seems to be part of the charm. The duo concluded, “If only we knew about the GTA 6 nudist colony, we could have included that in Volvy’s Adventure: Reslimed too.” What can you do!