We all know when GTA 6 is releasing because there are zero games releasing in November apart from it. Or, that would be true, if Devolver Digital weren’t the miscreants they love to be. They’ve been saying for a while now that they’ll be releasing a game come hell or highwater, day and date with GTA 6, and that’s exactly what they’re doing with Volvy’s Adventure: Reslimed, a real game but fictitious remaster of an unreleased action platformer based on the publisher’s fake/very real mascot.

And look, here’s the thing: anybody could release a game the same day as GTA 6, and I’m sure others will be trying the same to cash in on the same comedy points Devolver are after. But Volvy actually looks pretty good! On the surface it looks like a kind of Frankensteinian fusion of the likes of any 2D Sonic, Wario: Master of Disguise and Donkey Kong. Volvy can run, he can float, he can stomp, he can punch, he can dig, all in ways that look satisfying to navigate its colourful pixel art locales. It also sounds short and sweet too, only taking place across four worlds, and costing less than a fiver. Lovely!

Interestingly enough, as shared by Kotaku, the game was originally made as a marketing stunt, designed to be played on a Game Boy Color. Britt Brady, a designer at Doinsoft, the studio behind the game, and Devolver co-founder/marketing lead Nigel Lowrie explained that the former had pitched the game prior to the GTA 6 joke. Brady did so in a manner suitably cheeky for the publisher too, sending Devolver headquarters an Analog Pocket with a GBC cartridge that featured a playable level of Volvy’s Adventure.

Ultimately, Doinksoft decided they wanted the game to have a wider release, which is why it’s now coming to PC. While this was going on, that whole bit about releasing a game the same day as GTA 6 no matter what it was continued to grow, with Brady and Lowrie explaining, “As time went by and as it became clear that Volvy was destined to become a proper game, it felt inevitable that the world’s greatest gaming mascot should be the chosen one to face off with GTA 6.”

Volvy does have one advantage over GTA 6 right now though: Rockstar’s game isn’t coming to PC just yet. “There is no doubt GTA 6 will have the spotlight before, during and after November 19 but it’s not for everyone, or releasing on Steam the same day, so we figure there’s a bit of ‘counter-programming’ that may work in Volvy’s favor.” So, fob off a shinier version of a game you’ve played before, and give a faux cult-classic a go instead. You can wishlist Volvy’s Adventure: Reslimed on Steam ahead of its release on November 19th.