Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books Gets a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins “Game of the Year” at 2025-2026 GDC Awards
- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- We Pitched a Museum a 1993 Game Hint Line (And They Actually Said Yes) – Yarn Spinner (2026)
- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
- Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment – Bloomberg (2025)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Author: John Scalzo
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze will surf onto the Switch in May
It looks like the rumors were true, and the newest Nintendo Direct presentation has just been unleashed upon the world. Though the video clocks in at just over 14 minutes, this “Nintendo Direct Mini” still features a treasure trove of new announcements for the Switch.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze made a big splash on the Wii U in 2014, and Nintendo has announced that it’ll also make its way to the Switch this Spring. The side-scrolling platformer will add Funky Kong as a playable character in a new “beginner-friendly mode”:
Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, and Cranky Kong return for the franchise’s debut on Nintendo Switch. This title includes all the fun and challenge of the original game, plus a new beginner-friendly mode that lets players enjoy this critically acclaimed adventure as groovy surfing simian Funky Kong. Funky Kong can double jump, hover, perform infinite rolls and even perform infinite underwater corkscrews. Thanks to his sturdy surfboard, even spikes can’t slow him down.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze will be released for the Switch on May 4.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Dark Souls Remastered will be released for the Switch on May 25
It looks like the rumors were true, and the newest Nintendo Direct presentation has just been unleashed upon the world. Though the video clocks in at just over 14 minutes, this “Nintendo Direct Mini” still features a treasure trove of new announcements for the Switch.
Nintendo, Bandai Namco, and From Software are teaming up to bring Dark Souls to the Nintendo Switch this Spring. The re-release will be known as Dark Souls Remastered, and it’ll include improved graphics, a higher framerate, and the Artorias of the Abyss expansion:
Dark Souls Remastered The first title in the genre-defining action role-playing franchise is coming to Nintendo Switch. Dark Souls Remastered includes the Artorias of the Abyss DLC, as well as improved framerate and resolution from the original Dark Souls game for an exhilarating return to Lordran. This marks the franchise’s debut on a Nintendo platform, and now for the first time ever, this revered (and challenging) game can be played on the go.
This is the first time a Dark Souls game will appear on a Nintendo platform, and Dark Souls Remastered will launch for the Switch on May 25.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Dark Souls
Albert & Otto added to Xbox Store
Albert & Otto is the lone new addition to the Xbox Games Store today, but the Xbox One game certainly has a unique hook.
Albert & Otto is a puzzle-platformer that’s set in Nazi Germany. Partnering with a magical bunny named Otto, players will attempt to reunite Albert with his missing sister. Developer Nikola Kostic also had a bit to say about Albert & Otto in a recent post on the Xbox Wire blog. According to Kostic, the game’s distinctive black-and-white style was inspired by Schindler’s List and Tim Burton’s early animated shorts. Neat.
You can read more about Albert & Otto right here:
Now Available on Xbox Games Store – 1/10/18 [Major Nelson]
Albert & Otto
Traverse a haunting world set in 1939 Germany in search of a mysterious girl with rabbit ears. Utilize a little bunny in creative ways to solve puzzles. Levitate sheep, use them as torches or wolf bait and make your way through a land that seems to not fancy you being alive. In this first installment, “The Adventure Begins,” the player is thrown headfirst into a haunting world set in 1939 Germany in search of a mysterious girl with bunny ears. The player must use both Albert and Otto in creative ways to traverse a haunting world. Together, they unlock new skills such as a double jump, levitation, control of electrical currents, and more as the story unfolds.
The Overwatch League’s inaugural season begins today
We’re just a few hours away from the very first match in the Overwatch League, the first esports league to be organized like a professional sports league.
The San Francisco Shock will take on the Los Angeles Valiant at 7:00 PM (Eastern Time) at the Blizzard Arena Los Angeles in Burbank, California. Ten other teams will compete in the inaugural season including the Boston Uprising, Dallas Fuel, Florida Mayhem, Houston Outlaws, London Spitfire, Los Angeles Gladiators, New York Excelsior, Philadelphia Fusion, San Francisco Shock, Seoul Dynasty, and Shanghai Dragons.
“The Overwatch League was created to deliver an awesome and unique experience for players, teams, and fans,” said Mike Morhaime, the CEO of Blizzard. “With 12 first-class teams representing major cities from Asia, Europe, and North America, we’re confident that the inaugural season of the league is going to redefine what people expect from esports… and be a giant celebration of the Overwatch community as a whole.”
Fans will be able to watch all Overwatch League matches on OverwatchLeague.com, Twitch, MLG.com, and the mobile apps associated with all three sites.
Overwatch players will also be able to support their favorite team when they play the shooter online. Team uniforms for all 12 Overwatch League teams are now available to purchase through the game’s online store for every character, though players will get the chance to download one uniform for free:
The Overwatch community also will have new ways to join in the fun around the league. Overwatch League team uniforms are now available to purchase as in-game skins, giving fans a fun way to show their support for their favorite teams. All players who log in between now and February 13, 2018, will receive enough League Tokens to obtain a team uniform of their choice free. Skins are available for all 12 teams, and all 26 Overwatch characters, with 50% of the revenue from every Overwatch League skin sold going toward a shared revenue pool for all league teams.
The Overwatch League’s inaugural season will run through June, with the Playoffs and Finals scheduled for July.
Activision unveils first glimpse at “The Darkest Shore,” the next Nazi Zombies chapter coming to Call of Duty: WWII
Call of Duty: WWII‘s The Resistance DLC Pack will be available to download through the PlayStation Store on January 30. In addition to three new multiplayer maps, the expansion will also include “The Darkest Shore,” a new chapter for the game’s Nazi Zombies co-op mode:
The Darkest Shore follows our heroes into the next chapter of their dangerous journey. Only days after the horrific disaster of Mittelburg, the crew has received intel that suggests Doktor Straub is on an island just north of Germany. Blanketed in fog, this island is surrounded by Nazi air and sea power – and crawling with the Undead. Marie, Drostan, Olivia, and Jefferson will need to battle all this and more to uncover the mysteries hidden within the Darkest Shore.
The gruesome and gory first trailer for “The Darkest Shore” has been embedded above. Sadly, PC and Xbox One owners will likely have to wait until late February/early March to download the expansion.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: WWII
Sony sold 5.9 million PS4 consoles during the 2017 Holiday Season
It looks like Nintendo wasn’t the only consolemaker to have a good 2017. Sony recently announced some PS4 sales numbers for the last six weeks and they’re extremely impressive.
According to internal sales estimates, Sony sold 5.9 million PS4 consoles during the six-week “Holiday Season” of November 19th through December 31st. The company added that more than 73.6 million PS4 consoles have been sold to fans across the world since its launch in 2013.
But don’t think those consoles are just collecting dust somewhere. Sony also sold 55.9 million games in retail stores and digitally through the PlayStation Store during the “Holiday Season.” And since the PS4’s launch, more than 645 million PS4 games have been sold.
“Thanks to the continued support from our fans across the globe, we are honored to announce remarkable sales during the holiday season,” said John Kodera, the President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. “PlayStation Network continues to demonstrate spectacular growth, with the number of PlayStation Plus subscribers surpassing 31.5 million, and PS Store recording its largest-ever monthly sales of content in December 2017. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to our community and our partners for helping us achieve such phenomenal milestones. We promise our unwavering commitment to bring more amazing experiences to our fans, including exclusive games and innovative network services, as PS4 continues to flourish as the best place to play.”
Sony has some big plans for 2018, and should launch a Shadow of the Colossus remake, a God of War reboot, and Insomniac’s Spider-Man in the coming months.
The Count Lucanor, Planetbase, Little Red Lie, more coming to PS Store this week
Sony is easing themselves into 2018 with another short PlayStation Store update, but players will likely be talking about a handful of new games.
Vita owners now have the chance to download The Count Lucanor, a retro-styled RPG set in a spooky castle. Planetbase is a space colonization strategy game, and it’ll be available to download for the PS4 beginning Thursday. And Little Red Lie is an adventure game for the PS4 and Vita that’s built around the little half-truths that everyone tells.
You can learn more about all of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)
Telltale will launch Episode 4 of Batman: The Enemy Within on January 23
Telltale Games has announced that Episode 4: What Ails You, the next chapter in the Batman: The Enemy Within series, will be available to download for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices on January 23. Once again, it looks like The Joker (excuse me, John Doe) is up to no good:
When the Pact puts its plan into motion, Bruce’s cover is finally blown, and as his web of lies unravels, new questions emerge: When and how will the Pact regroup? What’s truly motivating Amanda Waller and the Agency? And perhaps most importantly, how will John Doe handle the truth about his buddy Bruce? With another showdown brewing, the clown prince of crime may finally earn his crown…
History tells us that we should probably expect Telltale to release a trailer for Batman: The Enemy Within – Episode 4: What Ails You sometime next week.