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
New Retail Releases: Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, Lego Marvel Collection, More
It looks like another handful of new games will make their way to retail establishments this week…
Ubisoft is shifting the locale of The Division from New York City to Washington D.C. in Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, which will launch this week for the PS4 and Xbox One (and as a digital download for the PC). Players will march into a “post-pandemic Washington D.C.” and fight to restore order and prevent the collapse of the city in online co-op or competitive PvP.
Players looking to upgrade to a new Xbox One console will also be able to pick an upgraded version of Microsoft’s machine and the game in a Xbox One X 1TB + Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 Bundle or a Xbox One S 1TB + Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 Bundle.
A different type of group-play will be available in WB Games’s new Lego Marvel Collection for the PS4 and Xbox One. The package will bundle together Lego Marvel Super Heroes, Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2, and Lego Avengers, as well as all previously-released downloadable content for all three games.
A variety of other games will appear elsewhere on store shelves this week. Bandai Namco will bring the anime-inspired One Piece: World Seeker to the PS4 and Xbox One. NIS America will expand and enhance the turn-based RPG The Caligula Effect: Overdose for the PS4 and Switch. Outright Games will team up with Nickelodeon to release Paw Patrol: On A Roll for the Switch. Rising Star Games will release cel-shaded FPS Rico for the PS4 and Switch. And THQ Nordic will update MX Vs ATV: All Out – Anniversary Edition for the PS4 and Xbox One.
That’s it for this week’s New Retail Releases report.
Posted in News, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Lego Avengers, Lego Marvel Super Heroes, Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2, Tom Clancy's The Division 2
Cassie Cage makes her proper debut in a new Mortal Kombat 11 trailer
Fresh off the heels of a Story Trailer that reintroduced Erron Black, Jacqui Briggs, and Cassie Cage to the Mortal Kombat mythos, NetherRealm Studios has uploaded a new Reveal Trailer for Mortal Kombat 11 focusing solely on Johnny and Sonya’s daughter.
Accompanied by a Battle Drone (and a pair of fully-loaded pistols), Cassie delivers a beating to Kano that includes a Shadow Kick, a Split Punch, and an absolutely insane new Fatality.
Mortal Kombat 11 will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on April 23.
Nintendo will bring family-friendly virtual reality to Switch in April with Nintendo Labo: VR Kit
It looks like Switch owners will get their first taste of virtual reality later this Spring when Nintendo launches the Nintendo Labo: VR Kit.
Rather than a traditional VR headset, Nintendo Labo: VR Kit will feature a new set of cardboard contraptions that fold into six different Toy-Con projects. The Toy-Con VR Goggles is the highlight of the package, but players will also be able to play with a Toy-Con Blaster, Toy-Con Camera, Toy-Con Bird, Toy-Con Wind Pedal, and Toy-Con Elephant. An included Screen Holder and Safety Cap will keep all the pieces in place.
According to Nintendo, these Toy-Con projects will offer players a family-friendly window into virtual reality:
Nintendo Labo: VR Kit offers six new Toy-Con creations to build, including the Toy-Con VR Goggles, which combine with the other creations to allow players to interact with the virtual world through imaginative real-world actions. Fend off an alien invasion with the Toy-Con Blaster, visit a colorful in-game ocean and snap photos of the sea life with the Toy-Con Camera and so much more.
Nintendo Labo: VR Kit encourages passing around the Toy-Con creations among a group of people so everyone in the room can easily join in on the fun. To help encourage this social gameplay, players simply slip the Nintendo Switch console into the Toy-Con VR Goggles and hold it up to their eyes to explore numerous games and experiences – no head strap needed.
The Nintendo Labo: VR Kit will be priced at $79.99, but Nintendo is also planning to offer a lower-cost option for players who aren’t interested in purchasing the full package. This “Starter Set + Blaster” bundle will be priced at $39.99, and it’ll include the Screen Holder and Safety Cap, as well as building materials for the Toy-Con VR Goggles and the Toy-Con Blaster.
The remaining four Toy-Con projects from the VR Kit will be available through Nintendo.com as “Expansion Set 1” (Toy-Con Elephant and Toy-Con Camera) and “Expansion Set 2” (Toy-Con Wind Pedal and Toy-Con Bird) for $19.99 apiece.
Nintendo Labo: VR Kit will released on April 12.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Nintendo Labo: VR Kit
Nintendo will add Kid Icarus and StarTropics to Switch Online’s NES library on March 13
Nintendo will add two of the most underappreciated games to ever grace the NES to the Nintendo Switch Online’s NIntendo Entertainment System app on March 13.
Kid Icarus is one of Nintendo’s earliest platformers that didn’t star a certain mustachioed plumber, while StarTropics is an island-hopping adventure (that uses a similar graphical style as The Legend of Zelda) that features an American teenager forced to fight aliens:
Kid Icarus – The evil goddess Medusa has stolen the Three Sacred Treasures and imprisoned the goddess of light, Palutena, in her evil plot to control all. Play as Pit, a young angel who has been entrusted with a magical bow and arrow. Fight against hordes of enemies that swoop from above and below. Secure the Three Sacred Treasures from their evil guardians, equip them and face Medusa in the final battle.
StarTropics – Step into the shoes of Mike Jones, a teenage star pitcher from Seattle, who has come to the tropics to visit his famous archaeologist uncle, Dr. Jones. After being told that his uncle has been abducted, Mike begins a perilous quest in order to rescue him and figure out the mysterious plot behind his disappearance. Luckily for Mike, he meets helpful villagers and finds more powerful weapons as he explores numerous locations and island hops using his uncle’s submarine.
Kid Icarus and StarTropics will be the 35th and 36th NES games available to play through Nintendo Switch Online, and here’s hoping that the consolemaker continues to add some forgotten favorites to the service in the future.
Mortal Kombat 11’s newest Story Trailer reintroduces Erron Black, Cassie Cage, and Jacqui Briggs
“I’ve been in the future for a whole hour and I haven’t seen one jetpack. Not one.”
It’s official… Johnny Cage is a national treasure. A younger version of the movie star takes center stage in the latest Story Trailer for Mortal Kombat 11, while also reintroducing fans to a trio of returning fighters (Erron Black, Cassie Cage, and Jacqui Briggs) from Mortal Kombat X.
Beyond the new characters, the trailer features an epic scope and an all-out war between Earthrealm’s mightiest heroes, Kronika’s time-displaced warriors, Liu Kang’s army of revenants, and Raiden’s evil alter-ego. Can it be April already?
Mortal Kombat 11 will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on April 23.
Tetris 99’s “Maximus Cup” event will take place March 8-10
Gird your lines, Nintendo has announced that the first special online event for Tetris 99 will take place this weekend. The Tetris 99 “Maximus Cup” will begin on Friday, March 8, at 8:00 AM (Eastern Time) and continue until Monday, March 11, at 3:00 AM (Eastern Time).
Switch owners who compete in the “Maximus Cup” are looking for First Place finishes, and the 999 players with the most wins will receive 999 My Nintendo Gold Points (valued at $10):
Win first place (you’ll see TETRIS MAXIMUS on the results screen when you do) as many times as you can! After the event, the top 999 players with the most TETRIS MAXIMUS wins will be notified, and will each receive 999 My Nintendo Gold Points!
Tetris 99 is now available through the Switch eShop as a free download for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. Good luck to everyone who enters the tournament!
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter arrives on the Switch on March 18
“I… Am… Turok!”
Nightdive Studios has confirmed that their remaster of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter will make its way to the Nintendo Switch on March 18. The first person shooter was originally released for the Nintendo 64 all the way back in 1997, and would go on to become one of the platform’s signature games.
In addition to an enhanced visual presentation, Nightdive tweaked Turok’s re-release to include improved gameplay and level design:
Turok is back and no dinosaur is safe! When it was first released in 1997, Turok introduced gamers to a world teeming with cunning enemies, traps, puzzles and deadly weapons all within a vast 3D environment ready to explore. Now the classic game has been restored and enhanced with a new visual engine and exciting new features to sink your teeth into!
The Lost Land… A world where time has no meaning – and evil knows no bounds. Torn from a world long gone, the time traveling warrior Turok has found himself thrust into a savage land torn by conflict. An evil overlord known as ‘The Campaigner’ seeks to shred the fabric of time and rule the universe using an ancient artifact known as The Chronoscepter. The Chronoscepter was shattered thousands of years ago in an effort to keep it from falling into evil hands. The Campaigner has constructed a massive focusing array which he plans to use to magnify and pervert the power of the Chronoscepter in order to shatter the barriers between the ages and rule the universe. Turok has vowed to find the eight pieces of the Chronoscepter spread throughout the Lost Land and put an end to The Campaigner’s evil plot…
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter will be available to download through the Switch eShop for $19.99.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
BRACE YOURSELF… This is what Sonic will look like in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie
The teaser poster for the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie was WEIRD. Sega’s long-running mascot was only shown in silhouette, but Sonic’s gargantuan size and ridiculously muscular thighs were a far cry from the portly cartoon character we all grew up with.
Well strap in, because things are about to get EVEN WEIRDER.
Hamagami/Carroll, one of the marketing agencies working with Sega and Paramount on Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, recently uploaded the first image of the character’s cinematic counterpart to their official website. This version of Sonic doesn’t seem as nightmarish as the shadow figure from the original poster, and it looks like the film’s producers even listened to fans and toned down his bulging muscles. But that said, something still seems really off about this image… even if I can’t quite put my finger on what that something is.
Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie will star Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic, James Marsden as a sheriff who introduces him to the real world, and Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik. The movie will open in theaters on November 8, and Paramount is likely getting ready to release the first trailer soon.
Posted in Etcetera, News, Retro
Tagged Sonic the Hedgehog