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
Kage, an even more evil version of Evil Ryu, is the first downloadable character from Street Fighter V’s Season 4
The 2018 Capcom Pro Tour season came to a close this weekend with the crowning of a new champion at the Capcom Cup. Tsunehiro “gachikun” Kanamori won the Street Fighter V tournament (and the $250,000 prize), but Capcom also used the opportunity to unveil the first new character from the game’s Season 4 expansion.
Kage is described as “The Embodiment of the Satsui,” and serves as an even more evil mirror to Ryu than the fighter’s “Evil Ryu” alterego:
The Satsui no Hado is a dark force tied to the more sinister aspects of the human soul, including the hunger to survive, destroy, and conquer. Those who learn to control it become nearly unstoppable, but at the cost of their humanity. Akuma is one of these beings. In the past, Ryu was constantly struggling with keeping the Satsui no Hado at bay. If he was hypothetically unable to control it, Evil Ryu would manifest and bring a dark obsession to the otherwise peaceful Ryu. However, after the events of Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, Ryu was able to overcome the Satsui no Hado’s temptation to ensure Evil Ryu would never see the light.
However, the Satsui no Hado living within Ryu became sentient and would rise as the entity known as Kage, meaning “shadow” in Japanese. Kage lives to prove Ryu is nothing without him and seeks to challenge Akuma and Sagat, two of Ryu’s most notorious rivals. Will Ryu succumb to Kage’s schemes?
According to the Capcom-Unity blog, Kage will bring “his own twist” to Ryu’s moveset:
V-Skill: Senha Kassatsu – Kage gathers energy into his fist and lunges forward to punch the opponent. Senha Kassatsu has armor and can be charged for a more devastating blow.
V-Trigger I: Taigyaku Mudo – In this two-bar V-Trigger, Kage unlocks Ashura Senku, a teleport move that is performed by pressing HP+HK. Ashura Senku can be used on the ground and in the air as an air dash, which opens up multiple mix-up options and flashy combos. Taigyaku Mudo also improves Kage’s V-Skill so that he can now combo into it while the fully charged version will crumple the opponent.
V-Trigger II: Rikudo Osatsu – In this three-bar V-Trigger, Kage unlocks Misogi, a move that sends him into the skies before crashing down on the opponent by pressing HP+HK. Misogi can be cancelled into by a number of normal and specials, including blocked sweeps, which makes it a pressure monster.
Critical Arts: Metsu Shoryuken – Ryu’s iconic super from previous games lets everyone know that Kage is indeed a part of Ryu. Kage does a devastating upper cut that ends in a flash full of red.
Kage is now available to download for Street Fighter V on the PC and PS4. Unlike previous seasons, Capcom won’t offer an all-you-can-eat Season Pass option for Season 4. Instead, Kage can be purchased individually for $5.99 or with 100,000 Fight Money.
Two new trailers featuring the character can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Street Fighter V
Earth Defense Force 5’s Launch Trailer crawls into view
EDF! EDF! EDF!
Earth Defense Force 5 is now available to download from the PlayStation Store for the PS4, and D3 Publisher has unleashed a nasty new Launch Trailer starring the franchise’s signature creepy-crawlies. In addition to the game’s four character classes, prospective players will get a good look at the game’s collapsing skyscrapers, gigantic frog-bats, rampaging kaiju, and a lot of bugs… just so many bugs:
Packed with tons of content and high replay value, Earth Defense Force 5 delivers over 100 missions with more than 1,000 weapons and armaments to unlock and master.
It also offers players four unique classes to master, allowing players to approach mission goals and objectives in a variety of ways. Classes include the Ranger, a well-rounded infantry soldier, the Wing Diver, a highly mobile air unit, the Fencer, a heavy weapons unit with thick armor, and the Air Raider, a support focused class with the ability to drive vehicles.
With multiple options for multiplayer, Earth Defense Force 5 also offers up to four-player online co-op as well as offline couch co-op, supporting up to two players via split-screen.
According to D3 Publisher, Earth Defense Force 5 will also be available to purchase in a Deluxe Edition, which includes additional weaponry and two post-launch Mission Packs.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged Earth Defense Force 5
John Romero will release Sigil, a new expansion for 1993’s Doom, in February 2019
John Romero is famously known as the co-creator of Doom, and back in 2016 he started dabbling in building a handful of new maps (known as WAD files) for his baby (“Tech Gone Bad” and “Phobos Mission Control“).
Today, in celebration of the landmark game’s 25th anniversary, Romero announced that he’s completed a brand new “MegaWAD” for Doom consisting of nine new single-player levels and an equal number of Deathmatch maps. Romero’s creation will be known as Sigil, and it will serve as the unofficial fifth episode for Doom:
Sigil is a free megawad for the original 1993 Doom created by John Romero. It contains nine single-player and nine deathmatch levels. The free megawad will be released in mid-February 2019 and requires players own the original 1993 registered version of Doom in order to play. Sigil is the spiritual successor to the fourth episode of Doom, and picks up where the original left off.
Sigil will be available as a free download in February, but megafans will be able to obtain one of two special limited editions of the MegaWAD through Limited Run Games.
According to Romero’s official website, the Standard Box will feature artwork by Christopher Lovell and a soundtrack CD from Buckethead. Those bonuses will also be included in the Beast Box, but that hulking package will also include an art print, a Sigil-themed coin, a t-shirt, and a pewter statue of John Romero’s head on a spike.
A trailer for Sigil has been embedded above. Suck it down!
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Doom (1993)
The first poster for the Sonic the Hedgehog movie is WEIRD
The idea of a live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie has always seemed a little weird, but knowing that the “Blue Blur” would be voiced by Parks and Rec‘s Ben Schwartz eased the worry somewhat.
Then Paramount Pictures had to go and release the first poster for Sonic the Hedgehog.
Sonic himself is shown in silhouette, but you can clearly make out his extremely muscular arms and legs. The character also seems to be impossibly tall, and his head is freakishly large compared to the rest of his body (which, again, includes an extremely muscular pair of arms and legs).
The movie also has a new tagline, and I’m not ashamed to admit that it took me a very long time to realize that “A Whole New Speed of Hero” is just a particularly bad pun and not some random gibberish.
Sonic the Hedgehog, which also stars Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, will open in theaters on November 15, 2019. I honestly can’t wait.
Posted in Etcetera, News, Retro
Tagged Sonic the Hedgehog
Skybound will launch Episode 3 of The Walking Dead: The Final Season on January 15
There’s not much that’s funny about an undead apocalypse (unless Bill Murray or Simon Pegg is involved, I suppose), but Skybound Games took the stage during the Kinda Funny Games Showcase earlier today and announced a release date for The Walking Dead: The Final Season – Episode 3: Broken Toys anyway.
According to the developer (and the semi-new trailer embedded above), Episode 3: Broken Toys will be available to download for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on January 15.
In addition to completing work on The Final Season after Telltale’s unexpected closure, Skybound also announced that they’ve restored previous seasons of The Walking Dead to the digital storefronts for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Nintendo will launch Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order on the Switch in 2019
The crossover potential of the Marvel Ultimate Alliance franchise has always felt like the closest analogue to playing through the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a controller in your hand… even though the series was stopped (after two games) before the MCU really got going. But fresh off of launching the universe-spanning Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Nintendo will bring the series back in 2019 with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order.
Set to launch exclusively for the Switch, and revealed during last night’s Game Awards, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is in development at Team Ninja and will once again offer fans of multiplayer-focused Action RPGs a chance to play in Marvel’s giant sandbox:
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order brings together Super Heroes and Super Villains from across the Marvel Universe to battle for the limitless power of the Infinity Gauntlet, one Stone at a time. This unprecedented team of characters must use their unique superpowers to defeat the mad cosmic tyrant Thanos and his ruthless warmasters, The Black Order. The game will feature an original story and a playable cast of dozens of Marvel Super Heroes, including the Avengers, the X-Men, and—for the first time in series history—the Guardians of the Galaxy.
“The Marvel Ultimate Alliance games have been beloved by fans for more than a decade, and this new installment on Nintendo Switch will deliver even more of the thrills and heroics that the franchise is known for,” said Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Thanks to our partnership with Marvel, the fate of the Marvel Universe will literally be in the hands of Nintendo Switch players, whether they’re at home or on the go.”
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order will include a variety of multiplayer options for up to four players. In addition to online multiplayer, couch co-op will be available for single-system play or local wireless play.
If you’ll recall, The Black Order shared the screen with The Avengers during this Summer’s Avengers: Infinity War. You can see how they’ll once again take the fight to the Marvel Universe in the Announcement Trailer embedded above.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Game Awards 2018, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
Persona 5’s Joker will join Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in 2019
Nintendo has always been happy to add third-party characters to the Smash series, but the first character announced for the game’s upcoming Fighters Pass goes far beyond the likes of Sonic, Pac-Man, and Bayonetta. Revealed last night during the Game Awards, Persona 5‘s Joker will be coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sometime in 2019.
Nintendo, and Director Masahiro Sakurai, proudly declared that “Everyone is Here!” during 25-minute mega-trailer that introduced Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s roster to the world. But Joker’s inclusion in the Fighters Pass (and the earlier announcement of Piranha Plant), definitely proves that the theme for Ultimate’s DLC is probably “Anyone Could be Added!”
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Fighters Pass is now available to purchase for $24.99. All DLC characters will also be sold individually for $5.99 apiece.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Game Awards 2018, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Supergiant’s Hades is now available in Early Access through the Epic Games Store
Supergiant Games unveiled the first trailer for their next game, Hades, during last night’s Game Awards. The indie developer also didn’t waste anytime making it available to fans… and that’s because Hades is now available in Early Access through the Epic Games Store.
Building on the developer’s history (which includes Bastion and Transistor), Hades is an isometric dungeon crawler that asks players to escape from the darkest depths of the Underworld. But according to the developer’s official website, Hades also carves out some new territory as Supergiant’s first procedurally-generated title. This stylistic choice is a new direction for the developer, but Hades will feature a strong focus on story, as well as almost two dozen “fully voiced characters”:
Hades is a rogue-like dungeon crawler where you defy the god of death as you hack and slash your way out of the Underworld of Greek myth. It’s never the same experience twice: Each time you play, you’ll combine the divine might of various Olympian gods with your own, brave nefarious new challenges, and unravel more of the story featuring our award-winning art, audio, and narrative.
Hades is currently available to download exclusively through the Epic Games Store, and will remain that way for at least a year and a half as Supergiant fine-tunes “every aspect of the experience.” This includes several free updates (and a handful of minor ones) that will add new “features, events, characters, weapons, powers, environments, and more” to the game over the coming weeks and months.
And don’t worry console gamers, once the Early Access period is complete, Hades is expected to launch on “a variety of platforms.”
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Game Awards 2018, Hades