Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books to Get a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- 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)
Most Recent: News
Xbox Store Today: Paladins, FlatOut 4, Samurai Shodown, more
There’s a nice variety of new titles now available to download through the Xbox Games Store today…
First up is Paladins, a free-to-play team-based shooter from for the Xbox One Hi-Rez Studios (who are also the creators of Smite). Paladins features a “unique collectible card system” and players can use it to customize the abilities of their favorite in-game character.
Also available to download today is FlatOut 4: Total Insanity, a new entry in the stunt racing franchise for the Xbox One. This time around, players will get to experience “bigger, louder, better, and more outrageous stunts” while also recreating some of the most popular stunts from the franchise’s past.
A two-fer of NeoGeo games were also added to the Xbox Games Store for the Xbox One today including one-on-one fighter Samurai Shodown and side-scrolling shooter Last Resort.
Finally today, Planetbase, “a strategy game where you guide a group of space settlers trying to establish an outpost on a remote planet,” is now available to download for the Xbox One.
You can learn more about all of these titles after the break. (more…)
Quake’s Ranger enters the Arena in the latest Quake Champions trailer
Doomguy is the instantly recognizable face of id Software’s Doom franchise, but Quake‘s Ranger has also built quite the reputation for himself as part developer’s other shooter series.
Today, id Software unveiled their latest character trailer for Quake Champions, and reintroduced fans to Ranger:
Ranger (Slipgate Marine)
From his origins in the original Quake, to his time spent in the bloody halls of Quake III Arena, Ranger is a legendary character who’s returning to once again wreak havoc in the arenas of Quake Champions. With his Dire Orb active ability Ranger can teleport to impossible ledges, dodge incoming attacks and much more.Active Ability – Dire Orb: Ranger battled waves upon waves of Death Knights and Shamblers to get the Dire Orb. It was worth keeping. Now he uses it to teleport around the Arenas, reaching ledges, dodging rockets, and telefragging unsuspecting enemies dumb enough to stand in his way. The Dire Orb also does damage when it hits an enemy and if left unused, it will explode, damaging foes in the immediate area.
Passive Ability – Son of a Gun: Ranger’s a veteran – he’s knows all the tricks of the Arenas. His Son of a Gun passive ability reduces the amount of self-damage he takes by 25%, meaning he can Rocket Jump with less penalty to get the drop on unsuspecting foes.
A Closed Beta is currently underway for Quake Champions, and the free-to-play shooter will receive a full release on the PC later this year. You can register for a chance to receive a beta invitation at the game’s official website.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Quake Champions
Prey, Gnog, World to the West, more added to PlayStation Store
The month of May has belonged to Bethesda Softworks for a last few years, and it doesn’t look like they’re letting go anytime soon.
The publisher will bring Prey to the PS4 this week, and it’ll be available to download through the PlayStation Store on Friday, May 5. The first person shooter isn’t connected to Human Head’s Prey, but it does feature the same themes of malevolent aliens and human experimentation. Also available to download this Friday is World to the West, Rain Games’s followup to the well-received Teslagrad.
If you’re looking for something to play today, KO_OP has launched their “tactile 3D puzzle” Gnog for the PS4. It’s also compatible with PlayStation VR, so you can really get a feel for the game’s scary heads.
Finally today, Alex Rose Games will bring their “masocore” platformer Super Rude Bear Resurrection to the PS4. Players will die often as they rush through the game’s many stages, but luckily, “your previous bodies stack up and you can jump on them, push them around and use them as shields.”
On that happy note, you can find a complete rundown of all of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Prey (2017), World to the West
Piece of Cake Studios will launch a Closed Beta for Hacktag on May 11
Hacktag is an online and local multiplayer stealth game, centered around an anthropomorphic mercenary in the year 2029. The game challenges players to complete missions by either physically infiltrating corporations, or by virtually hacking the level. Aside from cooperative gameplay, Hacktag also offers procedurally-generated levels, online rankings and leaderboards, character customization, a unique Story Mode, and multiple minigames.
These features have helped Hacktag win number awards for developer Piece of Cake Studios including the Indie Prize at Casual Connect 2017 and the Audience Choice Award at IndieCade Europe 2016.
But before Hacktag enters via Steam Early Access on May 18th, players will be able to sign up for a Closed Beta, which begins on Thursday, May 11. Interested players can sign up now at the game’s official website.
But in the meantime, why not enjoy a few awesome screenshots from Hacktag after the break… (more…)
First trailer for Bandai Namco’s Code Vein shows off its post-apocalyptic world
The Dark Souls trilogy may have come to a close, but Bandai Namco is back with Code Vein, an action RPG that looks to carry on its legacy. After an official announcement last week, the publisher unveiled its first trailer earlier today.
In Code Vein, players will take control of vampire-like creatures known as Revenants. These monsters have traded their memories in exchange for “Gifts of power” and “a thirst for blood,” but they’ll need to use both to unlock the secrets at the center of the game’s story:
In the not too distant future, a mysterious disaster has brought collapse to the world as we know it. Towering skyscrapers, once symbols of prosperity, are now lifeless graves of humanity’s past pierced by the Thorns of Judgment. At the center of the destruction lies a hidden society of Revenants called Vein. This final stronghold is where the remaining few fight to survive, blessed with Gifts of power in exchange for their memories and a thirst for blood. Give into the bloodlust fully and risk becoming one of the Lost, fiendish ghouls devoid of any remaining humanity.
Code Vein will be released in 2018 for “major home consoles.”
THQ Nordic is officially bringing Darksiders III to the PC, PS4, Xbox One in 2018
Amazon might have spilled the beans a few hours ago, but the official “Reveal Trailer” for Darksiders III is still a sight to behold.
As expected, the sequel is in the works at Gunfire Games, a development team that split off from Vigil Games (the original creator of Darksiders and Darksiders II) after it closed down in 2013. Players will take control of Fury, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and battle with physical manifestations of the Seven Deadly Sins:
Return to an apocalyptic Earth in Darksiders III, a hack-n-slash Action Adventure where players assume the role of Fury in her quest to hunt down and dispose of the Seven Deadly Sins. The most unpredictable and enigmatic of the Four Horsemen, Fury must succeed where many have failed – to bring balance to the forces that now ravage Earth. Darksiders III is the long-anticipated, third chapter in the critically-acclaimed Darksiders franchise.
The earlier leak, which we now know is completely legitimate, also includes a handful of screenshots and a list of features expected to be included in Darksiders III.
Darksiders III will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in 2018.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Darksiders III
GameFly listing points to standalone release for CoD: Modern Warfare Remastered next month
Back when it was first announced, Activision said that fans would only be able to obtain Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered if they purchased Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare‘s Legacy Edition. At the time, many of us assumed that Activision would cave and eventually release Modern Warfare Remastered as a standalone game.
It looks like that day is coming soon.
A new post on Charlie Intel, a Call of Duty fansite, has uncovered PS4 and Xbox One pages for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered on GameFly. According to the game rental service, the game will be released for the PS4 on June 20, and an Xbox One launch will follow on July 20. It might seem strange, but these separate release dates mirror the 30-day exclusivity window that all Call of Duty downloadable content has operated under since 2015.
GameFly has since removed both pages from their database, and Activision has yet to make an official announcement about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered’s future, but it makes sense that the popular remaster will receive a standalone release someday. It’s really only a matter of when.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Darksiders III screenshots, plot details leaked in new Amazon listing
THQ Nordic (back when they were still known as Nordic Games) confirmed that Darksiders III was in development nearly three years ago. The continuation of Vigil’s apocalyptic saga was always a high priority for the publishing company, but they wanted to do it right, and even released a Deathinitive Edition of Darksiders II and a Warmastered Edition of the original Darksiders for current-generation platforms.
But since then, the publisher hasn’t been in any rush to make further announcements about the sequel… so I guess Amazon has to do it for them.
This morning, a listing for Darksiders III appeared on the retailer’s site for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. But rather than post a simple placeholder page, Amazon revealed a full plot description for the game:
Return to an apocalyptic Earth in Darksiders III, a hack-n-slash Action Adventure where players assume the role of FURY in her quest to hunt down and dispose of the Seven Deadly Sins. The most unpredictable and enigmatic of the Four Horsemen, FURY must succeed where many have failed – to bring balance to the forces that now ravage Earth. Darksiders III is the long-anticipated, third chapter in the critically-acclaimed Darksiders franchise.
A feature list, detailing Fury’s powers and her primary opponent, was also revealed:
- Play as FURY – a mage who must rely on her whip and magic to restore the balance between good and evil on Earth!
- Harness FURY’s magic to unleash her various forms – each granting her access to new weapons, moves and traversal abilities
- Explore an open-ended, living, free-form game world in which FURY moves back and forth between environments to uncover secrets while advancing the story
- Defeat the Seven Deadly Sins and their servants who range from mystical creatures to degenerated beings
- Darksiders signature art style – expansive post-apocalyptic environments that take the player from the heights of heaven to the depths of hell, dilapidated by war and decay and overrun by nature
Finally, the Amazon listing teases Gunfire Games as the developer. You may not have ever heard of Gunfire, but they helped THQ Nordic develop the Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition, and they’re one of the many teams to emerge from the ashes of Vigil.
Unless this is a massively well done hoax, I think THQ Nordic will officially unveil Darksiders III any day now (or possibly at this year’s E3 Expo). In the meantime, you can view a batch of leaked screenshots and concept art after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Darksiders III