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: Articles
Kickstart This! Lynn and the Spirits of Inao
UPDATE: The Kickstarter campaign for Lynn and the Spirits of Inao has been canceled after allegations that Bloomylight Studio illegally refused to pay a group of interns who helped develop the game. More information is available in this post on Reddit and in an update to the campaign.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Welcome back, potential crowdfunding donors, to the weekly Kickstart This! This week’s focus is on Lynn and the Spirits of Inao, a magical platformer courtesy of Bloomylight Studio. It had some stiff competition, namely from Pirates of the Polygon Sea by Praxia Entertainment, which is a fast-paced, cartoony version of the sailing sections in Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag. There’s also 80s arcade space shooter Dystoria, which piqued my interests with its retro style, but also looked like a retread of The Last Starfighter.
So let’s see why Lynn and the Spirits of Inao won me over… (more…)
Bethesda commissioned a chainsaw artist to create a sculpture of Doom’s Revenant
It’s not uncommon for a publisher to create a life-size statue of a larger-than-life character to show off at fan conventions. I remember Sega being especially proud of the absolutely massive Power Loader they created for Aliens: Colonial Marines when it was on the con circuit. So I guess it’s not really news that Bethesda asked Australian artist Rob Bast to create a similar statue for Doom…
Except they asked him to use a CHAINSAW.
It took Bast more than 130 hours (and eight different CHAINSAWS) to carve the imposing Revenant out of cypress wood, and Bethesda recorded the whole process to give fans a closer look at the incredibly intricate design…
Which, again, was created with a CHAINSAW.
After nearly a decade in development, Doom was released this past Friday for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. And if you live in Australia, Rob Bast’s Revenant sculpture is currently available for viewing at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Doom (2016)
Daily Scoop: May 16, 2016 – Last chance to get the Eye Candy bundle
I didn’t get to play nearly as much Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End as I wanted to, but I did play way more Risk of Rain than I imagined was possible. That game on the Vita is just pure perfection. I can’t get enough of it!
The awesome Eye Candy bundle at Humble has less than a day left, so now’s your last chance to grab it! Pay what you want for Human Resource Machine, Shantae: Risky’s Revenge – Director’s Cut, and A Boy and His Blob. Beat the average to unlock three games that I am absolutely in love with – Mini Metro, Mushroom 11, and the incredible Towerfall Ascension. Finally, pay $10 or more to unlock Evoland 2. You also get a coupon for 10% off Humble Monthly.
Two new games are available through Microsoft’s Games With Gold promotion on the Xbox Games Store today. Xbox Live Gold subscribers can now get free downloads of both Costume Quest on the Xbox One, and Peggle 2 on the Xbox 360.
There are 212 new Weeklong Deals at Steam. The Deadly Tower of Monsters is $7.49, Reign of Kings is $4.99, and Dino Run DX is $4.01. Today’s Daily Deal is early access to Folk Tale, which is $16.74.
Hit the jump to check out today’s t-shirts! (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop
Mario Goes Hollywood (Again): Nintendo wants to get into the filmmaking business
Nintendo disappointed a lot of people last year when they shot down rumors that The Legend of Zelda was being adapted into a gritty Game of Thrones-like series for Netflix. But the dream didn’t totally die, and Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima recently told Asahi Shimbun that the company wants to get into the filmmaking business.
Rather than license their characters out to a third party production company, Kimishima told the Japanese newspaper that Nintendo is looking for a partner and wants to do as much as they can by themselves. It’s likely that Nintendo’s hands-on approach is a direct response to the absolutely bonkers film adaptation of Super Mario Bros. from 1993. I guess turning the Mushroom Kingdom into Blade Runner‘s Los Angeles still stings after all these years.
Nintendo’s President also told Asahi Shimbun that they’d like to release their first movie within two-to-three years, though it’s unknown which of the consolemaker’s many properties will be adapted. What we do know is that it’ll probably be an animated feature, though that’s not set in stone either.
Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius will be available for mobile devices this Summer
PS4 and Xbox One owners are preparing themselves for this Fall’s release of Final Fantasy XV, but Square Enix plans has more to come from the long-running series in 2016. Set to launch this Summer, Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius will be the first “full-scale” Final Fantasy adventure designed exclusively for mobile devices (iOS and Android).
Adventurers will follow two knights of the kingdom of Grandshelt, and a young girl who suddenly appears before them, as they begin their quest to pursue a highly sought after crystal. Players will make their way through various types of dungeons to search for items, collect gil, uncover hidden paths, and venture new routes.
Already available in Japan, Brave Exvius is a traditional turn-based RPG that features “streamlined battle mechanics and intuitive touch controls” designed to work well with mobile devices. To make Final Fantasy fans feel more at home, Square Enix has also filled the game with familiar characters (The Warrior of Light, Cecil, Vivi, and Terra) and summons. To see just how developer Gumi shrunk the Final Fantasy series down to mobile size, you might want to check out the Announcement Trailer embedded above.
Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius will be free-to-play and interested players can pre-register at the game’s official website to receive special in-game items at launch. The game will also be playable at this year’s E3 Expo, so expect to learn more about it next month.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged E3 2016, Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius
Yo-Kai Watch 2 will be released in North America on September 30
The Yo-Kai are getting ready for their second American invasion, because the mischievous spirits at the center of Level-5’s Yo-Kai Watch series will make an encore appearance on the 3DS this Fall in Yo-Kai Watch 2. Set to launch on September 30, Yo-Kai Watch 2 will be available in two versions (Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls) and add more than 100 new Yo-Kai to the game’s universe:
Already a huge hit in Japan, the sequel to the first smash hit, which is once again developed by Level-5, offers the same deep RPG gameplay and wacky adventures as the first game. The new adventure also offers many new areas to explore outside of Springdale, more than 100 new Yo-kai, a new-and-improved in-game Yo-Kai Watch and even the ability to travel back in time! Yo-Kai Watch 2 will also launch with two versions, Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits and Yo-Kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls, each featuring rare Yo-Kai that can only be found in their respective games.
Fans of the Yo-Kai Watch television series also have reason to be excited this morning, as Disney announced the second season will begin airing on Disney XD this Summer. And in case you missed it, you can catch up with the first season on Netflix.
Posted in 3DS, Etcetera, News
Tagged Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits/Fleshy Souls
Microsoft will shut down Project Spark this August
Microsoft and developer Team Dakota have announced plans to discontinue online support for Project Spark, a game creation tool originally released for the PC and Xbox One in 2014. Community Manager Thomas Gratz delivered the verdict over the weekend through Project Spark’s official website:
Despite this news, we want to celebrate the accomplishments of our team and community of creators and players. Our team released 46 content packs, thousands of assets and 16 updates since launch (averaging more than one update every two months). We produced hundreds of livestreams and videos to educate and celebrate our community. In turn, our passionate fans have then gone above and beyond supporting “Project Spark” by uploading hundreds of thousands of creations and dreaming up millions of objects, behaviors, and experiences. Outside the game, they created fan sites, tutorials, forums, apps, and more! We thank everyone who has played or created anything within “Project Spark,” as it would have never existed without you.
Project Spark was removed from the Xbox Games Store on Friday, and all other online services will be shuttered this Summer. Even with the end of Project Spark’s online accessibility, the game will still be playable offline, though players won’t be able to download any of the community’s creations after August 12.
Microsoft also announced that players who purchased the Project Spark Starter Kit will receive a credit that can be used for a future Xbox Games Store or Windows Store purchase.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Project Spark
Weekly Warp-Up: Walt Disney Shuts Down Disney Interactive and Cancels Disney Infinity…
No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…
The biggest news this week wasn’t an exciting new announcement or confirmation of a long-awaited release date. The biggest new this week is that The Walt Disney Company has decided to shut down their Disney Interactive division and brought an end to the Disney Infinity franchise. Disney didn’t go into too many details about why the shutdown took place, but they did say that the plan going forward is to license their characters and films to other game publishers.
Elsewhere on Warp Zoned, we published Part Two of It’s In Your Blood: A History of Horror Games this week. Moving into the 90s, it’s time to relive Alone in the Dark, Resident Evil, Clock Tower, and a few others. A review of Enter the Gungeon was also published this week, and it might be worth a look as the twin-stick shooter/roguelike-like hybrid definitely has its moments.
More news from the week that was can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News