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
- 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)
Most Recent: PC
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm goes back in time on August 31
Square Enix has partnered with Deck Nine Games to return to Arcadia Bay this Summer in Life Is Strange: Before the Storm. Announced today during Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference, Before the Storm won’t have any time travel, but you’ll get to spend more time with Chloe Price three years before the events of the original Life Is Strange:
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm is set in Arcadia Bay, three years before the events of the first game in the series. Players will take on the role of a rebellious 16 year-old Chloe Price who forms an unlikely friendship with Rachel Amber; a beautiful and popular girl destined for success. When Rachel’s world is turned upside down by a family secret, it takes this new-found alliance to give each other the strength to overcome their demons.
“The original Life Is Strange brought a new level of depth and real-world emotion to the narrative adventure game genre and holds a strong place in many people’s hearts, including our own,” said Jeff Litchford, the Vice President at Deck Nine Games. “It’s an absolute privilege to work on the next game in the series and it’s our chance to do justice to the series and prove the quality of our unique StoryForge toolset from our very talented team.”
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm is a different game from Dontnod’s recently-confirmed continuation of the franchise, but Ashly Burch, the voice of Chloe, will join Deck Nine to work as a writing consultant on the prequel.
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm will be released as a three-part episodic series, and the first episode will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on August 31. A Cinematic Trailer for the game has been embedded above, and a second video that introduces the developers from Deck Nine can be found after the break. (more…)
Microsoft announces September 29 release date for Cuphead
The 2017 E3 Expo has yet to officially begin, but as far as I’m concerned, the biggest announcement happened today during Microsoft’s Press Conference. No, I’m not talking about the Xbox One X, but Studio MDHR’s side-scrolling shooter, Cuphead.
As part of their presentation, the consolemaker announced that Cuphead will be released for the PC and Xbox One on September 29. They also unveiled a short new trailer for the game, which was inspired by cartoons from the 1930s:
Xbox One console exclusive also coming to Windows 10. Cuphead is a classic run and gun action game heavily focused on boss battles. Inspired by cartoons of the 1930s, the visuals and audio are painstakingly created with the same techniques of the era, i.e. traditional hand drawn cel animation, watercolor backgrounds, and original jazz recordings.
Yup, that is all I need out of my Xbox One this year. Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th… That’s all, folks!
New Retail Releases: Arms, Cars 3 Driven To Win, Psychonauts In the Rhombus of Ruin
It’s common knowledge that game publishers try to avoid releasing big new games during the E3 Expo, but as we all know, Nintendo’s methods are anything but common.
This week, the consolemaker will launch their stretchy-armed fighting game, Arms, for the Nintendo Switch. Featuring support for motion controls with the Joy-Cons and standard controls with the Switch Pro Controller, Arms will give players plenty of options to battle it out with the its colorful characters.
Also set to launch this week is a game adaptation of Pixar’s Cars 3. Cars 3: Driven To Win was developed by WB Games and Avalanche Software, and will be available for the PS4, Switch, Xbox One, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360.
Finally this week, Double Fine will release a retail edition of the PlayStation VR-exclusive Psychonauts In the Rhombus of Ruin. All copies of the game will also come with a download code for the original Psychonauts.
While we’ll be preoccupied with the E3 Expo for most of this week, we’ll be back soon with a look at this week’s newest additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
EA goes faster and furiouser with Need For Speed Payback’s Gameplay Trailer at E3 2017
You’re forgiven if you thought Need For Speed Payback‘s “Reveal Trailer” was actually a sneak peek at a Fast and the Furious knockoff, but EA is doubling down on the similarity between the two with a new Gameplay Trailer at this year’s E3 Expo.
The Gameplay Trailer shows Payback’s crew on a mission to acquire a new car from inside an 18-wheeler. How do they do it? Well, it involves a lot of fast driving and a leap of faith between two moving vehicles…
The crew (Tyler, Jess and Mac) have learned that The House is transporting a car equipped with a new piece of technology that may be a key component in bringing them down. This calls for one thing: acquire the car, get hold of the tech, and dent The House’s plans. “The Highway Heist” is one of the set piece moments that takes place within Need For Speed Payback’s single-player campaign which follows the story of Tyler, Jess, and Mac as they set out to bring down The House.
Need For Speed Payback will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on November 10.
EA teases BioWare’s Anthem; Gameplay reveal coming tomorrow during the Xbox E3 Briefing
Electronic Arts unveiled BioWare’s next project, Anthem, during their EA Play event today. The short trailer is actually a teaser for tomorrow’s full gameplay reveal, which will make its debut during Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference. As of now, the Xbox One is the only confirmed platform for Anthem, but it’s most likely coming to the PC and PS4 as well.
In addition to the strange new world, massive alien creatures, and mech suits seen in the teaser, EA and BioWare hinted at the game’s exploratory nature with a short description:
In Anthem, a new game from EA’s BioWare studio, explore a landscape of primeval beauty, confront the dangers you find, and grow in power with every step.
A slightly different version of this description can be found on Anthem’s official website:
Explore a place you’ve never seen in a time you’ve never known, in Anthem, a new game from EA’s BioWare studio.
Anthem is currently scheduled to launch in Fall 2018.
EA and Hazelight will release A Way Out in Early 2018
Electronic Arts first announced their partnership with Hazelight just before Christmas… of 2014. Since then, we haven’t heard anything about the new project from Josef Fares, the creator of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. That all changed today as EA unveiled A Way Out during their E3 Press Conference.
A Way Out is a co-op game where players will attempt to help Leo and Vincent escape from prison. The pair will face many harrowing situations during their breakout including “car chases, stealth passages, melee fights, shootouts and many more”:
The story of A Way Out begins in prison with two separate inmates, Leo and Vincent, who don’t know each other. While their individual stories progress, players will have to build a relationship based on trust as they break both men out of prison into the world beyond. This co-op only experience is meant to be played together with a friend on a couch or online.
“Josef and his team at Hazelight represent everything that EA Originals stands for,” said Patrick Soderlund, Executive Vice President of EA Worldwide Studios. “They are a small and very talented group with a vision and passion for a game that is truly unique in the video game industry. A Way Out is going to surprise people with its innovative co-op gameplay and the way it tells an emotional story solely through these two characters.”
“This game is going to bring a co-op experience unlike anything you have ever seen before,” said Josef Fares, Writer and Director at Hazelight. “The idea for A Way Out came when me and a friend tried to find a story driven co-op game that wasn’t a drop-in/drop-out experience. We simply could not find a game like that. We’re also bringing an innovative look into how to tell the story of both these characters. Players will be immersed in the game with the way we change the display from a full screen experience seamlessly to different cinematic split-screen formats. By focusing on the two characters in different ways, it opens up a huge variety of gameplay, as we really wanted to avoid repetitions so they will get to know the characters through very different situations.”
A Way Out is currently in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and the first trailer has been embedded above.
Sink your teeth into Vampyr’s E3 2017 trailer
The dark alleyways and rat-infested streets of Dontnod’s Vampyr are the furthest things from the more modern confines of their previous game, Life Is Strange. But the French development studio has put just as effort into recreating Victorian London as they did with the fictional Blackwell Academy.
For further proof, check out the epic new Cinematic Trailer the developer released in honor of next week’s E3 Expo.
DontNod Entertainment’s upcoming action-RPG Vampyr today unveils its E3 trailer and draws you deep into the heart of a flu-stricken 1918 London. Set out on three minutes of uncut footage through the city’s dark alleys, deadly underground passages, and corrupt neighborhoods. Get a first glimpse at The Ascalon Club, a society formed from the richest vampires, unbeknownst to the mortals.
Dontnod also confirmed that the action RPG will be released in November 2017 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Bandai Namco concludes their retro-inspired retelling of the Tekken franchise
In case you missed it, Bandai Namco unveiled Part 2 of their “Tekken Retro Recap” a few days ago. Produced in cooperation with 8-Bit Cinema, this concluding chapter retells the ridiculous stories behind Tekken 4, Tekken 5, and Tekken 6 in a classic pixelated style.
Also, Kazuya refers to Jin as an “Emo Devil Child.” So it’s got that going for it.
The newest game in the franchise, Tekken 7, was released earlier this week for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.