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: PC
Igarashi teams up with 505 Games to publish Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
In the latest Kickstarter update for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Koji “Iga” Igarashi has announced that he’s signed an agreement with 505 Games to publish the side-scrolling “IgaVania” game. To seal the partnership, “Iga” sat down to showcase some new footage from the game in the trailer embedded above.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will be released sometime in 2018 for the PC, PS4, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One.
Pre-production on Beyond Good & Evil 2 officially begins at Ubisoft
It’s happening! It’s finally happening!
Last week, Michel Ancel unveiled a stray piece of Beyond Good & Evil 2 concept art through Instagram. But today, the famed developer went ahead and confirmed that the game (which was first announced by Ubisoft back in 2008) has officially entered the pre-production phase.
Once again, this barrage of good news began on Instagram, with Ancel uploading images of a shark monster and a bipedal rhino. The image of the rhino was accompanied by a caption confirming the game’s newly-minted status as an in-development project: “Endangered species – now saved – Game in pre-production – Stay tuned!”
It will likely be quite a while before Beyond Good & Evil 2 receives a splashy public debut, but in the meantime, Ubisoft wants to further stoke the hype train with a free giveaway of the original Beyond Good & Evil through their Ubisoft Club. Fans will be able to be able to pick up the PC edition of the game for $0 beginning on October 12.
Jonathan Nolan also looked to Skyrim and the fact that “life is beginning to resemble a game” for Westworld
Jonathan Nolan, brother of Christopher and co-writer of The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and Interstellar, has previously discussed how he used video games as an inspiration for HBO’s reboot of Westworld. Previously, Nolan cited Red Dead Redemption and BioShock as two games that helped shape his vision for Westworld. But speaking to Vice, the showrunner revealed he was also fascinated by the independent lives that Bethesda created for NPCs in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
I was fascinated by the concept of writing a story in which the protagonists’ actions aren’t part of the story. In games like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Red Dead Redemption, or the sandbox games that BioWare make, morality is a variable. How do you write a story in which the hero’s moral component exists on a spectrum? That’s a fascinating challenge.
I’m also fascinated by how non-player-characters in video games have their own lives. In Skyrim, when you walk into a village, you aren’t necessarily the most important person there. The NPCs have lives that happen whether you’re there or not. I was listening to directors’ commentary from Ken Levine about building BioShock Infinite and the affection that game developers and designers develop for their characters. It’s a qualitatively different relationship than the one screenwriters have with their characters, because video game characters don’t just recite dialogue—they do shit, and the players interact with them.
Nolan expanded on this theme in a separate interview with IGN, where he said that “life [is] ever more beginning to resemble a game” and that some people have started to live their lives according to the rules of a fantasy universe:
For me, the jumping off point of starting with the Host… Everyone’s favorite party conversation brainteaser these days is “Are we living in a simulation?” I get tired of that question fairly easily because in a sufficiently robust simulation there’d be no way of answering of course. But the idea that our lives could be programmatic, that there could be rules at play that we’re not familiar with, that we don’t understand, is something I’ve long been fascinated by – and so is the idea of fate and the idea of an unseen hand that’s guiding events. Here, it’s a very literal thing.
Before we had children, I was a gamer back in the day, and I think that was the other aspect of what drew me to the original concept, was the idea of life ever more beginning to resemble a game. That with enough wealth and sufficient technological advancement that you could get to a point where you live, as a lot of people do, a significant portion of your life in a fantasy universe, whether it’s World of Warcraft or the new VR games that are just coming out.
You really dissolve into that experience and live your life inside – not a real world but a curated world. One that’s distinct from the real world because there’s intention there, there are rules. There is a narrative. Life, real life, resists narrative through lines. There aren’t hidden levels. There’s just f**king chaos. But in the game universe there are always deeper levels of meaning. So for us it was like a candy store. There were all these ideas that we wanted to play with in one series.
New episodes of Westworld will premiere every Sunday on HBO. Have you noticed the show’s parallels to video games? Let us know in the comments.
Kickstart This! Sulphur Nimbus: Hel’s Elixir
With the unfortunate cancellation of Arc Continuum, we’ve reached the last of our recent spurt of Kickstarter games, which hails from Norwegian developer Oddwarg, AKA Oddvar Hungnes, creator of indie hits like Eggman Hates Furries, Super Sawman, and Patapony. Hungnes has a distinguished and anime-like style that can be seen in all of his games, as well as on his Deviant Art page. And now he’s bringing his latest venture, Sulphur Nimbus: Hel’s Elixir, to the crowdfunding circuit.
Come fly with me! Lets fly! Lets fly away! (more…)
Rain Games might release World to the West on Nintendo NX
Rain Games will release World to the West, an overhead action-adventure game, for the PC, PS4, Wii U, and Xbox One in Early 2017. But during a recent interview with Miketendo64, the developer hinted the game might also be released for Nintendo’s NX next year:
Artist Ole Ivar Rudi spilled the proverbial beans during this exchange:
Miketendo64: “Since World to the West will be coming to the Wii U, and the NX is set to release next year, are there any plans to release it on the NX as well?”
Ole Ivar Rudi: “Hehe, gotta keep answers straight here. As we mentioned earlier it’s very unlikely to come out on 3DS, but it *will *show up on additional platforms. Maybe even another Nintendo platform, but our lips are sealed though.”
World to the West is a sequel to Teslagrad, a side-scrolling puzzle-platformer that’s now available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One. The developer clearly has experience working with many different platforms, but they also have a fairly cozy relationship with Nintendo (the consolemaker demoed the Wii U version of World to the West at PAX West this year).
With all this evidence, I’d be shocked if World to the West doesn’t make its way to the NX eventually.
New Retail Releases: Gears of War 4 Ultimate, Mafia III, Paper Mario Color Splash, More
After a brief surge in September, the “Fall Gaming Season” continues to ramp up with a trickle of big new releases during this first week of October.
It’s likely that none of this week’s new games will be bigger than Gears of War 4, which Microsoft is releasing in an Ultimate Edition ahead of its official launch next week. Fans will return to Sera alongside a new generation of heroes on the PC and Xbox One, and they’ll do it in style. The Ultimate Edition of Gears of War 4 will include a copy of the game, the Season Pass, and download codes for all four Gears of War games on the Xbox 360 (and yes, they’re backwards compatible).
If you’re looking to upgrade your Xbox One experience, Microsoft will also offer an Xbox One S 2TB + Gears of War 4 Limited Edition Console Bundle that includes a digital copy of the game, the Season Pass, download codes for the Xbox 360’s Gears of War title, and a custom “Crimson Omen” Xbox One S and Controller.
Not to be outdone, 2K Games will launch it’s own action epic that focuses on a new generation with Mafia III. Set to be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, Mafia III is set more than 20 years after the second game in the franchise and relocates the action to New Bordeaux, a stand-in for New Orleans. Mixing the cultural upheaval caused by the Vietnam War with era-appropriate music, 2K wants to give a different kind of organized crime experience with Mafia III.
If you’re looking for something a bit more colorful, Nintendo will release Paper Mario: Color Splash for the Wii U this week. The RPG gives Mario a Paint Hammer and asks him to restore color to Prism Island. I don’t know if Nintendo was trying to make a comment on the current state of AAA games, but releasing Color Splash on the same day as Gears of War 4 is a rather obvious bit of counter-programming.
Finally this week, a trio of lower-profile games will be available on store shelves including Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack (a compilation of the 3DS platform shooter series from Inti Creates), Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide (a co-op survival game set in the Warhammer universe for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One), and Rocksmith 2014 Remastered (an updated version of the music tutor for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One).
That’s it for now, but we’ll be back later this week with details on all the new downloadable additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Azure Striker Gunvolt, Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, Gears of War 4, Mafia III, Paper Mario: Color Splash
New World and Crucible also announced by Amazon Game Studios
Breakaway wasn’t the only game that Amazon Game Studios was ready to announce today. The game publishing arm of the retail giant also confirmed that it has two other projects in the works for the PC… New World and Crucible
New World sounds like a rather traditional MMO that also include Twitch integration for “broadcaster-led events”:
New World is a massively multiplayer, open-ended sandbox game that allows players to carve out their own destiny with other players in a living, cursed land. Players decide how to play, what to do, and whom to work with–or against–in an evolving world that transforms with seasons, weather, and time of day. Players can band together to reclaim monster-haunted wilds and build thriving civilizations, or strike out alone, surviving in the face of supernatural terrors and murderous player bandits. With emergent gameplay and rich social features, including deep Twitch integration with broadcaster-led events, achievements, and rewards, the only limit in the New World is a player’s ambition.
While Crucible is a survival game that also includes another player that serves a role that sounds very similar to a Dungeon Master:
Crucible is a battle to the last survivor on a hostile, alien world. Players choose and customize heroes, making alliances and betraying allies on their path to victory. An additional player heightens the drama by triggering events, live-streaming the battles, and interacting with viewers.
Both games are still early in development, but interested players can head over to Games.Amazon.com to keep tabs on them.
Amazon Game Studios reveals 4v4 “sport brawler” Breakaway
When Amazon purchased Twitch for nearly a billion dollars back in 2014, you knew they were serious about their entrance into the video game industry. Today, they let the world know just how serious they are with the unveiling of Breakaway, their first “AAA” game project.
Developed by Double Helix, Breakaway is a 4v4 “sport brawler” for the PC that looks a bit like hockey… though with less ice and more buildable death traps:
Breakaway is a 4v4 mythological sport brawler built for fast action, teamwork, and live-streaming. Players assemble a team from an expanding roster of legendary warriors, including the relentless gladiator Spartacus, the twisted sorceress Morgan Le Fay, and the bloodthirsty warlord Vlad the Impaler.
At the start of each round, warriors can summon persistent buildables onto the playing field that dynamically alter the game. Buildables can besiege foes, shield teammates, or create new pathways through the arena. Players fight for dominance across fabled locations such as El Dorado, Atlantis, and Styx.
They battle to control the Relic–the center of Breakaway’s action–passing it to teammates, defending it from attackers, and smashing it into an opponent’s base to score.
Naturally, Double Helix will be packing Breakaway with a number of Twitch-specific features, including “real-time stat overlays” for viewers and in-game wagering:
- Metastream allows streamers to customize their broadcasts with real-time stat overlays.
- Broadcaster Match Builder lets broadcasters invite their followers to join their matches.
- Broadcaster Spotlight adds to the excitement of streaming. It tells players when they’re in a match that’s being broadcast, and lets them follow the broadcaster with a single click.
- Stream+ gives broadcasters new ways to interact with their viewers through polls, and by allowing viewers to wager loyalty points that are redeemable for in-game rewards.
Prospective players can visit PlayBreakaway.com to learn more about the game’s characters and to sign up for a chance to join the Alpha Test. For a sneak peek at what you can expect, a ten-minute video showcasing the world’s first Breakaway exhibition match can be found after the break. (more…)