Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- 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
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins “Game of the Year” at 2025-2026 GDC Awards
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
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy will leap onto the PC, Xbox One, and Switch on July 10
A man in a Crash Bandicoot costume once stood outside Nintendo of America’s headquarters with a bullhorn to promote the release of Crash Bandicoot on the PSone (and gloat that it wasn’t available for the Nintendo 64). But it looks like Crash’s original adventure will finally make its way to a Nintendo platform this year, as Activision has announced that the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy will be released for the Switch on July 10.
First unveiled during today’s Nintendo Direct presentation, Activision later confirmed that the N. Sane Trilogy will also be available for the PC and Xbox One on the same date. In addition to the original Crash Bandicoot, the compilation will also include Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot: Warped.
A new trailer for the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash Bandicoot: Warped
Activision officially announces Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will launch this October
After a few very subtle teases earlier this week, Activision has officially announced that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be released this Fall. The shooter sequel is currently in development at Treyarch, and it’ll be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on October 12.
That’s all Activision had to say about it for now, but fans will get their first look at Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 during a Community Reveal Event on Thursday, May 17.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Fragile Equilibrium is a side-scrolling shooter that also asks players to rebuild the world
MAGIC Spell Studios, one of the only publishing labels to publish student-created games, has announced they’re bringing Fragile Equilibrium to this year’s Game Developers Conference. Students from the Rochester Institute of Technology are developing the side-scrolling shooter, but players will also need to balance their attacks with rebuilding the decaying game world:
Fragile Equilibrium is a game about the imperfection and impermanence of life. It is a reflection on transience, a balancing act between progress and regrowth, and a reminder to find beauty in decay and inevitable destruction.
Using old-school shmup mechanics and form, Fragile Equilibrium invites the player to explore a world of quick actions, forced decisions, and subtle strategy: will you engage every enemy you can? Will you pass over a difficult encounter? Will you fire or dodge? But with each action or inaction, the player falls ever out of balance – too aggressive, too passive, too quick, too slow. And as balance decays so does the world, eroding over time and out of space, compressing the player to a smaller and smaller area, pressing in upon the mind. Built upon layered interactions, a Wabi Sabi aesthetic idealism, and a rich, broken world of times long past, Fragile Equilibrium invites the player to reflect on their play, their world, their nostalgia, and themselves.
Fragile Equilibrium is currently in development for the PC, and a playable demo will be available for attendees of GDC 2018.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Fragile Equilibrium, GDC 2018
The Games of March 2018
Welcome to March, you’re cordially invited to a party for the Nintendo Switch’s first anniversary. While fans surely have plenty of backlogged Switch games to keep them busy, the consolemaker also has one new game on their schedule to mark this milestone. And if you’re a Switch owner, and you’re on the lookout for a new game, you might be interested in Kirby Star Allies.
Kirby’s adventures always feature a unique art style, and that’s something that’s very much in vogue with a few other games set to launch this month including The Behemoth’s Pit People and Level-5’s Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom. Elsewhere on the release calendar, after a short delay, it looks like Ubisoft is ready to delve deep into the heart of a doomsday cult in Far Cry 5.
Why is the Warp Zoned staff looking forward to these games? You can find out after the break, along with a complete release schedule for all of this month’s new releases. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Features, Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, Top Story, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged Far Cry 5, Kirby Switch, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, Pit People
New Retail Releases: Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition, Scribblenauts Showdown, Bravo Team, More
Big sales and critical acclaim greeted the launch of Final Fantasy XV back in 2016. But if you skipped Square Enix’s epic RPG, the publisher is trying again with Final Fantasy XV: Royal Edition. Coming to stores this week for the PS4 and Xbox One, the Royal Edition will include a new dungeon, new features (including a First Person Mode), and all content from the game’s Season Pass.
Square Enix is also bringing Final Fantasy XV to the PC for the first time this week with the release of Final Fantasy XV: Windows Edition. Like the Royal Edition, it will also come packaged with the content from the game’s Season Pass.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, WB Games will release Scribblenauts Showdown this week for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. Showdown takes the tried-and-true gameplay from the Scribblenauts series (including a dictionary with more than 60,000 words) and grafts it on to a multiplayer minigame competition.
Supermassive is one of the biggest names behind Sony’s VR push, and the Until Dawn developer is back with another PSVR-powered title for the PS4 this week, Bravo Team. In Bravo Team, players will need to make “constant split-second tactical decisions” as war rages all around you in a fictional Eastern European city.
And bookending this week’s batch of big new games, Square Enix and Deck Nine will release a Retail Edition of Life Is Strange: Before the Storm for the PS4 and Xbox One. The prequel includes the three-part game, as well as a bonus episode starring a younger Max Caulfield.
Finally, PQube will release Island Flight Simulator, 3D Mini Golf, and 3D Billiards: Billards and Snooker for the PS4. And Maximum Games will bring TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge, a motorcycle racing sim, to the PS4 and Xbox One.
And that’s it for this week’s New Retail Releases report, but we’ll be back in a few days with a look at all the upcoming additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Final Fantasy XV, Life Is Strange: Before the Storm, Scribblenauts Showdown
Brigitte is Overwatch’s next Hero… and Torbjorn’s daughter
Blizzard has announced the next Hero coming to Overwatch… Brigitte. Her “Origin Story” has been embedded above, but players will be more interested in learning that she’s a Support specialist with a variety of melee attacks, as well as healing abilities and a portable shield. Within the world of Overwatch, she’s also well known as Torbjorn’s daughter.
More information about Brigitte’s fighting style can be found at Overwatch’s official website:
Overview
Brigitte specializes in armor. She can throw Repair Packs to heal teammates, or automatically heal nearby allies when she damages foes with her Flail. Her Flail is capable of a wide swing to strike multiple targets, or a Whip Shot that stuns an enemy at range. When entering the fray, Barrier Shield provides personal defense while she attacks enemies with Shield Bash. Brigitte’s ultimate ability, Rally, gives her a substantial short-term boost of speed and provides long-lasting armor to all her nearby allies.Ability: Rocket Flail
Brigitte’s melee weapon has an extended range, enabling her to strike multiple enemies with a single swing.Ability: Repair Pack
Brigitte throws a Repair Pack that can heal an ally. Any healing over that ally’s maximum health provides them with armor instead.Ability: Whip Shot
Brigitte throws her flail a long distance, dealing damage and knocking an enemy away from her.Ability: Barrier Shield
Brigitte deploys a frontal energy barrier to absorb a limited amount of damage.Ability: Shield Bash
Once her Barrier Shield is deployed, Brigitte can dash forward to stun an enemy.Ability: Rally
Brigitte moves faster and provides all nearby allies with armor that lasts until it’s removed by damage.
Game Director Jeff Kaplan sat down for another Developer Update video to discuss Brigitte’s introduction to Overwatch, and you can find it after the break. In addition to providing insight on her abilities and overall strategy, Kaplan confirmed that Brigitte is now available to play in Overwatch’s Public Test Region on the PC. Presumably, everyone will get the chance to play as the character soon. (more…)
Deep Rock Galactic, Darkest Dungeon: Crimson Edition, De Blob 2, more added to Xbox Store
Today’s Xbox Games Store update is brought to you by the letter “D.”
Coffee Stain Publishing and Ghost Ship Games will bring Deep Rock Galactic to the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs through Microsoft’s Game Preview program. Players can also pick up the co-op RTS, featuring “badass space Dwarves,” on both platforms thanks to the Xbox Play Anywhere program.
Also now available for the Xbox One is Darkest Dungeon: Crimson Edition, a gothic roguelike that brings “the psychological stresses of adventuring” to the turn-based RPG genre. If you’re looking for something lighter, Xbox One owners can also download THQ Nordic’s colorful platformer, De Blob 2.
There’s no “D” in Bridge Constructor Portal, but there is in GLaDOS, and Xbox One owners will once again go toe-to-toe with the rogue AI in this bridge construction puzzler that’s crossed over into the Portal universe.
You can learn more about the rest of today’s additions to the Xbox Games Store after the break. (more…)
Call of Duty: WWII’s Resistance DLC Pack will come to PC, Xbox One on March 1
Actvision has announced that Call of Duty: WWII‘s first expansion, the Resistance DLC Pack, will be available to download for the PC and Xbox One on March 1.
The Resistance DLC Pack is part of Call of Duty: WWII’s Season Pass, and it’ll give players access to three new multiplayer maps and the next chapter in the game’s Nazi Zombies saga:
Multiplayer Maps
Anthropoid – Based in Prague, Czechoslovakia, this map is inspired by Operation Anthropoid – the famous assassination attempt on a high-ranking German officer during World War II. This map features a center lane divided by a river, with long-flanking paths that can be used by snipers for ranged attacks.
Call of Duty: WWII – The ResistanceOccupation – In this remake of a classic Call of Duty map, players battle through the streets and shops of German-occupied Paris during WWII. Long side streets encourage mid-range combat, with nearby homes and storefronts lending defensive positions for ambush and recovery.
Valkyrie – Located in the Masurian Woods, East Prussia, this map was inspired by The Wolf’s Lair – Hitler’s Eastern-front headquarters during Operation Barbarossa – the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. This is a medium-sized map with gameplay focused around a dangerous center lane covered by multiple overwatch positions and mounted machine guns.
Nazi Zombies
The Darkest Shore follows our heroes into the next chapter of their dangerous journey. Only days after the horrific disaster of Mittelburg, the crew has received intel that suggests Doktor Straub is on an island just north of Germany. Blanketed in fog, this island is surrounded by Nazi air and sea power – and crawling with the Undead. Marie, Drostan, Olivia, and Jefferson will need to battle all this and more to uncover the mysteries hidden within the Darkest Shore.
If you’ve skipped out on Call of Duty: WWII’s Season Pass so far, and you’re playing on the Xbox One, the Resistance DLC Pack will also be available as a standalone download for $14.99.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: WWII