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
Warp Zoned’s 2017 Golden Pixel Awards: A New Beginning for Video Games
When we looked over the gaming landscape at the beginning of 2017, we opined that game publishers had done their best to wipe the slate clean throughout all of 2016. Many of gaming’s most mysterious projects were finally released, Nintendo closed the door on the Wii U, the VR revolution was in full swing, and upgraded versions of the PS4 and Xbox One were on the horizon.
In these first few days of 2018, I think it’s safe to say the last 12 months definitely fulfilled that promise. Nintendo’s Switch roared out of the gate in March and the consolemaker filled the calendar with big titles on “Day One” and throughout the rest of the year. Night in the Woods, Persona 5, and Golf Story told new kinds of stories that gamers had never seen before. Cuphead delivered a decidedly retro side-scroller packaged within a unique visual playground packaged. And someone even managed to create a fun Friday the 13th game.
It was quite a year, and you can find more of our favorites from 2017 after the break. (more…)
Posted in Etcetera, Features, PC, PS4, Switch, Top Story, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Crash Bandicoot, Cuphead, Friday the 13th, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Injustice 2, Mario Kart 8, Night in the Woods, Persona 5, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Telltale will launch Episode 4 of Batman: The Enemy Within on January 23
Telltale Games has announced that Episode 4: What Ails You, the next chapter in the Batman: The Enemy Within series, will be available to download for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices on January 23. Once again, it looks like The Joker (excuse me, John Doe) is up to no good:
When the Pact puts its plan into motion, Bruce’s cover is finally blown, and as his web of lies unravels, new questions emerge: When and how will the Pact regroup? What’s truly motivating Amanda Waller and the Agency? And perhaps most importantly, how will John Doe handle the truth about his buddy Bruce? With another showdown brewing, the clown prince of crime may finally earn his crown…
History tells us that we should probably expect Telltale to release a trailer for Batman: The Enemy Within – Episode 4: What Ails You sometime next week.
MX Vs ATV: All Out will be released on March 27
THQ Nordic unveiled the final release date and a new trailer for MX Vs ATV: All Out earlier today. The off-road racing game is in development at Rainbow Studios, and it’ll be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on March 27:
MX Vs ATV: All Out is the complete off-road racing and lifestyle experience! Find your Rider Style at your own private compound, Free Ride across massive environments, and compete in the best series events! All the bikes, ATVs, tracks, gear, music, riders, personalities, and even UTVs are packed in!
MX Vs ATV: All Out is now available for pre-ordering on all platforms and the new trailer has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged MX Vs ATV: All Out
Latest Monster Hunter: World trailer introduces Elder Dragons and teases Spring 2018 update
Capcom will unleash Monster Hunter: World on unsuspecting PS4 and Xbox One owners on January 26, but first they wanted to share some details about the game’s biggest threats… the Elder Dragons. The beastly creatures will play a central role in Monster Hunter: World’s story, and a new post on the Capcom-Unity blog shared a few more details:
[T]he New World is filled with a vast roster of unique monsters for you to hunt and craft gear from. Today weve revealed a new monster called Dodogama, a crystal-eating wyvern that can coat its favorite snack with a unique saliva that turns them into explosive projectiles, as well as returning fan-favorites from a calamitous category of monsters: the Elder Dragons!
The main plot of Monster Hunter: World centers around uncovering the mysterious migration patterns of Elder Dragons, dubbed the Elder Crossing, and has you chasing the trails of the colossal Zorah Magdaros.
Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that the end of the trailer includes a quick glimpse at Monster Hunter: World’s first free update. Featuring “everyones favorite raging pickle brute wyvern,” Deviljho, the update will be available to download in the Spring.
Capcom also confirmed that PS4 owners will get the chance to participate in the final Beta Test for Monster Hunter: World beginning on January 18. The Beta Test will include new quests, and will conclude on January 21.
In addition to the imminent PS4 and Xbox One launch, Monster Hunter: World is also in development for the PC. That version of the game will be released this Fall.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Monster Hunter: World
Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizon: Zero Dawn lead all nominees at 2018 GDC Awards
The organizers of the Game Developers Conference have announced the nominees for this year’s Game Developers Choice Awards.
Nintendo and Sony have a lot to celebrate this year as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizon: Zero Dawn tied for the most nominations, with six apiece. Both games are in the running for “Game of the Year,” and both were also nominated in the “Best Audio,” “Best Design,” “Best Technology,” and “Best Visual Art” categories. Breath of the Wild tacked on one more nominations for the “Innovation Award,” while Horizon nabbed a nomination for “Best Narrative.”
Both games should probably be considered the frontrunners for the “Game of the Year” award, but they’ll also have to compete with PUBG Corporation’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Platinum Games’s Nier: Automata, and Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey for the coveted honor.
Outside of the “Game of the Year” competition, Studio MDHR’s Cuphead captured three nominations for “Best Audio,” “Best Debut,” and “Best Visual Art.”
The 2018 GDC Awards ceremony will take place on on Wednesday, March 21, at 6:30 PM (Pacific Time). The full list of nominees, and all the Honorable Mentions, can be found after the break. (more…)
NetherRealm conjures up the first trailer for The Enchantress in Injustice 2
NetherRealm Studios is ready to unveil The Enchantress… the next character coming to Injustice 2. The Enchantress made her big screen debut in 2016 as part of David Ayers’s Suicide Squad, and the supervillain’s demonic essence is front and center in the new trailer embedded above:
The all-too ordinary life of June Moone ended the day she was possessed by the Enchantress, a demonic sorceress with aspirations of world domination. Today, she fights for her very soul, struggling to harness the Enchantress’ magic for good. If she fails, the Enchantress will consume her – and our world won’t be far behind.
Injustice 2 players who own the Ultimate Edition or Fighter Pack #3 will be able to download The Enchantress on January 9. She’ll be available as a standalone download through the PlayStation Store, Steam, and the Xbox Games Store on January 16.
In the meantime, Injustice 2 fans can head over to NetherRealm’s Twitch channel to view a lengthy (and Enchantress-centric) new Watchtower stream.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Injustice 2
The Messenger is a retro side-scroller inspired by Ninja Gaiden… and it’ll be out this year
After viewing the Teaser Trailer for The Messenger, it’s easy to see the influence that Ninja Gaiden had on the debut game from Sabotage Studio.
But Ryu Hayabusa’s 8-bit adventures weren’t the only inspiration for the Quebec-based team. The Messenger will also include special portals that propel players to a 16-bit future that’s arranged as a more open MetroidVania-style world:
As a demon army besieges his village, a young ninja ventures through a cursed world, to deliver a scroll paramount to his clan’s survival.
Leveraging player expectations as a core design ingredient, The Messenger is first presented as an 8-bit action platformer with a simple story only to turn into an epic time travelling tale, eventually revealing itself as a 16-bit Metroidvania packed with replay value and deadpan humor.
If you’d like to learn more about The Messenger, the game’s Creative Director, Thierry Boulanger, and Executive Producer, Martin Brouard, recently sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Polygon. The pair discussed their efforts to bring The Messenger to life, as well as a desire to make the game appealing to both newcomers and speedrunners:
“That’s what we’re targeting here. Taking these memories and making them something polished in terms of gameplay and controls. It’s hard to go back to Ninja Gaiden after the playing The Messenger, in my opinion.”
“Not revealing everything is important to us, because there still need to be surprises, but people need to know this isn’t just some clone. We’ve put a lot of love and craft into it, and we need to make sure people get their hands on it.”
The Messenger will be available for the PC and consoles sometime this year.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged The Messenger
The Games of January 2018
It’s a new year and time for a brand new batch of video games from developers both big and small.
Fighting game fans will have a lot to look forward to in January with the launch of Bandai Namco’s Dragon Ball Fighter Z, Square Enix’s Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, and Capcom’s Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition. And if you enjoy games with a retro aesthetic, you might want to keep an eye out for Cellar Door’s Full Metal Furies, Square Enix’s Lost Sphear, and Nintendo’s 3DS re-release of Pokemon Crystal.
You can find what we’re looking forward to 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 Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Full Metal Furies, Lost Sphear, Pokemon Gold/Silver