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
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- 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”
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- With Grand Theft Auto 6 poised to take over the world, I reached out to Jack Thompson and it did not go well – PC Gamer (2026)
- Vib-Ribbon: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It – Aftermath (2026)
Most Recent: PS4
Valkyria Chronicles Remastered will launch on May 17
Sega has announced that Valkyria Chronicles Remastered, a remake of the underappreciated turn-based strategy game from 2008, will be available for the PS4 on May 17.
Part of Valkyria Chronicles’s appeal (and part of the reason why it flew under the radar for so long) is its unique battle system, which Sega has chosen to highlight in the trailer embedded above. Newcomers and veterans alike will be able to familiarize themselves with the game’s BLiTZ System, which Sega describes as “part overhead turn-based strategy, part RPG, and part real-time third person shooter.”
With its jump to the PS4, Valkyria Chronicles Remastered will receive a full graphical overhaul, along with every piece of downloadable content (“Hard EX Mode,” “Edy’s Mission,” “Selvaria’s Mission,” and “Challenge of the Edy Detachment”), dual Japanese and English audio, and Trophy support. The first print run will also “come protected” in a collectible metal “Squad 7 Armored Case.”
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged Valkyria Chronicles
Launch Party 2016 promo brings six PS4 titles to PS Store in March/April including Invisible Inc, Day of the Tentacle, Alienation, more
For the last few years, Sony has flooded the PlayStation Store with quality titles in the Spring as part of their “Spring Fever” event. “Spring Fever” is no more, but the spirit of that event lives on in this year’s “Launch Party,” which will deliver a half-dozen new games to the PS4 and Vita this Spring.
Head over to the PlayStation Blog (or keep reading) to find out more about each of these titles:
Salt and Sanctuary (March 15)
We’ve admired Ska Studios’ games from afar for years, and we’re so thrilled to have their latest masterpiece debut exclusively on PS4! If you’ve enjoyed games like Bloodborne or Dark Souls you’ll feel right at home in Salt and Sanctuary’s brutal but beautiful world (brutiful?). Deep combat and rich RPG elements, all set in a cursed realm of forgotten cities, blood-soaked dungeons, and desecrated monuments. What else could you want? (PS4 + PS Vita Cross-Buy)Day of the Tentacle Remastered (March 22)
We’re so excited to be working with Double Fine on bringing another classic LucasArts adventure to PS4, after their fantastic work on Grim Fandango. Originally released in 1993, Day of the Tentacle is a mind-bending, time travelling, cartoon puzzle adventure game in which three unlikely friends work together to prevent an evil mutated purple tentacle from taking over the world! This loving remaster features all-new, hand-drawn, high-resolution artwork, with remastered music and sound effects. (PS4 + PS Vita Cross-Buy)Enter the Gungeon (April 5)
Enter the Gungeon is the latest in our ongoing partnership (more of a kinship, really) with Devolver Digital, developed by the devious geniuses at Dodge Roll. Making its console debut on PS4, Gungeon combines The Binding of Isaac-style dungeons with an action-packed repertoire of shooting, looting, dodge-rolling, and table-flipping (and two-player local co-op!). All on a quest to reach the ultimate treasure: a gun that can kill the past! (Of course.) (PS4)Stories: The Path of Destinies (April 12)
Spearhead Games was one of the very first developers to jump on the PS4 train with their underrated multiplayer puzzler Tiny Brains. They’ve been working hard ever since on a sumptuous action-RPG called Stories: The Path of Destinies, a madcap epic fantasy where each choice you make takes you through a different story. Each story — some dark, some romantic, all action-packed — is true in its way, and will lead you to victory if you pay enough attention… (PS4)Invisible Inc (April 19)
If you’re anything like us, you’re still playing Klei Entertainment’s singular PS4 survival sim Don’t Starve, over two years later. Invisible, Inc. is a very different beast, but similarly applies Klei’s whip-smart design prowess and beautifully stylized aesthetic to a tactical turn-based adventure. Take control of Invisible’s agents in the field and infiltrate the world’s most dangerous corporations. Stealth, precision, and teamwork are essential in high-stakes, high-profit missions, where every move may cost an agent their life. (PS4)Alienation (April 26)
If you’ve ever played Super Stardust, Resogun, or Dead Nation, you know the visceral pleasures Housemarque is capable of. They’ve collaborated with SCE Worldwide Studios on another amazing PS4 exclusive, where 1-4 players can team up online against alien hoards with an array of conventional and hybrid weaponry. All taking place in massively destructible environments where collateral damage can literally bring the house down! (PS4)
All six games are currently available to pre-order from the PlayStation Store and buying any of them early will net you a 20% discount on the final price.
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Alienation, Day of the Tentacle, Enter the Gungeon, Invisible Inc, Salt and Sanctuary
Telltale’s CEO talks about the company’s Batman game and his dream projects
Telltale Games has been busy, busy, busy over the last few years. Since 2013, the developer has launched five different episodic titles (The Wolf Among Us, The Walking Dead Season 2, Tales From the Borderlands, Game of Thrones, and Minecraft: Story Mode), and they don’t seem to have any plans for slowing down. This year, Telltale will release the final episode for Mincraft: Story Mode, along with The Walking Dead: Michonne and maybe even Game of Thrones Season 2. They’ll also release the first episode of a brand new Batman series this year, possibly their biggest game ever.
Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner recently sat down with Kotaku Australia to discuss the company’s future, and he had a lot to say about the Caped Crusader:
“Our Batman series is looking fantastic. I think it might become one of the best things we’ve ever done. I can’t go into much detail, but the Batman team is amazing and they are really on top of it. It’s not like any other Batman game out there. This game really explores all aspects of Batman, not just the the ‘fighting in the suit’ side of him. There’s a lot of subplots to explore and some really amazing choices that have a big impact on the story being told. I really think it might be the peak of the mountain for us so far.”
Working on a Batman game is clearly a dream for Bruner, but the executive dreams big, and he has a number of other projects that he’d love to be working on:
“Personally, I’m on record saying how much I’d love to make a Telltale Star Wars game. I’ve made Star Wars action games in the 90s when I worked at LucasArts, but a Telltale Star Wars game would be a dream come true. And Bond. James Bond would be freaking awesome. And Fletch. And Chinatown. Oh, and The Shining.”
Until just this moment, I never knew how much I wanted a game based on The Shining. Batman: A Telltale Game Series will make its debut sometime in 2016.
Sniper Elite 4 will be released for PC, PS4, Xbox One this year
Rebellion has announced that Sniper Elite 4 is in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Best of all, the sniper simulator will be released this year. This time out, “elite marksman” Karl Fairburne is behind enemy lines in Italy in 1943:
Italy, 1943. Covert agent and elite marksman Karl Fairburne must help free Italy from the yoke of Fascism and defeat a terrifying new threat that could halt the Allied fightback in Europe before it’s even begun.
From sun-drenched Mediterranean coastal towns, to colossal Nazi megastructures, daunting forests, and giddying mountain monasteries, Sniper Elite 4 will offer breathless emergent stealth action and unrivaled sniping freedom across maps many times the size of those seen in Sniper Elite 3.
In addition to the supposedly massive single-player campaign, players will be able to team up with friends for a co-operative or compete in an adversarial mode. Rebellion doesn’t want to waste any time and plans to reveal more information about Sniper Elite 4 during next week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
Blizzard’s Overwatch will be released on May 24
Blizzard has announced that their upcoming “hero shooter,” Overwatch, will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 24. The merry month of May will actually be a busy one for nascent genre, as 2K Games and Gearbox will release the similarly-themed Battleborn on May 3.
A brand new “Street Date” trailer will clue players in on the story so far, along with Overwatch’s many different modes:
In Overwatch, players join the ranks of a legendary force of soldiers, scientists, adventurers, and oddities, and clash on the battlefields of a near-future Earth. The game features a diverse cast of 21 heroes—each with their own unique arsenal of extraordinary weapons and incredible abilities. Teamwork is critical as players complete objectives, swap heroes on the fly, and combine their powers to game-changing effect—the action is intense, immediate, and fun.
Since the world last caught up with Overwatch at BlizzCon 2015, Blizzard has introduced a number of game features in the ongoing closed beta test. In a new map type, “Control,” teams battle to capture and hold objectives in locations such as an omnic village in the mountains of Nepal and a high-tech skyscraper in a Chinese metropolis. Overwatch’s new progression system awards players with Loot Boxes containing an array of cosmetic items to personalize heroes, including sprays, emotes, voice lines, and skins such as Punk Tracer and Safari Winston.
In addition to “Quick Play” mode, which automatically matches players with teammates and opponents of similar skill online, players can test their mettle against computer-controlled opponents in a new “Play Vs AI” mode, while “Custom Games” allow players to set special rules for hero switching, damage modifiers, and more.
Players who haven’t had the chance to try Overwatch yet will be able to participate in an Open Beta scheduled to take place May 5-9 on all three platforms. But if you’re already convinced that it’ll be great, prospective players who pre-order the game by April 29 will receive early access to the Open Beta beginning on May 3.
New Releases: Tom Clancy’s The Division, Hitman, WWE 2K16 for PC
Just three new releases will be available on store shelves this week, and one of them is just a Season Pass to a year-long episodic adventure.
Leading off the week is Tom Clancy’s The Division, which will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Players will join up with the titular peacekeeping organization as they team up with other players from around the world to investigate a terrorist attack in New York City on Black Friday.
Also available this week is Hitman, IO Interactive’s latest entry in the long-running series. Agent 47 is back, but we won’t get to experience all of his new missions right away. Instead, IO and Square Enix will release the game episodically, but players can buy in to the whole series now for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Finally this week, 2K Games and the WWE will slam their way onto Steam with WWE 2K16‘s PC debut.
No Man’s Sky will be released for PC, PS4 on June 21
After years of toil, a flood of biblical proportions, and a chat with Mr. Stephen Colbert, Hello Games is finally ready to announce that No Man’s Sky will be released for the PC and PS4 on June 21.
While the developer doesn’t have a new trailer to mark the occasion, they did reveal that No Man’s Sky will be available to purchase for the PC (as a digital download) and the PS4 (as a digital download through the PlayStation Store and as a Blu-ray disc at your game store). They also confirmed that players will interact with aliens throughout the course of the game, and will even need to decipher several alien languages to advance.
Managing Director Sean Murray stopped by the PlayStation Blog and spoke to SCEE Blog Manager Fred Dutton about this rather unexpected new feature:
In short, here’s how it works. As you travel around the universe you’ll encounter individuals from several distinct races. As with everything else in the game, how they look and what they say is procedurally generated based on a set of variables defined by the Hello Games team.
You’ll be able to trade with them, gain upgrades, learn more about the game’s lore, forge alliances and so forth. Sound straightforward? Well, not so fast.
[…]
“With NPCs in No Man’s Sky, you actually have to learn their language; they speak to you in their native tongue. The more you travel around the universe, the more you learn their language, and the more you can communicate with them.”
Murray used the remainder of the post to reveal a lot more about the game’s many alien languages and how players will interact with the various factions in the No Man’s Sky universe. I think it’s well worth your time.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged No Man's Sky
Dead Island: Definitive Collection will be released for PS4, Xbox One on May 31
We still don’t know if Dead Island 2 will be ready for its planned 2016 launch, but Deep Silver hasn’t given up on their undead franchise.
The publisher announced today that Dead Island: Definitive Collection, which includes Dead Island and Dead Island: Riptide, will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on May 31. The remastered compilation will give both games a complete visual overhaul courtesy of several fancy graphical tricks that weren’t possible before:
- Higher Quality Textures – Game textures have been redone in a higher resolution and the level of quality has been improved across the board.
- Photorealistic New Lighting System – The lighting system in the game has been vastly improved, providing a much more realistic look to the beautiful sunny tropical setting.
- Physically Based Shading – The introduction of new physically based shading techniques due to the latest iteration of the Chrome Engine means a higher quality look to the game models and objects as they react in a more realistic way to various lighting conditions.
- Image Quality Enhancements Via Anti-Aliasing – The addition of more sophisticated anti-aliasing means that console players can now experience Dead Island without unsightly jaggies meaning a much cleaner look throughout.
- Improved-Quality Game Models and Geometry Assets – All major geometry assets (for example, NPCs and character models) highlight a marked quality increase.
- HBAO and Motion Blur Effects – The introduction of Horizon-Based Ambient Occlusion adds an extra layer of depth and realism to the world. Through a better implementation of object shadows, while the all-new motion blur effects will provide a much more cinematic feel to the game experience.
- Updated Game UI – Providing a more consistent look between both Dead Island and Dead Island: Riptide. Increase to equal quality level for seamless game experience.
Both games in the Dead Island: Definitive Collection will include all of the previously released downloadable expansions, as well as new features like online four-player co-op, streaming, and recording. PlayStation 4 owners will also be able to take advantage of PS Vita Remote Play and Share Play. Players will also get the chance to test out the “Power Fists” powerup, a fan favorite mod.
Finally, the Dead Island: Definitive Collection will include Dead Island: Retro Revenge, a side-scrolling endless runner that will be exclusive to the retail package.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Dead Island, Dead Island: Riptide