Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Has Another Big Night and Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2025-2026 DICE Awards
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- The Game Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Racks Up Nine Wins, Including “Game of the Year”, at the 2025 Game 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: Switch
New Retail Releases: Sea of Thieves, Ni No Kuni II, Detective Pikachu, More
Game publishers love to launch highly-anticipated new games just before the end of a financial quarter, so we’ve got a bounty of new games to choose from in this week’s New Retail Releases report.
Leading the way is Sea of Thieves, a multiplayer pirate simulation for the Xbox One from Microsoft and Rare. But if you’d rather explore a different kind of world, Bandai Namco and Level-5 will bring Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, an RPG sequel created in conjunction with animators from Studio Ghibli, to the PS4. Even players who are still attached to their 3DS handhelds will have new options this week with Nintendo’s launch of Detective Pikachu.
Several multiplatform titles will also make their way onto store shelves this week including Hazelight’s co-op prison break sim, A Way Out (PS4, Xbox One); MLB Advanced Media’s retro-styled baseball game, RBI Baseball 18 (PS4, Xbox One); and Koei Tecmo’s second adaptation of the Attack On Titan anime, Attack On Titan 2 (PS4, Switch, Xbox One).
Finally this week, THQ Nordic will bring back Titan Quest in an upgraded new re-release for the PS4 and Xbox One. And Badland Games will make Velocity 2X: Critical Mass Edition available on retail shelves for the PS4 and Vita.
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 3DS, News, PS4, Switch, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged A Way Out, Attack On Titan 2, Detective Pikachu, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, RBI Baseball 18, Sea of Thieves
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is “Video Game of the Year” at 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took home another trophy last night when the “open-air” adventure was named “Video Game of the Year” at the 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards. The Nintendo Switch launch title also scooped up awards for “Excellence in Design” and “Excellence in Gameplay”
PUBG Corporation’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds also picked up three awards last night (“Esports Game of the Year,” “Trending Game of the Year,” and “Excellence in Multiplayer”), and a handful of other games (Cuphead, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Nier: Automata) were two-time winners.
You can find the complete list of winners from the 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards at Video Game Canon.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Cuphead, Fire Emblem Mobile, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Nier: Automata, Night in the Woods, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Star Wars: Battlefront II, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, What Remains of Edith Finch
Sonic Mania Plus will be available on store shelves (with bonus content) this Summer
Sega is planning a retail re-release for Sonic Mania, and players who have yet to purchase the side-scrolling platformer will be able to purchase the upgraded Sonic Mania Plus package this Summer for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Announced at the SXSW Gaming Expo (and via Twitter), Sonic Mania Plus will include an artbook and a Genesis-themed reversible cover, as well as new in-game content including remixed levels in an Encore Mode, a four-player Competition Mode, and two additional playable characters (Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel). All these extra goodies will push the game’s price to $29.99, a $10 premium over the currently-available downloadable edition.
But fans who already own Sonic Mania will be able to purchase all the new in-game content as a downloadable expansion.
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, Clustertruck, Kirby Star Allies, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week
The virtual stockers who help run the 3DS eShop are getting the week off, but Nintendo still plans to add 17 new titles to the Switch eShop over the next seven days.
This week’s biggest new release is definitely Kirby Star Allies, which will be available to download beginning tomorrow. Kirby Star Allies is a side-scrolling platformer that includes a drop-in/drop-out multiplayer option and new Friend Abilities to use against enemies. Also available to download on Friday is Tesla Vs Lovecraft, an overhead shooter where players will have to fight H.P. Lovecraft’s nightmarish monsters in a mech suit piloted by Nikola Tesla.
Horrible monstrosities are also at the center of Koei Tecmo’s Attack On Titan 2, and Switch owners will be able to do battle against the Titans for the first time on Tuesday, March 20. WayForward will also bring the third game in the Shantae series, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, to the Switch on the same day.
Finally, if you’re looking to download something today, the truck-to-truck jumping of Clustertruck is now available through the Switch eShop, as is a re-release of Bad Dudes, a classic beat ’em up from the 1980s.
You can learn more about all of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Kirby Star Allies, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse
UK-developed Hellblade leads the way at 2018 BAFTA Games Awards with 9 nominations
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was developed in the United Kingdom at Ninja Theory, and this hometown advantage helped it lead the way with nine nominations at the 2018 BAFTA Games Awards.
With so many nominations, it’s no surprise that Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is up for “Best Game,” and it’ll be competing against Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Origins, Guerrilla’s Horizon: Zero Dawn, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey, and Giant Sparrow’s What Remains of Edith Finch.
The BAFTA Games Awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, April 12, and hosting duties will once again be handled by comedian Dara O’Briain. If you weren’t able to score a ticket to the big show, you’ll still be able to livestream the entire ceremony through BAFTA.org and several other streaming platforms.
The complete list of nominees in all categories can be found after the break. (more…)
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire will be released for the PC on May 8
Obsidian Entertainment sent out a short news blast this afternoon to confirm that Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire will be released for the PC on May 8. The isometric RPG was originally expected to launch on April 3, but the developer needed more time to “put those finishing touches on the game”:
We know you’re as excited as we are about the upcoming launch of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. As you have probably guessed, Deadfire is a huge game — significantly larger than the original Pillars of Eternity. Obsidian has been working harder than Abydon himself to make every inch of it awesome, as well as incorporating all the great feedback we have been getting from everyone playing the Backer Beta.
With this in mind, we are taking just a few extra weeks to polish and put those finishing touches on the game.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is also in development for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. It’s on track to make its console debut this Fall.
And if you’re planning to attend PAX East in Boston next month, you’ll be able to play Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire at the Versus Evil booth.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged PAX East 2018, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Super Daryl Deluxe is a hand-drawn action RPG… and it’ll be available on April 10
Dan & Gary Games has announced they’ll release their debut title, Super Daryl Deluxe, for the PC, PS4, and Switch on April 10. Featuring hand-drawn graphics and an original soundtrack, players take control of a hapless high schooler named Daryl in the game, and they’ll need obtain a variety of superpowers if they want to save the day:
Water Falls High School, of course, is a perfectly normal multidimensional high school. Its classrooms literally whisk students away to alternate worlds coinciding with their subjects, where kids can do anything from arguing the value of capitalism with Joseph Stalin in History to offering a fist bump to Oedipus in Literature. You know, just like every other school.
What’s not normal are the missing students, the locked down classrooms, and the shadowy principal that no one has actually seen. Not to mention something about a secret that nearly destroyed the world 40 years ago.
Enter Daryl Whitelaw, the poorly-postured mouth-breather who just wants to make friends that has found himself the unlikely hero of this story. With the aid of a self-help book, Daryl can attain more than 45 powers, from thrashing enemies with an axe three times his weight to cleaning their faces up with a mop. Abilities can be customized and upgraded, making for endless playstyles and combinations.
A new trailer for Super Daryl Deluxe has been embedded above, and it’ll give you a good idea about what to expect with this side-scrolling action RPG in the “MetroidVania” mold.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch
Tagged Super Daryl Deluxe
New Retail Releases: Kirby Star Allies, Surviving Mars, The 25th Ward: The Silver Case, More
A handful of re-releases and the return of Nintendo’s pink puffball take center stage in this week’s New Retail Releases report…
Kirby will make his Switch debut this week in Kirby Star Allies. The side-scrolling platformer includes drop-in/drop-out multiplayer for up to four players, and Kirby will be able to unleash brand new Friend Abilities against the game’s colorful foes. Speaking of things that are colorful, fans of city-building sims will be able to colonize the Red Planet this week in Haemimont’s Surviving Mars for the PS4 and Xbox One.
And if you’re looking to give a classic game from yesteryear a second chance, you’ll have plenty of opportunities this week. Capcom will bring Devil May Cry HD Collection to the PS4 and Xbox One. Electronic Arts and Criterion will hit the gas on Burnout Paradise Remastered for the PS4 and Xbox One. And NIS America will bring Suda51’s The 25th Ward: The Silver Case to North America for the first time on the PS4.
Finally this week, Nintendo will relaunch Splatoon 2 as the Splatoon 2: Starter Edition. It’ll include the original game for the Switch, as well as guide book, and a sticker sheet.
A complete look at all of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged Burnout Paradise, Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2, Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, Kirby Star Allies, Splatoon 2