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
Play as Sonic the Hedgehog in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD
Sonic the Hedgehog is strapping on his red sneakers and heading out for a new destination later this month.
Sega has announced that their beloved Blue Blur will make an appearance in the upcoming Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD as an unlockable character. And don’t worry, you’ll be collecting Rings, not bananas, when you play as Sonic:
Playing as the world’s fastest hedgehog comes with some unique effects. In addition to boasting incredible speed (obviously), selecting Sonic automatically changes all stages’ bananas to golden rings, complete with nostalgic, classic SFX!
You can check out Sonic’s slick moves in the trailer embedded above, but if you’d prefer to stick with Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD’s original rollers, the re-release will also include a selection of unlockable costumes for every monkey in the base cast.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD will be released for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on October 29. The game will also be available for the PC (through Steam) later this Winter.
Fortnite relaunches with a new map and new features as Fortnite: Chapter 2
Fortnite blipped out of existence on Sunday, as Epic Games closed out Season X of the battle royale shooter with a barrage of missiles that sucked players (and the entire game world) into a black hole. But this fiery end also gave players the chance at a new beginning, and Fortnite returned this morning after a 36-hour maintenance period as Fortnite: Chapter 2.
The world of Fortnite has changed in Chpater 2, thanks to a new map with 13 new locations to explore (including a power plant and a dam), and new features to play with.
Players interested in getting wet and wild in Chapter 2 can go fishing, pilot a motoboat, or swim for shore. Teams can also interact like never before as players can carry fallen teammates to safety, celebrate with a group high five, or get healthy with the new Bandage Bazooka. But players looking to cause a little mayhem will also get their shot in Fortnite: Chapter 2. Hiding places (like haystacks) now dot the map and Epic Games remembered their 90s-era roots with the addition of exploding barrels and gas tanks.
Fortnite: Chapter 2 is now available to download for the PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and mobile devices. A trailer showcasing many of the new features and locales has been embedded above.
Bubble Bobble 4 Friends will also include Bubble Bobble arcade game from 1986
Bubble Bobble, the quintessentially 80s bubble-busting platformer, found most of its fame thanks to an excellent NES adaptation. But did you know that the game originally got its start as an arcade cabinet in 1986? It’s true, and it looks this version of the game will be included with Bubble Bobble 4 Friends, a new sequel that’s currently in development for the Switch.
Developer Taito said that all 100 stages will be included in this “arcade-perfect” recreation, as well as the “original music, sound, and visuals”:
Bubble Bobble is an iconic cult game and is considered the most popular and innovative platformer of the ’80s. The twins Bub and Bob set out to free their girlfriends from the hands of the nasty baron, who also enchanted them into bubble dragons. As such, the brothers hop through the differently arranged platforms of the 100 colorful levels and shoot bubbles at numerous enemies. In the ’80s and ’90s, players jumped solo or in two-player co-op mode through the levels. Bubble Bobble’s success has seen it ported to more than 20 different platforms in recent decades, including the Commodore 64, Sega Genesis, and NES Classic Mini.
Bubble Bobble 4 Friends will be released exclusively for the Switch in Europe, Australia, and Asia on November 19. A North American launch will follow in Early 2020.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Bubble Bobble 4 Friends
Bethesda delays Doom Eternal and Doom 64 to March 20, 2020
Bethesda has dropped a BFG-sized blast on Doom Eternal‘s release date, as the publisher has announced that it’ll no longer be available this November.
Instead, the sequel to 2016’s Doom will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on March 20, 2020. Doom Eternal is also in development for the Switch, but it’ll make its debut on Nintendo’s console “after the other platforms.” As you might expect, Bethesda cited a need for more “polish” as the reason for the delay:
Throughout the development of Doom Eternal, our goal has been to deliver a game that exceeds your greatest expectations across the board.
To make sure we’re delivering the best experience — for Doom Eternal to live up to our standards of speed and polish — we’ve made the decision to extend our launch date by a few months to March 20, 2020. We know many fans will be disappointed by this delay, but we are confident that Doom Eternal will deliver a gaming experience that is worth the wait.
Sadly, this delay also applies to the digital debut of Doom 64, which will now launch on March 20, 2020 as well. But fans will be happy to know that the re-release won’t be limited to the Switch, as Bethesda has confirmed that Doom 64 is in the works for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
And on note, the publisher also announced that everyone who pre-orders Doom Eternal on the platform of their choice will also receive a free download code for Doom 64.
Nintendo finally adds “Play With Friends” option to Super Mario Maker 2
Ever since its launch back in June, fans of Super Mario Maker 2 have been clamoring for a way to play online with their friends. Well, now here we are three months later, and it looks like it finally happened.
As part of the Super Mario Maker 2’s new 1.1.0 Update, Nintendo has added a “Play With Friends” option to the Network Play screen for both Multiplayer Versus and Multiplayer Co-Op. This new feature also extends to Nearby Play users who want to tackle one of the game’s many courses together locally.
Nintendo has detailed more features coming to Super Mario Maker 2 in the 1.1.0 Update on the game’s official website, including support for voice chat through the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app, an Official Makers list for courses made by Nintendo, and Joy-Con support for all game modes.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Super Mario Maker 2
See The Terminator deliver a cybernetic smackdown in Mortal Kombat 11
The Mortal Kombat franchise is just rife with cyborgs (and humans with cybernetic enhancements), but it’ll soon welcome the original killer cyborg into the fold as Kombat Pack owners will be able to download Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Terminator in Mortal Kombat 11 on October 8.
This new trailer gives us a glimpse at The Terminator’s powerful punches, as well as his personal Time Displacement Sphere (that acts as a teleporter), and the exploding power pack from Terminator 3. But this T-800 pulls most of his moves from The Terminator and Terminator 2, including a preference for a shotgun and the ability to keep fighting as just an endoskeleton after being exposed to fire.
All Mortal Kombat 11 players will be able to purchase the standalone version of The Terminator beginning on October 15, and don’t forget, Terminator: Dark Fate (starring Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and Edward Furlong) opens in theaters on November 1.
Dig into the Opening Cinematic from Minecraft Dungeons right here
Minecraft fans got a small window into the future of the franchise during today’s MineCon Live livestream, and the development team at Mojang dug deep to deliver the first look at the Opening Cinematic from next year’s Minecraft Dungeons. Featuring an evil overlord and a mysterious object of immense power, this new video certainly sets the mood for what fans can expect from the fantasy-themed epic:
When a lonely, outcast Illager stumbles upon a mysterious object with terrifying powers, his entire existence is turned upside down. Before long, he finds himself on a path of evil, causing mayhem across the Overworld. Who can stop him?
Minecraft Dungeons will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One in Spring 2020, and a Closed Beta for the dungeon-crawling spinoff will be available sometime between now and then. You can sign up now for a chance to receive an invitation at the game’s official website.
New Retail Releases: FIFA 20, Code Vein, Contra Rogue Corps, More
The month of September is rolling to a close with a bevy of new retail releases, including FIFA 20, the latest launch for EA Sports’s soccer simulation series. FIFA 20 will be available for the PS4 and Xbox One, and a Legacy Edition of the game will be released for the Switch.
Monsters and mayhem are also on the docket for this week, as Bandai Namco will bring their vampire-centric action RPG, Code Vein, to the PS4 and Xbox One. It’ll be joined by Konami’s latest bizarro take on the Contra franchise, the twin-stick shooter Contra: Rogue Corps, for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Speaking of the Switch, several big titles will finally make their way to Nintendo’s console. Square Enix’s epic RPG Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition will be released for the Switch, as will Behavior Interactive’s multiplayer survival game Dead by Daylight and THQ Nordic’s apocalyptic action game Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition.
Elsewhere on store shelves this week, Focus Home Interactive will publish their futuristic action RPG, The Surge 2, for the PS4 and Xbox One. And Spike Chunsoft will also go the sci-fi route for their latest adventure game, AI: The Somnium Files, on the PS4 and Switch.
And finally, Natsume wants to get players invested in the fast farming of Harvest Moon: Mad Dash on the PS4 and Switch.
A complete list of this week’s new retail releases can be found after the break. (more…)