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: Wii U
Snowcastle will launch Earthlock: Festival of Magic on Xbox One for free through Games With Gold and PC on September 1
Snowcastle Games has announced that their turn-based RPG, Earthlock: Festival of Magic, will be available to download for the PC and Xbox One on September 1. But best of all, Microsoft has confirmed that Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be able to get the game for free next month through the Games With Gold program.
If you’re unfamiliar with Earthlock: Festival of Magic, head to Xbox Wire to learn more about the game’s Norse inspirations:
This westernized turn-based RPG, which in subtle ways reveals its Scandinavian origin, starts as a simple quest, but develops into a deeper journey. Play as Amon and join several unlikely heroes to save Umbra, a beautiful but harsh world that mysteriously stopped spinning thousands of cycles ago. Mix up your strategy to beat your enemies by crafting ammo and materials, harvesting elemental plants, and customizing your characters’ talent tree.
Earthlock: Festival of Magic is also in development for the PS4 and Wii U, and will likely be released for both platforms sometime this Fall.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Earthlock: Festival of Magic, Gamescom 2016
Channel your inner Magneto in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s Magnesis Trial
After giving fans a brief glimpse at a crumbling Temple of Time in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo returns with another short video showcasing one of the game’s Shrines.
Players who visit Shrine Oman Au (Fun Fact: “Oman Au” is an anagram of “Aonuma,” as in Zelda Producer Eiji Aonuma) will be able to take part in the Magnesis Trial. As its name implies, the Magnesis Trial will give Link the power to manipulate metal objects like chests and doors with his hands… just like a certain Marvel supervillain. Completing the Trial will add the Magnesis ability to Link’s inventory, so he’ll be able to channel his inner Magneto throughout the rest of Hyrule as well:
Shrine Oman Au introduces the Magnesis ability in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.https://t.co/Gon92lqtWH
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 18, 2016
According to Nintendo, more than 100 Shrines will be scattered across the Hyrulian landscape. Each Shrine will reward players with Spirit Orbs that can be traded for various items, as well as Runes (like the Magnesis Rune) that grant players powerful abilities.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be released for the Wii U and NX sometime in 2017.
Posted in News, Switch, Wii U
Tagged The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild wins 2016 “Best of Gamescom” Award
After winning a basketful of “Best of E3” awards earlier this year, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has similarly dominated the conversation at Gamescom. Link’s next adventure won two Gamescom Awards this year… “Best Wii U Game” and the coveted “Best of Gamescom.”
Several other games were also big winners at the European gaming convention including For Honor (“Best PlayStation 4 Game” and “Best PC Game”), Sea of Thieves (“Best Xbox One Game” and “Best Multiplayer Game”), and Battlefield 1 (“Best Action Game” and the “Most Wanted Consumer Award”).
The full list of winners and nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Nintendo Download: Metroid Prime Federation Force, Style Savvy 3, Pokemon Ranger 3, more
Make your 3DS is charged, because Nintendo is releasing two new games for their handheld on the Nintendo eShop this week.
Samus Aran won’t star in Metroid Prime: Federation Force, and the art style is a bit on the cutesy side for a Metroid game, but players will be able to take control of a Federation Force Marine as they battle Space Pirates and Metroids on a mysterious planet. Up to four players can join the adventure, which will be released tomorrow, or they can take part in the included minigame, Blast Ball.
Also available to download for the 3DS tomorrow is Style Savvy: Fashion Forward, the latest game in Nintendo’s boutique management franchise. Players will be able to stock thousands of items in their boutique or “design clothes fit for a fashionista, style some wicked hair, master the art of make-up, and even become the next top model.”
Finally this week, the third game in the Pokemon Ranger series, Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs, will be available to download through the Wii U eShop. Originally released for the DS in 2010, players battle it out with the “Pokemon Pinchers” in this finale to the Pokemon Ranger trilogy.
More information on all of these games (and nearly a dozen other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Metroid Prime: Federation Force, Style Savvy: Fashion Forward
Splatoon Testfire Demo returns next week
If you haven’t tried out one of the Wii U’s biggest hits yet, Nintendo is bringing back the Splatoon “Testfire Demo” next week. Splatoon’s Testfire Demo will be available to download from the Wii U eShop from Thursday, August 25, through Sunday, August 28. Wii U owners will be able to jump into a match between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM (Eastern Time) on those four days.
Participants in the Testfire Demo will be able to choose from four different weapons (Splattershot Jr, Splattershot, Splat Roller, and Splat Charger) and two Stages (“Saltspray Rig” and “Walleye Warehouse”) as they battle it out in Splatoon’s Turf War Mode.
Splatoon was originally released for the Wii U last May. Since then, more than four million copies of the game have been sold worldwide, and it’s possible it’ll receive an upgraded re-release for the Nintendo NX next year.
Axiom Verge will be released for Wii U on September 1
Thomas Happ has revealed that Axiom Verge will be released for the Wii U on September 1. In a new post on the game’s official website, the developer said that Axiom Verge’s 8-bit inspirations made this announcement feel like a homecoming:
The Nintendo games of my childhood are what inspired me to make Axiom Verge. Metroid is probably one of the more obvious influences, but it’s actually a lot more than that. Axiom Verge actually started out as an exercise in game design. I wanted to deconstruct my favorite games from my youth and see what would happen if I took the best elements of each and put them together. The Bionic Commando’s grapple hook and Rygar’s Yo-Yo in the setting of Blaster Master and Shatterhand. I wanted to see what would fit together – and just as importantly what wouldn’t work.
Happ also refers to the Wii U version of the game as “probably the best one” because it’s the only console version to support Leaderboards for Speedrun Mode and includes Wii U GamePad support for Off-TV Play or a dedicated map screen.
Axiom Verge is also in development for the Xbox One, though its release date is still a mystery.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Axiom Verge
New Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild trailer reveals a crumbling Temple of Time
Even though Nintendo revealed an official timeline for the Legend of Zelda franchise in , fans are still obsessed with how new games fit into the over-arching storyline. The newest trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is going to give them a lot to talk about.
In a new post on their Facebook page, Nintendo has uploaded a new Breath of the Wild trailer that depicts the famed Temple of Time from Ocarina of Time:
Instead of the majestic structure visited by a Link from another era, this Temple lies in ruins, much like the rest of Hyrule. Unlocking the secret behind this destruction will drive players in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which will be released sometime next year for the Wii U and NX.
Posted in News, Switch, Wii U
Tagged The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Nordic Games fully rebrands themselves as THQ Nordic
THQ is back (sort of)!
After acquiring the company’s trademark in 2014, Nordic Games has announced a plan to rebrand the entire company as THQ Nordic. The publisher has issued a surprisingly amusing statement about the name change, which also looks back to their humble beginnings and rather bright future:
It all started out in Sweden in 2008 as a mini-venture to self-publish such illustrious titles like Dance Party Club Hits, Kart Racer, and Truck Racer (just to name a few) on PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii. The following year, we landed We Sing, a million-plus selling karaoke franchise for Nintendo Wii. In 2011, with our first of many acquisitions to come, Nordic Games began its transformation from small scale, two-platform games publisher to a multi-platform, multi-genre global player.
One could say the most defining moment for our company happened in 2013, grabbing headlines like; “Who the FUCK is Nordic Games?”, “Darksiders Gets Bought By… Nordic Games?”, and “Nordic Games explains who the F they are, plans for THQ assets”. Funny enough, back then, this was so true. Until that point, we had been a low profile publisher uttering expletives of our own along the way, and all of a sudden we found ourselves in the international gaming media spotlight. We knew then, with great certainty, that we’d just made the best deal in our company´s history.
THQ Nordic currently has 23 games in development, “the majority of [which] are based on former THQ owned IPs and franchises.” More than a dozen of these games have yet to be announced, but its possible they may make an appearance at this year’s Gamescom convention. THQ Nordic will have a large presence at the event, which kicks off next Wednesday, August 17.