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
New Releases: Super Mario Maker, Tearaway Unfolded, Hatsune Miku Project Mirai DX, More
Nintendo is finally ready to let fans unleash their inner Miyamoto this week with the release of Super Mario Maker for the Wii U. The course creator will let players design and upload a neverending stream of Mario levels, along with being able to play the dozens of courses already on the disc. Players will even have the ability to bring characters like Link and Samus Aran into a Mario game for the first time through an Amiibo tap or by unlocking the character through the Challenge Mode. Super Mario Maker may be the last video game we ever need.
However, if the idea of Super Mario Maker as the last video game you’ll ever play isn’t appealing, there are a few other new releases this week. Chief among them is Tearaway Unfolded, Media Molecule’s PS4 adaptation of their puzzle platformer, which was originally released for the Vita in 2013. Players can jump back into Atoi’s papercraft world to solve puzzles using the unique features of the DualShock 4 such as illuminating a dark room with the Light Bar or whipping up a windy storm with the controller’s built-in motion sensor.
Finally this week, we have a pair of brand new 3DS games… Sega plans to release Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX, an idol/maker/rhythm game, for the handheld. Meanwhile, Jeff Foxworthy will host another interactive adaptation of his game show, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?
Nintendo Download: Vs. Excitebike, Gunman Clive HD Collection, Mario Golf, more
A small handful of new games are now available through the Nintendo eShop as part of this week’s Nintendo Download and fans of retro games will definitely want to pay attention as most of this week’s new releases have a throwback aesthetic. Though, to be fair, some of them are just old:
- Available on the Wii U for the first time, the Gunman Clive HD Collection combines the two 3DS side-scrolling shooters into a single package of bandit, robot, and dinosaur hunting.
- Vs. Excitebike added splitscreen multiplayer to the Excitebike franchise when it originally launched on the Famicom Disk System in Japan. Never before released in the US, Vs. Excitebike is now available for the Wii U.
- Mario Golf was originally released for the Nintendo 64 and was the first Mario Golf game developed by Camelot. Fans have always loved the first game in the series and its now available to download on the Wii U.
- Finally this week, Jeff Foxworthy brings his throwback comedy to the 3DS with a portable adaptation of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Look at that… everything fits the theme this week.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Extreme Exorcism busts its way to release on September 23
Ripstone Publishing and Golden Ruby Games have announced that Extreme Exorcism will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, and Xbox One on September 23.
The retro-styled side-scroller follows ghostbuster Mae Barrons as she ventures into a haunted house to clean up a band of offending spirits. Armed only with her unique expertise (and a huge arsenal of guns), Mae will have to dodge ghosts that mimic her own movements from the previous round. According to the developer, “players are their own worst enemy and the longer they survive, the more chaotic the game becomes.”
In addition to Extreme Exorcism’s single-player Story Mode, the game will include a Challenge Mode with 50 challenge and local multiplayer (both Co-Op and Deathmatch) for up to four players. The game’s latest trailer has been embedded above.
Kickstart This! Anniversary Interview: Bendik Stang of Snowcastle Games Takes A Turn to Talk About Earthlock: Festival of Magic
Earthlock: Festival of Magic was one of those rare Kickstarter projects that immediately grabbed our attention with its strong, colourful art direction, firm sense of genre, and polished gameplay. Its ambition was only matched by the passion of small Norwegian outfit Snowcastle Games, who, with only a couple of games under its belt, sought $150,000 to make a huge RPG for both PC gamers as well as the new generation of consoles. Originally featured in March 2014’s Guinness Aftermath Edition of Kickstart This!, Earthlock: Festival of Magic is expected to be released for the PC, PS4, Wii U, and Xbox One later this year.
We caught up with Bendik Stang, Snowcastle’s Game Director, earlier this year to talk about the team’s progress from campaign to nearly-finished product, as well as their experience at the 2015 Game Developers Conference. He even shared two brand new pieces of concept art with us… (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, PS4, Top Story, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Earthlock: Festival of Magic
Xenoblade Chronicles X will also be available in a Special Edition
Nintendo has announced that Xenoblade Chronicles X will also be available in a Special Edition when its released for the Wii U on December 4. Nintendo doesn’t often wade into the Special Edition space, but the Xenoblade Chronicles X package is reasonably priced ($89.99) and will include the following bonus goodies:
- The Xenoblade Chronicles X game
- A gorgeous book of concept art with more than 100 pages, featuring select art for the very first time
- A unique USB drive modeled after the game’s “Lifehold Unit,” pre-loaded with a selection of 10 music tracks from the game’s memorable soundtrack
- A limited-edition matted 5×7 art card of a painting done for the game by illustrator Takashi Kojo
According to Nintendo, this Special Edition is “Unique to North America” and is available to pre-order now.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Xenoblade Chronicles X
Shovel Knight Amiibo figure (and possibly a sequel) officially announced by Nintendo
Wii U and 3DS owners were left out in the cold earlier this year when Shovel Knight‘s PS4 and Xbox One debut included exclusive platform-specific content. We could only sit back and watch as our knightly brethren did battle with Kratos and the Battletoads. However, the wait was probably worth it as Yacht Club Games had a very important Shovel Knight-related announcement to make during Nindies@Night, Nintendo’s pre-PAX event at the EMP Museum.
This news is three-pronged, and huge, so let’s start small. You know what else is small? Amiibo figures are small. Even a Shovel Knight Amiibo figure, which will be available this Fall and which unlocks exclusive content in the 3DS and Wii U game. On the Wii U, players will be able to team up with a friend and take on the Order of No Quarter in a co-op mode. In addition, customizable gear (featuring new visual enhancements, relics, and abilities) and a special Challenge Mode will also be available on the Wii U and the 3DS.
Let me pause for a moment and mention that Nintendo did not announce Shovel Knight’s addition to the DLC slate for Super Smash Bros. For 3DS/Wii U, even though an extensive fan campaign has been pushing for the character’s inclusion in the fighting game for months. However, the commission of an Amiibo figure (the first to be compatible with a Nindie game) is certainly a strong indicator that Nintendo is at least considering it.
Moving on, Nintendo also confirmed that the Shovel Knight Amiibo will be compatible with future games released for Nintendo platforms. So, in a roundabout way, Nintendo just confirmed the existence of Shovel Knight 2 (or a Shovel Knight appearance in Super Smash Bros. For 3DS/Wii U).
Yacht Club teased a “MEGATON” announcement earlier this week, and the announcement of a sequel to their beloved debut game (or an appearance in Smash Bros.) certainly fits the bill. Though, I suppose, the upcoming expansions would also count as “future games.” So we probably shouldn’t start talking sequel just yet.
Finally, the developer revealed that the Plague of Shadows expansion will be available to download in September. And if you’re interested in seeing the Shovel Knight Amiibo figure “in action,” I recommend checking out the comedic trailer from Game Grumps after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged PAX Prime 2015, Shovel Knight, Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows
Nintendo Download: Disney Infinity Star Wars, Runbow, Sin & Punishment 1 & 2
Today’s Nintendo Download is a big one for the Wii U as a pair of highly-anticipated titles and another pair of Nintendo classics are now available to download (or will be soon):
- Available on August 30, Disney Infinity: Star Wars will bring the Disney Infinity formula to the Star Wars universe, including a brand new series of figures.
- But available today is Runbow, a “frantic party-platforming game” for up to nine players that will also include a huge number of guest characters from Nintendo’s ever-expanding slate of “Nindies.”
- Rounding this week’s new releases are Sin & Punishment and Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, a beloved pair of rail shooters that are available to download on the Wii U for the first time.
More information on all of these games (and a few others) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Disney Infinity: Star Wars, Runbow
Nintendo dates Star Fox Zero, Fatal Frame 5, Devil’s Third, and more games for this Fall
While most Nintendo fans are pretty broken up about The Legend of Zelda Wii U‘s delay, the consolemaker still has an extensive lineup of games on track to launch this Fall. Earlier this week, they announced official release dates for three of these games…
- Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, a horror game developed in collaboration with Koei Tecmo, will be available exclusively through the Wii U eShop on October 22. Players will also be able to download a free-to-start demo that includes the prologue, the first chapter, and a good portion of the second.
- Star Fox Zero, the first game in the franchise for the Wii U, will be released on November 20.
- Devil’s Third, a melee brawler for the Wii U from Tomonobu Itagaki, will be released on December 11.
In addition to these three titles, Nintendo also nailed down release dates for several new Amiibo figures. The Mii Fighters 3-Pack, which is compatible with Super Smash Bros. For 3DS and Super Smash Bros. For Wii U, will be released on November 1. It’ll be followed by Mewtwo on November 13, Mega Yarn Yoshi (for use with Yoshi’s Woolly World) on November 15, and Falco on November 20.
And don’t forget about Mario. A Wii U System Bundle featuring Super Mario Maker will be available exclusively at Walmart on September 11. The bundle, which will retail for $299.96, will include the system, the game, an Idea Book, and a 30th Anniversary Mario Amiibo in “Modern Colors.” Mario’s first Wii U adventure will even get a makeover this Fall as a special New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U package will be released on October 16 with a $59.99 price tag.
Finally, Nintendo promised that Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, both of which are in development for the Wii U, will be released sometime during the “Holiday” season. I guess it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas…