Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- 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
- “Animal Crossing” and Undertale” Lead the Way for New Book Series About Games at University of Chicago Press
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)
All Articles: Switch
The Wonderful 101 Remastered will be released on May 19
With their Kickstarter campaign entering its final days, Platinum Games and Nighthawk Interactive have announced a release date for The Wonderful 101 Remastered. The campaign’s backers are still on track to receive the game in April, but all PC, PS4, and Switch owners will get a second chance to play the quirky superhero game on May 19.
Along with confirmation of the release date, Game Designer Hideki Kamiya published a heartfelt message to fans of the game on Platinum’s official website:
Re-Introducing the Wonderful 101
Hello, everyone. Platinum Games Chief Game Designer Hideki Kamiya here.
About seven years ago, we released The Wonderful 101. I’ve moved up to become a member of the Platinum Games executive board, but back in those days, I didn’t think very much about the business end of things (okay, I’ll admit that maybe I still don’t). I devoted all of my attention to creating games that met my own personal standards. The Wonderful 101 was the sixth game I’d directed throughout my career. Unfortunately, I can’t say it was much of a success, from a business standpoint.
But I’ve also never thought of it as a failure. I didn’t back then, and I don’t today. That’s because, to a game creator, a game is only a failure if it disappoints the gamers who play it. From the start, The Wonderful 101 didn’t quite reach a large enough audience for me to clearly call it either way.
So regardless of how The Wonderful 101 fared in the marketplace the first time around, I’m considering this a chance to show it to the world again. I’m looking forward to seeing how it measures up.
The Wonderful 101 has gotten this miraculous second chance thanks to all of you who’ve told us you wanted to play it, as well as the passionate PG staff who worked on it with me. We’re delighted to see it return on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Steam.
This isn’t just a simple port, either. We’ve tuned the controls for each new platform and made several adjustments that should make it easier to grasp and play. On top of that, we’ve improved the image quality and frame rate to suit modern hardware. On the whole, I’d say The Wonderful 101 Remastered is the definitive edition of the game!
We’ve loaded The Wonderful 101 Remastered with as much Platinum spirit as we could. I sincerely hope you’ll all play it and let us know what you think!
If you’re attending PAX East this weekend in Boston, you’ll be able to get some demo time with The Wonderful 101 Remastered at Platinum’s booth. A short Release Date Trailer for the game has also been embedded above.
Posted in News
Tagged PAX East 2020, PC, PS4, Switch, The Wonderful 101
See the first Gameplay Trailer for Alien Hominid Invasion
PAX East kicked off this morning, and The Behemoth has used the annual game expo to give fans a chance to try out their next project, Alien Hominid Invasion. But for those of us who couldn’t make the trek to Boston, they also uploaded a brand new Gameplay Trailer for the game, which has been embedded above.
The short clip gives us a nice peak at the developer’s commitment to “reimagine” Alien Hominid for a new generation of players. In addition to showcasing a variety of new ways to beat the dreaded Agents, Alien Hominid Invasion will include four-player cooperative play, a non-linear world map, procedurally-generated levels, and customizable alien mutations that grant superpowers such as speed, healing, and flight:
Alien Hominid Invasion is packed with chaos, mayhem, and a whole lot of explosions. Unlock and equip an arsenal of weapons and boosts, level up, then beam down to invade Earth with up to three other friends. Abduct intel from your enemies to sabotage their plans, observe the oddities of human life, blow up bosses, and mutate into a variety of powerful Alien forms in order to take down the not-so-secret Agents that are dead set on ruining your day.
Alien Hominid Invasion doesn’t have a release date, but it’s currently in development for the PC, Switch, and Xbox One.
Posted in News
Tagged Alien Hominid Invasion, PAX East 2020, PC, Switch, Xbox One
Sumo Digital will bring arcade-inspired Hotshot Racing to PC and consoles this Spring
From 2004’s OutRun 2 all the way up to last year’s Team Sonic Racing, developer Sumo Digital has spent the majority of their long history producing some of the best arcade-style racing games in existence. And today, the UK-based studio announced their next major project… the retro-inspired Hotshot Racing.
Previously known as “Racing Apex,” Hotshot Racing will be co-developed by Lucky Mountain Games and published by Curve Digital. The game will feature multiple racers, as well as online multiplayer for up to eight players, four-player local splitscreen, and an amazing polygonal style that’ll pop off the screen at 60 frames per second:
Curve Digital is delighted to unveil the colourful retro-inspired racing game, Hotshot Racing, from Lucky Mountain Games and experienced racing genre stalwarts, Sumo Digital. Hotshot Racing channels classic arcade racers sporting colorful polygonal visuals, boost-fueled drift gameplay and a silky smooth 60 frames per second in the game’s single-player modes regardless of platform.
Hotshot Racing is set to emulate and expand upon the classic ‘90s arcade racing game formula featuring eight different hotshot drivers to choose from (each with their own personality and multiple varied four-wheeled rides), 16 personality-filled sun-baked tracks from across the globe, and multiple game modes for players to prove their driving prowess.
Hotshot Racing will be released this Spring for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. And be sure to peek a glimpse at the Announcement Trailer embedded above.
Super Crush KO Review – A Pretty Great Pastel Puncher
Vertex Pop is a developer that first appeared on my radar in 2015 after the release of their debut game, We Are Doomed. The excellent twin-stick shooter used a graphical style reminiscent of paper cutouts to build its unique world, and paired it with the chill soundtrack that helped slow down the often frantic action.
We Are Doomed was followed two years later by Graceful Explosion Machine, a side-scrolling shooter that cemented the papery look and relaxing tunes as something of a house style for the developer, while also breaking out as one of the first big “Nindies” on the Switch.
That house style is once again on full display in Super Crush KO, a classically-styled beat ’em up that’s been drenched in Vertex Pop’s signature pastel palette. (more…)
Posted in Reviews
Tagged PC, Super Crush KO, Switch
Jamestown+ Review – Get Your Bum to Mars
Final Form Games is a small developer based out of Philadelphia, and they originally released Jamestown, a vertically-scrolling “neoclassical” shooter, for the PC in 2011. Three years later, they brought their game to the PS4 as Jamestown+, adding a pair of bonus levels and several new ships.
But here we are in 2019 and it looks like the game is finally ready to reach its “final form” (or rather, how the developer “originally intended” to release it). That’s because the development team will bring Jamestown+ to the Switch this week with even more updates and improvements. (more…)
Shovel Knight’s King of Cards and Showdown expansions will be released on December 10
Yacht Club Games has announced that the first chapter of the Shovel Knight saga is finally coming to a close after four expansions and five glorious years (though you’ll need to tack on an additional year if you want to go all the way back to the Kickstarter campaign). Yesterday, the developer confirmed that Shovel Knight: King of Cards and Shovel Knight Showdown will both be released on December 10.
King of Cards is a followup to Plague of Shadows and Specter of Torment, and it’ll be the final side-story starring a member of the villainous Order of No Quarter. Meanwhile, Showdown breaks from tradition and isn’t a platformer at all. Instead, it’s a multiplayer fighting game that features the franchise’s entire cast, along with a huge single-player adventure.
Fans who originally backed the Kickstarter campaign for Shovel Knight, or who own the Treasure Trove bundle, will receive both expansions for free. The King of Cards expansion will be available for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One, while Showdown will be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, and Xbox One.
Yacht Club will also release King of Cards and Showdown as standalone downloads for fans who are digging into the franchise for the first for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Finally, the developer will try to also take over your favorite game store on December 10th with the release of a pair of Amiibo sets (a Treasure Trove 3-Pack and a Gold Edition Shovel Knight), as well as a Physical Edition of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (which includes the original game and all four expansions) for the Switch and Xbox One. A PS4 version of the Physical Edition will follow in 2020.
Whew, that’s a lot of Shovel Knight. But don’t forget, Yacht Club is also hard at work on a 16-bit-styled sequel/spin-off known as Shovel Knight Dig.
Posted in News
Tagged 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Shovel Knight, Shovel Knight Showdown, Shovel Knight: King of Cards, Switch, Vita, Wii U, Xbox One
Wilmot’s Warehouse Review – Probably Not An Accurate Warehouse Simulator, But Absolutely A Blast
Wilmot’s Warehouse is a delightfully refreshing take on the puzzle genre. You – Wilmot – need to take deliveries, organize them in your warehouse, and deliver them. Sounds easy, right? Did I mention there are 200 different items you’ll need to organize, and most everything is timed? Oh, and you are a white square with a cute smiley face, and all the items you have to organize are the same size as you, just with different, colorful images on them? And that you can unlock a helper named Borky?
Well, buckle up. Wilmot’s Warehouse is simultaneously soothing and stressful – and I had a hard time putting it down. (more…)
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Review – Party Like It’s 1964
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is a slightly different game than I was expecting. I thought it was just going to be a simple party game with an interesting, nostalgia-driven Story Mode. What I didn’t realize was that it was also a game that would teach me a lot about the Olympics, Japanese interest and pride in the Olympics, and facts about both the 1964 and upcoming 2020 Games in Tokyo. Oh, and it was fun, too! (more…)
Posted in Reviews
Tagged Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Switch