Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Previews
Bot Gaiden Is A Side-Scrolling Platformer With Style: An Interview With Doug Pohl of SwordSwipe Studios
MetroidVanias rose to fame in the 80s and 90s thanks to the popularity of the Metroid and Castlevania franchises, but the genre went dormant in the 2000s as developers pushed pixels aside for polygons and aspired to create sprawling 3D worlds. After being rediscovered and remixed by the indie community, the MetroidVania is finally having its moment here in 2018.
But what if you’re looking for something else from a side-scroller? What if you want the fast action and self-contained levels that characterized the Ninja Gaiden and Contra franchises? Enter SwordSwipe Studios, and their upcoming game, Bot Gaiden.
The gameplay style and artistic inspirations for Bot Gaiden came to us straight from the 80s, but unlike most side-scrollers now on the market, SwordSwipe’s platformer doesn’t look like it came from the 80s. We sat down with Doug Pohl, one of the developer’s co-founders, to find out exactly how he’s bringing back the fast action and precision platforming of those classics in a new package. (more…)
Interview: Pocket Mana on the Launch of My Uncle Merlin’s Kickstarter Campaign
Today, Pocket Mana launched a Kickstarter campaign for the company’s debut game, My Uncle Merlin, an interactive adventure for the PC about wizards in space. We caught up with Predrag Mladenovic (who composes stuff), Milan Andrejevic (who writes stuff), and Stefan Sladic (who draws stuff), to find out more about the game, and what had led them to crowdfund the project. (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, Previews, Top Story
PAX West 2017 Notebook: Nintendo’s Nindies Summer Showcase
Nintendo brought a fresh batch of Nindies games into the spotlight today during their Nindies Summer Showcase. Over the span of 22 minutes, a ton of new indie games were announced for the Switch during a rapid-fire, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it stream. Luckily, I had my handy notebook ready, so here’s a complete breakdown of the games that were shown. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Features, Previews, Switch, Top Story
Tagged No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again, PAX West 2017, Shovel Knight: King of Cards, SteamWorld Dig 2
Arms Global Testpunch Impressions: Nintendo’s New Fighter Needs a Helping Hand
After launching their newest console with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and a “Global Testfire” for Splatoon 2, Nintendo gave Switch owners a taste of their first wholly original game this weekend with a “Global Testpunch” for Arms.
Arms is what you get if you take Punch-Out‘s behind-the-back viewpoint and give every character a stretchy extendable set of arms and a pair of superpowered boxing gloves (which are, strangely enough, also known in-game as “Arms”). It’s all very silly, and the gameplay often feels a little wishy-washy, but Nintendo might be able to overcome these flaws and transform Arms into another big hit. (more…)
Pyre Hands-On Preview: Supergiant Hits Their Stride With This Upcoming Arena Action RPG
Supergiant Games is known for its unique audio work, gameplay, narrative design, and possibly above all, its vivid art direction and worldbuilding. Pyre is no exception to this, but I would argue that it’s the game where Supergiant is finally hitting their stride. With a combination of stylized art design, innovative and intuitive gameplay, and intriguing characters, it feels like they’ve gone to a whole new level of game design. Not that Bastion and Transistor weren’t excellent in their own right, but Pyre feels like a natural evolution from those games to something wholly different – and yet utterly Supergiant. (more…)
Splatoon 2 Global Testfire Impressions: This Pre-Release Test Proved Nintendo’s Shooter Franchise is Still “Fresh”
Even though it shipped to stores in a half-finished state, the near-instantaneous success of Splatoon guaranteed that a sequel would make an appearance sooner rather than later. But with Splatoon’s rise coinciding with the Wii U’s collapse, that sequel is now bound for a Summer 2017 launch on the Nintendo Switch. And the whole world got to test it out this weekend as part of the Splatoon 2 Global Testfire.
Does the franchise still feel “fresh” two years later? Oh yeah… (more…)
Posted in Previews, Switch, Top Story
Tagged Splatoon 2
Freedom Planet 2 Hands-On Preview: Not Your Parent’s Platformer
Over the last few days, I’ve had the pleasure of playing around with a demo for Freedom Planet 2, which is in development at GalaxyTrail. The demo itself isn’t that long (one stage with a boss battle), however, the game is just that damn fun that I kept coming back to it, trying to beat my time and experimenting with the four characters in an effort to determine whose move set best fit my play style.
Before playing the Freedom Planet 2 demo, I had never heard of GalaxyTrail or the original Freedom Planet game. Though fascinated by indie developers and the masterpieces that they create, I often shy away from playing them, instead opting for AAA titles. Freedom Planet 2 makes me regret that decision.
It’s hard to gather much from a demo that can be finished in a little over two minutes, however, I have drawn the conclusion that Freedom Planet 2 is definitely not your parent’s platformer. What do I mean by that? Despite its obvious similarities to Sonic the Hedgehog, Freedom Planet 2 sets itself apart from traditional platforming games while still holding on to the charming components that define the genre. (more…)
Posted in PC, Previews, Switch, Top Story
Tagged Freedom Planet 2, PAX South 2017
Gravity Rush 2 Hands-On Preview: Stylishly Falling Under the Spell of Sony Japan’s Sequel
I have no real familiarity with Gravity Rush, a gravity-defying action game first released for the PS Vita in 2012, and later remastered for the PlayStation 4 in 2015. I had heard it was a Japanese superhero game with a unique style, but never took the time to look into it further. With the Gravity Rush 2 demo now available on the PlayStation Network, I decided to jump in blind and see what awaited. (more…)
Posted in Previews, PS4, Top Story
Tagged Gravity Rush 2