Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: PC
Super Crush KO will bring pastel punches to the PC and Switch on January 16, 2020
Vertex Pop has announced that Super Crush KO, their upcoming ultra-colorful brawler, will be released for the PC and Switch on January 16, 2020. If you’re unfamiliar with Super Crush KO, the development team also sent over this handy primer for the game’s pastel post-apocalypse:
Combining beat ’em up and run and gun action, Super Crush KO, has players take control of Karen, a tough and fashionable brawler in a colorful world overrun by frantic robot enemies. Karen must wipe them out using punches, kicks and long-range combat in fluid combos on the way to save her cat Chubbz and (while she’s at it) humanity. Featuring delightful hand-drawn graphics, a pastel color palette and a catchy soundtrack, this is a feel-good action game complemented with bright and stylish aesthetics.
“We are very excited to announce that Super Crush KO will soon be available on Nintendo Switch and Steam, packing fast-paced thrilling fights, intuitive controls and colorful aesthetic,” said Game Designer Mobeen Fikree. ”Super Crush KO is easy to pick up yet hard to master, but no matter the player level, everyone will have a great time smashing hordes of robot enemies in style.”
To celebrate the release date announcement, Vertex Pop also unveiled a brand new Gameplay Trailer, which has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, Switch
Tagged Super Crush KO
Cloud Chamber is 2K’s newest internal studio and their first project is BioShock 4
The best news to arrive in our inbox this morning is that 2K Games has finally confirmed that BioShock 4 is officially in development. However, the bad news is that the project is just getting off the ground and that it’ll likely be in development “for the next several years.”
While we didn’t learn anything substantial about the next entry in the BioShock franchise today, 2K did share that the game is currently in the works at a brand new internal studio known as Cloud Chamber. The Cloud Chamber team will be split across two locations, San Francisco and Montreal, and Kelley Gilmore (formerly of Firaxis) will head up the joint effort from her home base in California.
“We founded Cloud Chamber to create yet-to-be-discovered worlds – and their stories within – that push the boundaries of what is possible in the video game medium,” said Gilmore. “Our team believes in the beauty and strength of diversity, in both the makeup of the studio and the nature of its thinking. We are a deeply experienced group of game makers, including many responsible for BioShock’s principal creation, advancement, and longstanding notoriety, and honored to be part of the 2K family as stewards of this iconic franchise.”
“As we continue growing our product portfolio, we remain inspired by opportunities to invest further in our valuable IP, great people and their collective, long-term potential,” added 2K’s President, David Ismailer. “BioShock is one of the most beloved, critically praised and highest-rated franchises of the last console generation*. We can’t wait to see where its powerful narrative and iconic, first-person shooter gameplay head in the future with our new studio team at Cloud Chamber leading the charge.”
With a multi-year development schedule ahead of it, BioShock 4 is most likely in development for the PC and one or both of the next-generation console platforms.
Posted in News, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X
Tagged BioShock 4
Kickstart This! Radical Chess, Guinea Pig Parkour, and Endless Memories
Kickstarter is like a devil’s playground of goodies just waiting to be funded. I’m currently toying with the idea of spending $1,000 on the Raine One Electric Scooter, if only for its glowing wheels and similar name to my own.
But the crowdfunding site is also one of the best ways for solo developers and small indie studios to present their project to an audience directly, which is what I love about it. Make a trailer that oozes passion and originality for a game that also looks cool, and I will throw my money at you like I’m in a strip joint.
So which games have caught my eye recently? In this edition of Kickstart This!, I will face off with Radical Chess, roll and jump in the 2D platformer Guinea Pig Parkour, and battle my way through the 2D action adventure Endless Memories. (more…)
Kickstart This! The Sad Tale of Knite and the Ghost Lights
Long time readers of Kickstart This! may recall Knite and the Ghost Lights by Mobot Studios. The gorgeous side-scroller was one of the first games we featured in this column and one of the first Kickstarter projects that I backed personally.
Even now, I have fond memories of discovering the game on the crowdfunding site way back in October of 2013. It was pitched as a stop-motion RPG built with a strong sense of early Tim Burton. Knite and the Ghost Lights was going to be delivered by July 2014 on the PC and Wii U (Nintendo’s previous console is another thing I have fond memories of).
However, the delivery deadline was missed, and that’s when things started to go wrong for the game, which has been limping along and languishing in development hell ever since. At the time, Lex Plotnikoff, the lead artist and creative force on Knite and the Ghost Lights, found himself unable to return to America. The Russian national was mired in red tape, which threw a proverbial spanner into the works, and brought development on the game grinding to a halt. (more…)
Posted in Features, PC, Wii U
Tagged Knite and the Ghost Lights
Valve officially unveils Half-Life: Alyx… and a March 2020 release date
Rise and shine, Valve, rise and shine.
The operators of Steam have finally returned to large-scale game development… and to the Half-Life franchise. The developer unveiled the first trailer for Half-Life: Alyx earlier today, along with confirmation that we won’t have to wait very long to play the VR-focused title. According to Valve, Half-Life: Alyx will launch in March of 2020, making an already-packed month for new releases even more crowded.
Set between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2, Half-Life: Alyx puts players into the literal gloves of Alyx Vance as she searches for something known as “The Vault”:
Valve’s return to the Half-Life universe that started it all was built from the ground up for virtual reality. VR was built to enable the gameplay that sits at the heart of Half-Life.
Immerse yourself in deep environmental interactions, puzzle solving, world exploration, and visceral combat.
Lean to aim around a broken wall and under a Barnacle to make an impossible shot. Rummage through shelves to find a healing syringe and some shotgun shells. Manipulate tools to hack alien interfaces. Toss a bottle through a window to distract an enemy. Rip a Headcrab off your face and throw it out the window.
Half-Life: Alyx will be compatible with all major VR headsets, including the Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality. But all Valve Index owners will receive a copy of the game for free when it’s ready.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Half-Life: Alyx
Geoff Keighley has announced the nominees for the 2019 Game Awards
We’re getting closer and closer to the end of the year, and that’s means that it’s finally time for the Game Awards. The nominations for the annual awards show were announced earlier today, and Remedy’s Control, Kojima Productions’s Death Stranding, Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds, Capcom’s Resident Evil 2, From Software’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will all be competing for “Game of the Year.”
Host Geoff Keighley isn’t involved in the nominating process, but it still feels strange to realize that he actually appears as a non-player character in Death Stranding. Hideo Kojima’s latest game, and first as an independent developer, ultimately received nine nominations across eight categories (both Norman Reedus and Mads Mikkelsen were nominated for “Best Performance”).
Fans are once again encouraged to vote for their favorite games at the award show’s official website, and fan votes will have a real effect on the outcome, as they’ll count for a 10% share of the voting jury.
The 2019 Game Awards will be held on Thursday, December 12. In addition to all the winners, we can also expect to see a lot of World Premiere Trailers for upcoming games, some of which will be announced in the coming days.
In the meantime, you can find a complete list of all the nominees after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Control, Death Stranding, Game Awards 2019, Resident Evil 2, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, The Outer Worlds
Valve will unveil Half-Life: Alyx this Thursday
Half-Life.
Even saying those words is enough to conjur a variety of emotions in your average. Awe at the first two games in the franchise. Disgust at Valve for their decision to drop the almost-mythical Half-Life 2: Episode 3. And a wistful sense of longing that maybe someday the developer will bring the goateed Gordon Freeman back from the dead.
While that last one is still just wishful thinking, it looks like Valve is finally ready to return to the world of Half-Life:
We’re excited to unveil Half-Life: Alyx, our flagship VR game, this Thursday at 10am Pacific Time.
Can’t wait to share it with all of you! pic.twitter.com/BupFCxSrTw
— Valve (@valvesoftware) November 18, 2019
Meet Half-Life: Alyx… or rather… check back on Thursday at 1:00 PM (Eastern Time) to get your first look at Valve’s “flagship VR game” for the PC.
As of now, we don’t know anything about Valve’s mysterious new project, but it more than likely stars Half-Life 2‘s Alyx Vance and, oh yeah, it’s the first new entry in the Half-Life saga in over ten years.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Half-Life: Alyx
Dragon Quest Builders 2 will make its way to the PC on December 10
It looks like Dragon Quest Builders 2, Square Enix’s second attempt at melding an RPG-style adventure with Minecraft‘s building and crafting mechanics, will be available to download for the PC (via Steam) on December 10:
Dragon Quest Builders 2, the critically acclaimed block-building RPG from Dragon Quest series creators Yuji Horii, character designer Akira Toriyama and composer Koichi Sugiyama is coming to Steam on December 10th, 2019!
Create your customized character, team-up with your fearless friend Malroth, gather the skills required to become a full-fledged builder, and combat the Children of Hargon, a vile cult that worships destruction! Then, take your builder online and join your friends to collaborate and create something truly magnificent.
Originally released for the PS4 and Switch earlier this year, Dragon Quest Builders 2’s PC launch will include the base game, as well as all the new content from the game’s Season Pass (be on the lookout for more “Recipes, Hairstyles, Clothing, and new areas to explore”).
Players who purchase the game by January 6th will also receive a six-pack of bonus Recipes to further customize their game.
A new trailer for Dragon Quest Builders 2’s PC debut has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Dragon Quest Builders 2