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Tips & GuidesHow To Split Your Video Games After A Breakup
Breaking up sucks. It sucks even more when you weigh external factors. Who gets the cat? Who gets the friend group? Who gets to keep the video games? If you’re currently struggling with that last question, we’ve collected some expert advice that might help you. A tweet from Vice editor Sara David kicked off some…
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Tips & GuidesGames You Can Play For Free While Stuck At Home
By now, you’ve hopefully hopped on the social distancing train. As so many experts have suggested, it’s one of the best tactics for slowing the spread of covid-19. One possible side effect of social distancing is that you might find yourself with an uncontrollable urge to play a lot of video games. Thing is, playing…
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OpinionImpressionsIf You’ve Never Played Xenoblade, The Switch Version Is A Great Starting Place
Kotaku’s Mike Fahey put it best when he said that Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition “makes an excellent third impression.” As a newcomer to the series, I’d like to add to that: It makes an excellent first impression, as well. Nintendo’s latest Switch game isn’t exactly full of surprises. Monolith Soft’s venerable role-playing game, spiritual successor…
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CultureCivilization VI’s Crossplay Randomly Broke Last Week, But It Should Be Fixed This Month
PC and Mac players of Civilization VI aren’t able to face off in multiplayer matches of global domination as of last week, since the 4X strategy game’s crossplay feature suddenly ceased to function. But the game’s developer says it should be back online before the month is out. Update: 6/26/2020, 10:30 a.m.: PC-Mac crossplay for…
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Tips & GuidesHow You Can Support Black Gamers
More than a week has passed since the brutal police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Rallies and protests have since ensued, rightfully, from coast-to-coast. And it’s not just Floyd. It’s Philando Castile and Breonna Taylor, Freddie Gray and Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner (among many, many, many others). The deaths of black…
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OpinionImpressionsThere’s Always A Lighthouse. There’s Always BioShock Switch Impressions
BioShock: The Collection, which contains all three games in the series and their DLC in one neat package, came out for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in 2016. This week, it’s on Switch. As it turns out, both Rapture and Columbia are well worth the return voyage. All three BioShock games have actually been…
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Tips & GuidesHow To Manage All 95,128 Side-Quests In Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
If you know anything about Xenoblade Chronicles, you know it’s 92.7 percent side-quest. Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, the spiffed-up version out tomorrow for Nintendo Switch, is no different. There are enough side-quests in this role-playing game to put Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Fallout 4, and The Witcher 3 to shame. In fact, even if you’re the…
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Tips & GuidesHow To Decipher Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition’s Ridiculously Cluttered Battle HUD
This ain’t Shulk’s first rodeo. Xenoblade Chronicles first came out for the Wii, and was then ported to the 3DS not long after. Now, on Friday, Monolith Soft’s beloved side-quest compilation lands on Switch as Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition. It’s a prettier, fine-tuned version of one of the great role-playing games of a previous generation.…
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CultureKotaku Game DiaryA Bet Over Animal Crossing: New Horizons Screwed Me Out Of $30
Over the past few months, I haven’t been shy about my feelings for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I’ve called it “seriously stressful,” an “exercise in patience,” and a “shoddy Xerox of life’s daily headaches.” I’ve publicly insulted Tom Nook and Jolly Redd. I compared a recent event to socks. Well, last week Animal Crossing: New…
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CulturePSA: Civilization VI Is Free On The Epic Games Store Right Now
Everyone likes a good discount, but nothing beats a 100-percent markdown. Each week, for those who don’t know, the Epic Games Store gives out a free game, no strings attached. All you need is an Epic Games Store account. (Okay, fine, so maybe there’s one string.) During the current Mega Sale—a month-long event in which…
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Tips & GuidesHow To Have The Best Time Playing Super Mario Party
Mario Party games go poorly when tempers run hot. One minute, you’re about to finally (finally!) grab a star. The next, one of your so-called “friends” uses a Golden Pipe and snatches it from your grasp. Or maybe you’re stuck in a rut of poor mini-game performance. Coming dead last in a dozen mini-games in…
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CultureBorderlands 3‘s Next Big Expansion Will Be A Western
Gearbox announced the third big expansion for Borderlands 3 today. It’s called Bounty of Blood: A Fistful of Redemption. It’s a western (sling those 87 bazillion guns, Vault Hunters) and it’s out on June 25. Announced during today’s episode of “The Borderlands Show,” Bounty of Blood will be all about “revenge and redemption” (like a…
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CultureSix Months LaterStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Six Months Later
There are Star Wars games, and then there’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Created by Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind Titanfall and Apex Legends, Fallen Order brought some spunk to that long-ago galaxy. Far, far away from a phoned-in, branded cash grab, Fallen Order treated players to an adventure that was part Dark Souls, part…
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CultureYou Have A Week To Catch Gigantamax Eevee In Pokémon Sword And Shield
Catching an Eevee isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? Catching an Eevee that’s bigger than your house. From now through May 25, Pokémon Sword and Shield’s Gigantamax Eevee is available in the Wild Area. It’s a bit fluffier than normal Eevee—check out that mane—and tougher, too. And yes, you can capture it. There’s just one…
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Tips & GuidesAnimal Crossing: New Horizons’ International Museum Day Event Is Short But Not Sweet
International Museum Day is a triumph… at least during normal years. That’s when museums across the globe put on seminars, exhibits, and other creative events in line with a theme decided by the venerable International Council of Museums. Last year more than 50,000 institutions participated (theme: “Museums as Cultural Hubs”). Of course, 2020 is no…
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Tips & GuidesHow To Keep Playing When Sun Glare Won’t Quit
Ever tried to play Control on a sunny day? Though Remedy Entertainment’s third-person shooter is a terrific game it’s also a dark one, both literally and thematically. Trying to gun down Hiss in full view of a sunny window is like trying to look at a solar eclipse without protective eyewear. It won’t work, you…
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Tips & GuidesWhen To Give Up And Try Again In A Game
Calling it quits is part of the human condition, but more often than not our natural impulse is to press forward in the face of insurmountable adversity. But, as anyone who’s lived in the real world for roughly 0.6 seconds can tell you, things don’t always work out. It especially doesn’t work out that way…
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Tips & GuidesHow To Squeeze The Most Points Out Of Xbox Game Pass Quests
Xbox Game Pass, like many of the on-demand games it offers, has side-quests. It’s true: By accomplishing tasks relevant to Game Pass, you can earn real rewards. And just like in a real game, you can minimize the effort it takes to maximize your rewards. These Xbox Game Pass quests aren’t to be confused with…
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Tips & GuidesHigh-End Fashion Designers Are Showing Off Their Couture In Animal Crossing: New Horizons
In an alternate universe, the Met Gala happened this week. The hottest and wealthiest people on the planet dressed up in the hottest and priciest clothes on the planet. Then, they descended upon New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they mingled and sipped champagne. It was a sea of leather lapels and unmistakable red…
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Tips & GuidesStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s New Battle Grid Mode Makes The Game Worth Booting Up
On Monday, May 4, traditionally a Star Wars “holiday,” fans of the galaxy far, far away received some news: Disney+ added The Rise of Skywalker. Fans also received some good news: The Souls-like action game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order received a big, totally free update. Kotaku’s Ian Walker has the full breakdown, for those…
By Ari Notis
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