Ethan Gach

Some Blue Shells Have Minds Of Their Own

You’re in first place and the finish line is in sight. Everything is going just fine until you hear that weird electronic whirring coming from behind. Someone’s dropped a blue shell and you think you’re doomed when all of the sudden it hits the person just behind you instead. Sacré bleu! If you’ve been playing…

Some Thoughts On Arms After Playing This Weekend’s Open Beta

Arms is hard to pin down, both literally and figuratively. While this weekend’s global testfires offered a good introduction to the house of whimsical party combat Nintendo is trying to build, a quick stroll around inside left me wondering, Peggy Lee-style, if that’s all there is. Across the roughly three to four hours I spent…

Rime Dev Says It Will Drop Denuvo DRM Once The Game Is Cracked

Rime, the indie game caught halfway between Ico and Journey was released last week. With Denuvo DRM. Like a lot of games. But that made some players angry, and prompted the developer, Tequila Works, to state that once the Denuvo DRM is broken, which it eventually always is, the company will release a DRM-free version…

The Plot Twist In Star Ocean: Till The End Of Time Is A Lot More Believable Today 

Most video games are content just to string the player along through dungeons, towns, or corridors full of machine gun cover while dishing out character arcs and weapon upgrades. Only a few try to reflect on the nature of reality and human existence. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time tried to do both. The…

Fire Emblem Heroes Adds Wedding Costumes

These are the latest heroes to be added to the game starting May 30. The spring event came with bunny costumes, so naturally a series of special characters sporting bridal gowns was the next logical step. The latest trailer for Nintendo’s mobile slot machine shows off old characters all dolled up for the big “I…

The Week In Games: Tokyo Vice

Tokyo 42, Star Trek: Bridge Crew (for real this time), and a bunch of other stuff comes out this week. As Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, it’s only fitting that release schedule starts winding down as well. The last few months still feel like a blur though, so I’ll be taking this…

Everything You Wanted To Know About Super Mario 64‘s Surfaces 

People have been playing Super Mario 64 for years but few have plumbed the depths of how it was constructed and the unique ways its world works the way speedrunners have. “Every surface in SM64 is made up of triangles,” writes YouTuber, speedrunner, and Mario 64 analyst Pannenkoek at the beginning of his latest video…

This Sure Is A $600 Mega Man X Statue

Good statues don’t come cheap and Mega Man X is no exception. But for the price of six months’ car insurance or a round-trip flight to the North American coast of your choice, it could be yours. The little blue robot man measures 21″ and is 1/4th scale, so naturally it’s already sold out. Produced…

Track: Karova | Artist: Com Truise | Album: Galactic Melt Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

There’s More To Phantom Trigger Than Just Another Beautiful Pixel Brawler

Phantom Trigger is, in the words of its development team, a “neon slasher,” and it’s slated to arrive on the Nintendo Switch later this year. But don’t let pink and teal pixel art fool you, it’s more than just Hyper Light Drifter-lite. Revealed two months ago, the PC action adventure game with roguelike elements looked…

We’ve Spent Way Too Much Time Not Playing Games On Our Microwaves

You should probably be playing video games on your microwave or doing absolutely anything other than watching it slowly count down while your leftovers are getting nuked. In the most recent episode of his Invention Show on YouTube, gadget stunt man Colin Furze revealed the “Play-O-Wave,” a fully functioning microwave with a screen and component…

The RPG Puzzle game Vidar leaves Early Access on June 15. Created by litigation lawyer turned developer, Dean Razavi, the game tracks the events surrounding a village in which all the NPCs eventually die. It was successfully Kickstarted back in 2015.

Sunday Comics: Cohesive Branding

Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics that usually occurs on Sunday except when it doesn’t. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published May 26. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published May 22. Read more…

Remnants Of Naezith Shows Gaming Needs More Grappling Hooks

Remnants of Naezith is a platformer that stars a grappling hook and wants to be the Super Meat Boy of twitch-based ledge swinging. There are dragon souls and remnants of them (as the title suggests), but in the end it’s all about being a futuristic Tarzan in a low-res world. “I loved playing Spider-Man 2…

It’s 2017 And Modders Are Still Making Diablo II Better

An update to one of the game’s most popular mods has increased the max character level to 125 and removed the cap on monster health, making the grind more deadly than ever. Median XL 2017, the latest season in the Median mod, was released yesterday. The latest update to one of Diablo II’s most robust…

Golf Story Is Another Twee Indie Game Headed To The Switch

A golf Game with delightfully precious-looking sprites and vibrant-pixelated greens? Yes, please. Created by Sidebar Games, Gold Story mashes together leisure sporting events with simulated town life in what seems like a modern day Town & Country Surf Designs: Wood & Water Rage crossed with Stardew Valley, because what’s a game these days without weird…

Overwatch Double-Ultimate Is A Sight To Behold 

Oyana’s team was in overtime when they countered one devastating ult from the opposing Pharah with an exploding mech suit. There were bright lights, tons of explosions, and a lot of dead players. It was beautiful to watch Oyana took out both the Pharah raining down missiles and the Mercy who had just revived her…

Track: Get Lost | Artist: Washed Out | Album: TBA Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

The Weekend In Esports: The Manila Masters, Combo Breaker, And More

TheMid-Season Invitational is over and done. The best team in League of Legends is, it turns out, still the best. This weekend, all eyes are on the Manila Masters Combo Breaker, the giant fighting game event with something for everyone. Below you’ll find where and when you can catch all the weekend’s biggest events in…

Monster Hunter XX On The Nintendo Switch Gets Its First Trailer

This is what Monster Hunter XX, a 3DS game, will look like on the Switch according to a trailer and gameplay footage shown by Capcom at this weekend’s Monster Hunter event in Japan. Revealed earlier this week, the port looks like a crisper version of its predecessor that will try to take advantage of the…