Mike Fahey

New Streaming Mic Displays Emoticons, Because Why Not

A large percentage of on-camera streamers share the screen with microphones that do nothing but sit there and capture sound. Razer’s new Seiren Emote, announced today at TwitchCon, comes with a built-in 8-bit emoticon display that can link to Twitch and react dynamically to subscriptions, follows, and chat messages. Using Razer’s Streamer Companion App in…

Code Vein‘s Character Creation Has All The Options

There are nearly 500 eyebrow options in Code Vein’s character creator. There is a lot of every option in the robust character creation toolset of Bandai Namco’s post-apocalyptic vampire adventure. Players begin by choosing a gender, one of the creator’s simplest options. From there, they can choose between 32 different premade characters. These serve as…

Mario Kart Tour’s Microtransactions Feel Gross In A Post-Apple Arcade World

Mario Kart Tour is a fine racing game. The graphics are lovely. The simple touch controls are fine once you get used to them. It’s overflowing with colorful Nintendo brand polish. Mario Kart Tour is also a free-to-play game with a microtransaction-fueled gacha collection mechanic and game options and rewards locked behind a paid monthly…

Code Vein Is The Chillest Dark Souls Clone

Bandai Namco’s anime vampire apocalypse adventure Code Vein is clearly meant to be a Dark Souls-style joint. It’s got that signature slower, methodical combat and massive, challenging bosses. Hell, it’s even got a Souls-like currency that can be lost when a player meets their untimely end. But Code Vein also has hot anime AI partners,…

The second dose of virtual Vader is now live for Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift. Vader Immortal: Episode II continues the players’ journey into the heart of Darth Vader’s fortress on Mustafar. It’s filled with lightsaber battles, force powers, and, like everything else these days, Maya Rudolph.

Cat Quest II Is The Purrfect RPG For Pet Lovers (And Fighters And Mages)

The Gentlebros’ Cat Quest II, available now forApple Arcade and Steam, is exactly what I wanted from a sequel to 2017’s adorable adventure. It’s got more magic, more armor, more weapons, and more horrendous animal puns, tied together in one approachable action role-playing game. And this time around, dogs get equal screen time. The original…

Using One Nintendo Account On 2 Switches Is Tricky, So Here’s The Best Way To Do It

Since last week’s release of the portable-only Switch Lite, I’ve been trying to set up my account on both the Lite and my original Switch so my wife and kids can play games like Super Mario Odyssey and Yoshi’s Crafted World on one without erasing my save data or interrupting my playing Puzzle Quest on…

Mario Kart Tour Kicks Off Tomorrow In New York City

Nintendo’s latest free-to-play mobile game, Mario Kart Tour, launches tomorrow on iOS and Android. Every two weeks the nickley, dimey racer will test players in tours, special races inspired by real-world locations. The first destination is New York, New York, where players can earn Musician Mario and Super Mario Odyssey Pauline as playable racers. New…

Start Off Your Day With A Bowl Of Legend Of Zelda Lego Cereal

Lego artist Baron Von Brunk, builder of transforming Game Boys and massive working NES controllers, is pioneering a new method of stop-motion animation featuring a mix of custom-built Lego puppets and live-action shots. This new project begins, appropriately enough, with a complete The Legend of Zelda breakfast. Instead of using the iconic Lego minifigure, as…

Because one can never have too many ominous characters wearing horned helmets, Final Fantasy XII’s Gabranth joins the roster of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT on October 10. Out of curiosity, who is still playing Dissidia? Why? Where? How?

Every Game Needs A Studio Trigger Anime Opening

Today Skullgirls studio Lab Zero Games debuted the animated opening to Indivisible, the eagerly-anticipated action role-playing game. I thought I could not get more excited about this game. I was wrong. Flashy animated intros from Studio Trigger, the folks behind Kill La Kill, have that effect. Every game should have one. Founded by former Gainax…

World of Warcraft‘s Greatest Tragedies Look So Much Cuter In A Pop-Up Book

Last year, in the lead-up to World of Warcraft’s Battle for Azeroth expansion, Horde leader Sylvanas Windrunner went a bit more evil than usual. She set the world tree ablaze, destroying the night elf capital of Teldrassil and murdering countless innocents in the process. It was one of the most horrific events in the online…

Nintendo Switch Lite: The Kotaku Review

The Nintendo Switch Lite is one of the finest handheld gaming devices I’ve ever used. It’s sturdy, stylish, and comfortable. It launches with a library that’s already over 2,500 games strong. If all you’re looking for from the Nintendo Switch is personal, portable play, it’s perfect. But is that all you’re looking for? From its…

Truck Carrying Gaming Dice Spills Onto Highway, Rolls A Perfect 756,000

On Friday, September 13, a truck bound for the Georgia-based tabletop and video game company Trivium Studios took a turn too sharply, spilling 216,000 gaming dice onto Interstate 75 in Atlanta in what could be the biggest unintentional dice roll ever. According to Trivium Studios’ community manager, speaking to Kotaku about the incident, the truck…

The First Puzzle Quest Is Still The Best

2007’s Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords combined tile-matching puzzles and role-playing game mechanics to create an incredibly compelling hybrid game that was near impossible to put down. One sequel, several spin-offs, and countless copycats later, the Switch version of the original Puzzle Quest is just as captivating as it was 12 years ago. Launching…

Just What Everyone Needs, A Merge Dragons Sequel

Gram Games’ Merge Dragons is a very popular free-to-pay mobile game about combining three things into better things and spending money on dragon gems. Merge Magic, out today on iOS and Android, is a new game about combining three new things into better new things and spending money on magic gems. It has new art,…

The latest documentary from fighting game community storytellers Hold Back to Block chronicles the creation of Them’s Fighting Herds, a fighter that started as a My Little Pony fan game before aHasbro cease and desist took it in a new and different direction. It’s one of my favorite fan game stories ever. 

Pokémon Go‘s Pokédex Expands Into The Unova Region

While other Pokémon games trim down their collection of pocketable monsters, Niantic’s mobile Pokémon safari continues to expand. Critters from Pokémon Black & White’s Unova region have started showing up in Pokémon Go. Come to me, Tepig. Come to me. A veritable parade of adorable old friends started popping up in game yesterday, including Snivy,…

Apple Arcade Is Live In The iOS 13 Beta And It’s A Lot

While the $5-a-month Apple Arcade subscription doesn’t officially launch until Thursday, iOS 13 beta testers can sign up right now and dive into new games from some of the best indie studios on the planet. With nearly 60 games on the service so far, it’s an overwhelming amount of entertainment, all at once. Last week…

Big, Beefy Switch Controllers For Big, Beefy Hands

Joy-Cons are small. They are designed so that Switch can be a sleek, nearly-seamless handheld gaming device. Hori’s Split Pad Pro is what happens when ideas like “small” and “sleek” and “not ridiculous” are tossed out the window. The more I play with them, gripping them in my larger-than-average hands, the less I mind their…