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CultureMinecraft Earth Gameplay Looks Adorable
Minecraft Earth, an augmented reality mobile game based on the hugely popular series, is coming to a closed beta later this summer. To tide you over, Mojang released a short video yesterday on that shows off some gameplay. It’s incredibly charming. So far, all we’ve seen of Minecraft Earth is the admittedly impressive augmented reality…
By Gita Jackson -
CultureWhy Pokémon Fans Are So Mad About Sword And Shield
For a game series as long running as Pokémon, which debuted in 1996, it’s surprising how much goodwill many fans of the franchise still have as they enter their 30s and 40s. Nintendo and Game Freak continue to appeal to children new to the series as well. But after a harsh and sustained negative reaction…
By Gita Jackson -
CultureProvocative Jeopardy Champ Says HQ Trivia Owes Him $20,000 In Winnings
If you play HQ, a trivia app that supposedly doles out cash prizes, this kind of story might be familiar to you: someone won money from the game but can’t cash out and have access to it. The “someone” in this case is controversial Jeopardy player Alex Jacob, who has been trying to get his…
By Gita Jackson -
Tips & GuidesMario Maker 2 Player Finds Useful Trick For Making Randomized Levels
Make a brand new stage in Super Mario Maker 2 and you may find that objects which had an element of random chance in the first Mario Maker are now completely predictable. Clown cars, for example, will always start traveling in the same direction rather than picking one randomly. One player figured out how to…
By Gita Jackson -
Apex Legends’ Worst Gun Is Good Now
For a time, there were a few constants in my life. The sky? Blue. The grass? Green. The Mozambique shotgun? The worst gun in Apex Legends. That gun was so bad that the game’s developers at Respawn added an animation showing you throwing away the gun is disgust Change has come to King’s Canyon, and…
By Gita Jackson -
Apex Legends’ New Battle Pass Has Cooler Rewards
A lot of Apex players were disappointed with the first season’s battle pass. Rewards were mostly lackluster character and weapon skins. There were no challenges to complete to level up, or emotes or other fun things you could earn. Overall the battle pass didn’t offer much incentive to play more during the season. Season 2…
By Gita Jackson -
CultureThe Video Games That Made People Question Their Beliefs
When Scott Udall first played Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance shortly after it came out in 2005, he was in a vulnerable spot. Udall, who grew up Mormon in Salt Lake City, Utah, was very religious, and his family were all politically active Republicans. His parents had gone through a messy divorce, and he’d lost…
By Gita Jackson -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryThe Randomly Generated Art Made By My Dwarf Fortress Dwarves Is Terrible
One of my favorite parts of playing Dwarf Fortress is the randomly generated legendary artifacts that my dwarves make. Usually, they’re epic pieces of armor or furniture or crafts that are decorated in brilliant gems and images from the dwarves’ memories. In the game I was playing yesterday, the dwarves kept giving me dumb pieces…
By Gita Jackson -
Geralt Is Still The Least Cool-Looking Part Of The Netflix Witcher Show
The Netflix Witcher TV show is still in production, and the showrunners have now released images of Yennefer and Ciri, as well as some more shots of Henry Cavill in costume as Geralt. Yennefer and Ciri look amazing, so I’m wondering why they bought Cavill’s wig at Party City. Although I’m planning on playing The…
By Gita Jackson -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryOne Trick To Getting Better At Mario Kart: Relax
This weekend I learned the key to not sucking ass at Mario Kart: relaxing your hands. My general stance on competitive multiplayer games is that I play them to have fun with friends, and therefore I can’t be stressed about whether or not I’m good at them. That was again the case this Sunday when…
By Gita Jackson -
Elaborate Sims 4 Mod Turns San Francisco Into (More Of) A Cyberpunk Dystopia
Simmers love to take the worlds that Electronic Arts has given them and remake them in their own image, sometimes rebuilding all the lots in a given world and replacing all the Sims in it. One went as far as to turn the game’s version of San Francisco into a cyberpunk dystopia, with a storyline…
By Gita Jackson -
AnimeTen Anime To Watch If You Liked Neon Genesis Evangelion
So you just finished watching Evangelion on Netflix, and you’re wondering where to go from here. I have a few suggestions. Although Neon Genesis Evangelion is considered a classic among anime fans, a lot of people are seeing it for the very first time thanks to its availability on Netflix. If you’re one of those…
By Gita Jackson -
AnimeA Translation Change Can’t Make That Evangelion Scene Less Gay
Though anime fans are overjoyed that Neon Genesis Evangelion has hit Netflix, making the series available to watch legally for the first time since 2011, the translation has frustrated some fans. The issues with the series’ translation seem to coalesce on one already divisive character: Kaworu Nagisa. Kaworu Nagisa is a teenage mech pilot who…
By Gita Jackson -
CultureKotaku Game DiarySometimes You Just Need A Good Game For When You’re Zombified
After a bunch of travel my brain is pretty much leaking out of my ears. Last night, I needed to play a game that would make me remember how to do critical thinking, but also wasn’t so involved that I would bounce off of it. Enter SteamWorld Quest I’d played a ton of SteamWorld Dig…
By Gita Jackson -
Mermaids In The Sims 4 Are Jerks
The Sims 4‘s latest expansion, Island Living, introduced a new kind of “occult” Sim: mermaids. Mermaids replenish their hydration stat by swimming or taking showers. When they venture out into the ocean they grow a pretty tail, and you can put them in a coconut bra. They also give you the potential to be a…
By Gita Jackson -
Banned From The Chinese Internet, LGBT Fanfiction Writers Find New Home On U.S. Website
In China, writing fanfiction can be dangerous. In the United States, although some authors used to be pretty litigious towards derivative works, fanfiction writers here don’t usually have to worry about anything more serious than a cease and desist. In China, creating fanworks can sometimes come with significant legal consequences, especially if what you’re writing…
By Gita Jackson -
The Latest Sims 4 Expansion Is Fascinating, But Not Because Of Mermaids
There are a lot of things I like about Island Living, today’s new Sims 4 expansion. Almost none of them are the new mechanics that come with the pack. Mermaids, the new “occult” type of Sim that comes with Island Living, are ho-hum. Mermaids have their hygiene need replaced with “hydration,” but there’s not a…
By Gita Jackson -
CultureE3John Wick Hex Is A Portal Into John Wick’s Mind
At a Keanu Reeves-filled E3 last week, I played a demo of John Wick Hex, a forthcoming action game directed and written by Mike Bithell, the creator of acclaimed indie games Thomas Was Alone and Volume. Playing John Wick Hex was like being transported inside of the titular assassin’s mind via a mashup of the…
By Gita Jackson -
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Improves On What Makes Pokémon Go Great
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is the amount of game that I wanted Pokémon Go to be at launch. It’s polished, there’s lots of stuff to do, and it sometimes really makes you feel like you’re a wizard. Having been a Harry Potter fan since I was around 11 years old, I am constantly combating the…
By Gita Jackson -
CultureE3Wit And Charm Are Powerful Weapons In Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2
While I was playing Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2’s demo at E3 last week, I was feeling pretty smug about bluffing my way through a problem. Then, the developer holding the controller hit the wrong button, and a fight broke out regardless. Bloodlines 2 looks like it has a wonderful breadth of experiences to offer…
By Gita Jackson
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