Heather Alexandra

Amazing Mario 3 Speedrun Is Full Of Setbacks And Sportsmanship

Last night, the top two Super Mario Bros 3 speedrunners faced off for a race that ran into problems—including game crashes. Despite the hurdles, speedrunners Mitchflowerpower and GrandPOObear bounced back and showed sportsmanship and skill under stress. In their “All Forts” run at Summer Games Done Quick 2018, the pair sped through the game and…

Shape Of The World Is A Gorgeous Exploration Game

Shape of the World is an exploration game that weaves colors into breathtaking landscapes. The shifting pastel horizons create one of the best game worlds I’ve ever explored, capturing both the thrill of hiking and the colors of a solid psilocybin trip Shape of the World invites comparison to 2013’s exploration game Proteus, but while…

Battlefield V‘s Alpha Is Faster And Team-Focused

Battlefield V kicked off a closed alpha today, giving players a taste of what’s in store for the latest entry in EA’s shooter series, which will be released October 19. My coworker Paul Tamayo and I are huge fans of the Battlefield series, and have been dying to play the game. We sat down earlier…

Cecilia and Heather are testing out Overwatch’s new hero, the mech-driving hamster Wrecking Ball right now on YouTube Live!

Speedrunners Destroyed Cuphead And Celeste Last Night

Last night at Summer Games Done Quick, two tricky games were demolished. The runs of Cuphead and Celeste stole the show, giving us all an opportunity to ask, “There’s no way it’s that easy, is it?” SGDQ 2018 kicked off last week, hosting speedruns and raising money for Doctors Without Borders. Two of the best…

We’re playing some Gundam games live now on Twitch, including Gundam Versus and New Gundam Breaker. Come relax in chat as we try to make a custom Gouf Custom.

PUBG Is Struggling To Find Its Place In A Battle Royale World

A declining player base. Multiple public-relations gaffes. And gameplay that still feels unfinished. Can PUBG turn its fortunes around, or will the game that launched a whole genre be remembered as just a flash in the frying pan? Last year, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds single-handedly caused the “battle royale” genre to explode in popularity. But Fortnite overtook…

Let Queer Characters Be Happy

When The Last Of Us Part II’s new trailer debuted at this year’s E3, protagonist Ellie enjoyed a slow dance and kiss with another woman. My queer friends and I confessed to one another that we were assuming the worst. That happy girl will probably die, because while games allow us to be many things—space…

That Floor Is Lava Game We Played As Kids Works Really Well As A Video Game

At first glance, Hot Lava seems little more than YouTube reaction fodder, a tricky platformer with plenty of things to make entertainers mug and scream for their audience. But playing reveals a movement-based game as fun as Mirror’s Edge or Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. It’s silly. but the thrill of completing a level really does…

We’re streaming PlatinumGames’ Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance right now on Twitch. Heather literally wrote the book on it, so expect some fun commentary and killer action.

We streamed all of Metal Gear Solid this weekend, sneaking around cameras and talking all things Kojima. If you missed out, here’s the full playthrough

Crowdfunded Switch Accessory Lets You Play Handheld Arcade Games The Right Way

The Nintendo Switch is slowly becoming an arcade game player’s best friend. Nintendo’s Arcade Archive collection, alongside a healthy smattering of bullet hell shooters and pinball games, bring classic experiences to the console. That also means playing vertically, which can be a pain in handheld mode. A Kickstarted add-on aims to fix that. The Flip…

We’re playing Metal Gear Solid live now on Twitch until we finish! Expect wolves, ketchup, gunfights, and sunglasses. If you think you’re up to it, come and join the chat, rookie. 

Realm Royale Mixes Wizards And Warriors With Fortnite

When hero shooter Paladins announced a battle royale mode, it felt a bit like a tacked on extra to a game struggling for identity. That battle royale mode has transformed into a standalone game, Realm Royale. While it’s still in alpha and rough around the edges, Realm Royale has a few good ideas that could…

Proposed EU Copyright Law Could Cause Problems For Fan Content In Games

Yesterday, the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs voted to approve a controversial new copyright directive that, if made into law, could change the internet as we know it. Just one of the many potential terrible results of the directive, which tasks companies to monitor user-submitted content for copyright infringement, could be a radical alteration…

We’re returning to our playthrough of Nier: Automata right now on Kotaku’s Twitch channel It’s a game about happy androids, where nothing goes wrong.

This PlayStation-Inspired Arcade Game Is Scarier Than It Looks

OK/NORMAL is an experimental arcade game by Toni Kortelahti that embraces the visuals of early PlayStation games. The game, which captures the strange and abstract worlds of mid-90s 3D, is one of several new indie titles that embrace a new form of “retro” aesthetics. It’s an oppressive, bizarre, and overwhelming game whose glitch spaces are…

Sea of Thieves‘ New Event Is All About Exploration

Sea of Thieves is slowly expanding with new monsters and new events aiming to bring excitement and color to a game derided for repetitive content. A new event involving exploring and hunting down hidden thrones throughout the world shows one way the controversial pirate game could build a community. Part of the fun in Sea…

There’s a Killer7 remaster on the way, so we’re starting up a new playthrough of the original live now on Twitch. Come and see why people are so excited to play Suda 51’s cult classic again.

Jurassic World Evolution Is A Clumsy But Fun Park Builder

Movie tie-ins are a gamble that usually ends with a lackluster game. For every Spider-Man 2, there’s a dozen games that are clunky and not worth your time. Jurassic World Evolution falls somewhere in between. It’s not the most detailed park-building sim, but if you embrace some of its clumsiness, you’ll find yourself lost in…