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CultureMinecraft Removes Decade-Old 4chan Shoutout
Mojang Studios’ latest update to the Java version of Minecraft removes a random title screen message shouting out controversial website 4chan that existed in the game for over 10 years. While this change doesn’t appear in the official patch notes, the meticulous record-keepers of the Minecraft wiki noticed the splash text’s removal after digging through…
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CultureBloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Might Be Getting A Sequel, Maybe
In its latest round of fiscal results, 505 Games parent company Digital Bros appeared to reveal that a Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night sequel was in the works. But when reached for comment, the publisher was surprisingly aloof. The original Digital Bros document included a bullet point in its Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night slide…
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CultureMicrosoft Flight Simulator Is Much Smaller Now
Video games are big, and as new technology supports greater visual fidelity, they’re only bound to get bigger. That’s why it’s always nice when the developers behind bulky games like Microsoft Flight Simulator figure out ways to decrease those download sizes. Microsoft Flight Simulator’s base file size was reduced from over 170 GB to just…
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CultureVirtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown Won’t Have State-Of-The-Art Online
Sega’s flagship fighting game franchise returns next week with the release of Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown, yet another update to the original Virtua Fighter 5 from 2006. Ultimate Showdown sports updated graphics courtesy of the PlayStation 4, but its netcode will remain tethered to the past. Speaking with Kotaku via email, a Sega rep…
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CultureSquare Says Sike
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game Dragon Quest X launched on the Wii all the way back in 2012. Since then, it’s appeared on eight more platforms and received several substantial expansions, but Square Enix has never seen fit to release it in the west. And it doesn’t seem like that’s going to change anytime soon.…
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CultureOdds and EndsGastly Lollipops Look Too Cute To Eat
I recently stumbled upon a wonderful YouTuber named Manna-Tanuki who creates incredible-looking sweets. Their latest video highlights some adorable Gastly lollipops that look more like Pokémon decorations than food. If you want a more in-depth look at how these lollipops are made, check out this video from late last year in which Manna details the…
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CultureBlizzard Sends Cease-And-Desists To Diablo II: Resurrected Modders
Several mods for last month’s Diablo II: Resurrected alpha test were recently pulled offline following a wave of cease-and-desist letters. One creator says Blizzard even went as far as to send a private investigator to his home to serve the warning in person. Blizzard’s “Technical Alpha” for Diablo II: Resurrected—a content-limited, invite-only, single-player experience that…
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CultureOdds and EndsLet’s Check In On Star Citizen, Shall We
Star Citizen is currently free-to-play as the game enjoys its annual Invictus Launch Week celebration. I figured now would be as good a time as ever to take a peek at the ambitious space sim and see how things are going. Cloud Imperium Games has raised more than $365 million via crowdfunding since starting Star…
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CultureRoger Craig Smith Is Voicing Sonic The Hedgehog Again
Roger Craig Smith announced this morning that he will return as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in future games. “I can’t fully express my gratitude for the [Sonic the Hedgehog] crew and community,” Smith wrote on Twitter alongside a picture of a mended blue heart. “I hope to honor your support and passion.” Smith…
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CultureOdds and EndsNintendo Patent Looks Like A Giant Shitpost
On June 5, 1997, Nintendo filed a patent titled “Video game system and method with enhanced three-dimensional character and background control due to environmental conditions.” I can’t even begin to parse what the heck that means on a technical level, but what I do know is that the document’s contents are ripe for absurd internet…
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CultureVirtua Fighter 5 Coming To PlayStation 4 Next Week
After teasing the classic fighting game franchise’s return last fall, this morning Sega announced Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown, a PlayStation 4-exclusive update to a game that’s almost 15 years removed from its original release at this point. Oh, and it’s launching June 1, also known as next Tuesday. Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown still…
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CultureMa, Fetch The RTX 3090, Red Dead Redemption 2’s Gone VR
After releasing a virtual reality mod for Grand Theft Auto V last year, developer Luke Ross is back with a similar project for its wild west cousin, Red Dead Redemption 2 “Red Dead Redemption 2 is much more advanced than Grand Theft Auto V from a technical point of view,” Ross explained on his Patreon.…
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CultureResident Evil Village Used To Have A Lot More Enemies
While you certainly face mini-hordes from time to time, Resident Evil Village isn’t a game that just throws enemies at you willy-nilly. But that wasn’t always the case. Capcom’s latest behind-the-scenes video shows that some early builds apparently included an overwhelming number of foes, which is said to have caused some friction between the core…
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CultureRatchet & Clank: Rift Apart Comes With A Huge List Of Accessibility Options
When Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart arrives on PlayStation 5 next month, it’ll do so with an extensive suite of accessibility options, designed to help folks enjoy the game no matter their personal limitations. “Insomniac Games is dedicated to creating games that have a positive and lasting influence on people’s lives,” the studio said on…
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CultureJedi Outcast Is The Latest Classic To Get Ray Tracing
After teasing the project for months, self-described “ray tracing addict” Zyanide is finally ready to share his work adding the computationally intensive lighting technology to 2002’s Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. And gosh, it’s as impressive as the game’s title is awkward. While ray tracing brings obvious aesthetic benefits to Jedi Outcast’s lightsaber-heavy…
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CultureSaves Don’t Matter When You Can Beat Returnal In Less Than 5 Minutes
Returnal speedrunner MentalToast set a new world record yesterday, becoming the first person to beat the game in under five minutes. I’m at a bit of a roadblock in my own Returnal adventure, so it’s incredible to watch MentalToast jump and dash through the more difficult Act 2 levels with such grace and ease. Starting…
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CultureLies Of P Is A (Checks Notes) Pinocchio Souls-Like
Round8 Studio and Neowiz today announced Lies of P, an upcoming Souls-like based on the classic story of Pinocchio, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Just typing that out makes me feel a little like I’m losing my mind. “Play as Pinocchio, a puppet mechanoid, and fight through everything in your path to…
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CultureOdds and EndsA Big Lady Needs A Big Hat
Apart from her height, Resident Evil Village villain Lady Dimitrescu’s most striking feature has got to be the fashionable hat she wears while chasing you down. But what if it was (pardon me while I attempt my best Jeff Gerstmann impression) bigger? In the video below, content creator Kallialee showcases a mod that provides the…
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CultureStreet Fighter V Devs Fix Dan’s Infinite Combo By Making Him More Random
As you may already know from our previous story, Dan Hibiki has an infinite combo in Street Fighter V. The fact that a perennial joke character would have such a powerful ability is delightful, which might be why it survived for so long. But now, months after his arrival, Capcom has finally seen fit to…
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CultureThe Last Of Us 2 Gets 60 FPS Patch On PlayStation 5
The Last of Us 2 players now have the ability to experience the game at a smooth 60 frames-per-second on PlayStation 5, Naughty Dog’s director of communications Arne Meyer announced today. “The team has been digging into the PS5 hardware and the possibilities it unlocks since launch last year and we’re excited about what the…
By Ian Walker
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