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Tips & GuidesMoon Was Pretty Confusing Until Its Devs Tweeted The Manual
PlayStation original Moon: Remix RPG Adventure arrived on Switch yesterday, giving Western gamers their first opportunity to experience the previously Japan-exclusive adventure, which never received a complete translation, official or otherwise. But like many arthouse games, you’re probably going to be lost for the first hour or so figuring out what to do. That’s where…
By Ian Walker -
OpinionPlease Keep Making Silly Soccer Games
Alpaca Ball: Allstars is an upcoming soccer game from Austrian developer Salt Castle Studio. It features alpaca using their long necks as clubs to score goals. I will buy it when it launches on October 15. I hope developers never stop making games that are just “soccer but silly.” While this is a relatively recent…
By Ian Walker -
OpinionCall Of Duty Trailer Recklessly Promotes Far-Right Conspiracy Theory
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s debut trailer—which has already attracted controversy—gives a lot of airtime to Soviet defector Yuri Bezmenov and his views. Views which have, in recent years, become a dangerous rallying cry for far-right conspiracy theories and the people who peddle them. The teaser, which was released last week to hype…
By Ian Walker -
CultureFall Guys Players Are Optimizing Slime Climb
Slime Climb is known as one of the most frustrating mini-games in Fall Guys. Unlike the game’s other obstacle courses, where falling off means respawning at a previous checkpoint, one small mistake here can send you back to the queue. But what if there were a series of shortcuts that made this level a breeze?…
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CultureStreet Fighter V Tournament Organizers Apologize For Playing Fart Noises During Match
The folks behind r/StreetFighter’s online tournament series pride themselves on providing streams that go beyond rote recitations of sponsors and matchup knowledge. But this laissez-faire approach to commentary recently bit them in the ass when they decided to pepper their broadcast with farts rather than insightful conversation. During last night’s tournament, the winners final came…
By Ian Walker -
CultureSkullgirls Development Will Continue Without Embattled Lead Designer
The last few days have seen several notable employees resign from Skullgirls developer Lab Zero Games, many of whom cited poor behavior on the part of project lead Mike “Mike Z” Zaimont as catalyst for the mass departure. But according to new information, those same workers will be able to continue developing Skullgirls content independently.…
By Ian Walker -
CultureOdds and EndsFighting Game Pro’s Opening Pitch Could Have Been Worse
The Brothers, a major league Taiwanese baseball team based in Taichung, invited a gamer to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at their August 23 game against the Lions. But this wasn’t just any gamer; this was GamerBee. Bruce “GamerBee” Hsiang’s pitch was part of a cross-promotional event between the Brothers baseball team and King…
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CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Love How Skaters Get Hype In Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2
I’ve spent a lot of time with the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 demo despite being confined to short, two-minute runs in a single level. It’s an incredible achievement that feels almost exactly like the iconic franchise’s earliest installments. My favorite part, however, is a new addition that sees your skater of choice…
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CultureWorkers Leave Skullgirls Developer Over Studio Head’s Behavior
Back in June, two people came forward to share their experiences with Mike “Mike Z” Zaimont, longtime fighting game player and lead developer behind indie darling Skullgirls, saying that he made inappropriate sexual comments to them on multiple occasions. Lab Zero Games, the studio behind Skullgirls, has yet to address the allegations, prompting employees to…
By Ian Walker -
CultureOdds and EndsWhy Do Classic Uno Video Game Intros Go So Hard
While the social dynamics can be interesting, I wouldn’t call Uno the most exciting game in the world, and that naturally extends to its many video games. Someone didn’t get the memo when they were working on the intros for these Japan-exclusive adaptations, which seem like they belong to completely different genres until their titles…
By Ian Walker -
CultureFall Guys Was Almost Called Stumble Chums
Game development, like any creative endeavor, is an iterative exercise in brainstorming and fine-tuning. A recent Twitter thread by Mediatonic creative director Jeff Tanton gave everyone a brief glimpse into that process as it pertained to Fall Guys, which apparently had several possible titles before the studio settled on its final name. Fall Guys got…
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CultureCapcom Hands Down Odd Punishment For Street Fighter V Player’s Outburst
A poor experience with Street Fighter V’s online multiplayer during a recent Capcom Cup qualifier sent one top player on a childish tirade against both the organizers and the player who beat him. Capcom announced today that he will have to start the next tournament in the losers bracket. Victor “Punk” Woodley is one of…
By Ian Walker -
CultureOdds and EndsStephen King Baffled By Tekken Jargon
I love horror novelist Stephen King. I love fighting games. But it seems those two flavors don’t go together all that well. It all started last night when a random Tekken player, as they are wont to do, hopped on Twitter to demand changes from the developers. I won’t bore you with the competitive implications…
By Ian Walker -
CultureLatest Fall Guys Update Prevents Consecutive Team Games
Fall Guys is great, but if there’s one thing on which most players can agree, it’s that the team-based mini-games don’t quite live up to the fun of the solo competitions. The game’s latest patch relieves that a bit by making back-to-back group activities a thing of the past. Thanks to an update released this…
By Ian Walker -
CultureOdds and EndsNeat Stuff I Found While Cleaning My Room
I’ve spent the last week or so finally combing through the clutter of my living space in anticipation of adopting a kitten. This gave me a chance to really take stock of the various crap I’ve collected over the last few years, much of it gaming-related, and the various points in my life in which…
By Ian Walker -
Hypnospace Outlaw‘s Switch Port Supports Keyboard And Mouse
Hypnospace Outlaw will support keyboard and mouse when it arrives on Switch next Thursday. While the console does recognize most keyboards, the ability to play games with the setup has been limited. This is sure to make browsing the game’s alternate reality internet that much more enjoyable.
By Ian Walker -
OpinionImpressionsRogue Legacy 2 Is Definitely More Rogue Legacy So Far
Rogue Legacy 2, now available in early access on Steam, leans heavily on the first two nouns in its title. It’s a roguelike in which the player guides generations of adventurers through a grand castle in search of fame and fortune, leaving behind a legacy for the next family member to take up the cause.…
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CultureOdds and EndsConsiderate Fall Guys Player Saves AFK Contestant From Elimination
It’s an inescapable fact that the world is full of assholes, and the same can be said of Fall Guys. But sometimes someone—or in this case, somebean—does something so wonderful that it makes you forget about humanity’s failings for a little while. Just check out this player safely guiding an AFK competitor around Perfect Match…
By Ian Walker -
CultureOculus VR Devices Will Soon Require Facebook Accounts
Starting in October, new users of the Oculus virtual reality gaming platform will need to log in with a Facebook account, the company announced today. Current users will need to merge their Oculus accounts with a Facebook account within the next two years to maintain the “full functionality” of their systems after January 1, 2023.…
By Ian Walker -
CultureKiller7 Isn’t Coming To Switch After All [UPDATE]
Update (8/18/20, 1:23 p.m. ET): Sadly, my hopes for a Switch port of killer7 have been dashed. Speaking to Kotaku, Engine Software vice president of development Ruud van de Moosdijk said that his company had discussed porting killer7 to Switch with Grasshopper Manufacture while development on the PC version was ongoing, but Grasshopper eventually decided…
By Ian Walker
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