Ian Walker

It’s Really Hard To Play Basketball In Spider-Man

If you’re like me, you came across one of the basketball courts in Spider-Man’s New York City, spent some time failing to make a basket, and then moved on to fighting the next group of bank-robbing goons. But one YouTuber made it his mission to learn everything he could about how basketballs work in the…

Valve Bans Over 40,000 Dota 2 Accounts

The official Dota 2 account on Twitter announced today that the developers have banned over 40,000 players for “abusing matchmaking,” but it’s still not clear what exactly that means. Kotaku has reached out to Valve for more context on what led to this massive wave of bannings and has yet to hear back. Dota 2,…

Borderlands 3 Gets Its First Level Cap Increase This Week

Borderlands 3 players have had almost six months to wring as much enjoyment out of the game as possible, including by reaching level 50, the game’s maximum. Now, the developers are ready to introduce the first level cap increase, which will give players the chance to earn three more levels beyond the current ceiling starting…

Here’s To 20 More Years Of Ashley’s Butt Just Hanging Out In Vagrant Story

As of today, the classic PlayStation 1 role-playing game Vagrant Story is 20 years old. It’s very good and, as ex-Kotaku staffer Joshua Rivera so eloquently wrote back in December, “still holds the heck up” two decades later. This article, however, is all about the main character’s exposed butt, just so you know what you’re…

Japanese Dragon Ball FighterZ Finals Competitor Wins Over French Crowd

The Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour finals concluded with a Big Bang Attack this past weekend in Paris, France, capping off a months-long season of competition in the popular three-on-three fighting game. The bracket was mostly decided beforehand, but one Japanese competitor was given an eleventh-hour opportunity to slip in by way of a last…

Granblue Fantasy Versus Player Gleefully Wrecks The Competition

There’s nothing better in fighting games than completely getting one over on a fellow player, especially if they have no idea how to counter whatever attack or strategy you throw their way. Granblue Fantasy Versus, which launched earlier this week, lends itself to these kinds of situations simply because of how new it is, and…

Fans Can Now Vote For The Best Pokémon, Which Is Koffing

As part of its upcoming Pokémon Day celebration, The Pokémon Company has partnered with Google to poll fans on their favorite pocket monsters. With almost 900 of the little buggers from which to choose, it’s going to be hard for any one Pokémon to stand out, but that hasn’t stopped fans from advocating on behalf…

Tekken series director Katsuhiro Harada has finally responded to the popular fan request that Yakuza protagonist Kazuma Kiryu join the cast of Tekken 7 Apparently, the Bandai Namco board members believe Harada himself is a better fit for Yakuza. I’ll take either option, to be honest.

Street Fighter V Match Ends In The Most ‘East Coast’ Way Possible

Brooklyn-based Next Level Battle Circuit is one of the most prominent weekly tournament series in the fighting game community and, as such, provides a fantastic opportunity for New York City’s best players to promote themselves and their region every Wednesday. During last night’s event, two competitors personified what’s come to be known as the “east…

Granblue Fantasy Versus Teaches You Fighting Game Slang

Granblue Fantasy Versus, the fighting game spin-off of the popular Granblue Fantasy mobile role-playing games, is now available in Japan and nearby regions like Singapore and Hong Kong. In addition to labbing out character matchups and strategies, folks have also found a neat glossary feature in the game’s menus, one that might alleviate some of…

Final Fantasy XV and Wolfenstein: Youngblood are set to join the Xbox Game Pass library starting tomorrow This includes both the Xbox One and PC versions of the subscription service, with exclusive titles Death Squared and Death’s Gambit, respectively, following soon after.

A Morbid Platformer Where Every Jump Breaks Your Legs

Platformers are all about jumping, but what happens when your jumps are so powerful that your body literally can’t handle them? That’s the idea behind Legbreaker, a game about figuring out how to maintain the protagonist’s body as they make their way through several sadistic experiments. Legbreaker’s mechanics are simple: the player has a huge…

The Evolution Championship Series has revealed the official 2020 lineup. This year’s event will include obvious choices like Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as well as the return of community favorite Marvel vs. Capcom 2, among others. Fighting games!

Donald Trump Buys The Death Note For $10 Trillion In Latest One-Shot

Tsugumi Ohba’s latest one-shot sees President Donald Trump enter into a bidding war for the magical murder notebook at the center of the franchise.

Another Super Smash Bros. Melee Major Bans Infamous Ice Climbers Technique

Super Smash Bros. competitors have very specific ideas as to how they believe their games should be played. You’ve probably heard some of them before: no items, specific time limits and stages, and so on. Then there’s “wobbling,” which is a high-level Super Smash Bros. Melee technique used by Ice Climbers players; it’s been controversial…

Byleth Is Refreshingly Simple In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Byleth is here. Are you happy? Upset? I don’t care, let’s talk about how they play. Super Smash Bros. has always had a close relationship with the tactical Fire Emblem franchise, making Byleth the latest in a long line of sword-wielding fighters to join the Nintendo crossover. But a sword is just a small part…

Tekken 7 Finals Overtaken By Leroys At Evo Japan

Tekken 7 newcomer Leroy Smith is cool as hell, with a lovely dog companion to boot. He’s also very strong, so strong that almost every player in last weekend’s Evo Japan finals used him to get there. For many, this was the inevitable conclusion to a month of heated conversations concerning Leroy’s place in Tekken…

Witness The Most Excruciating Round Of Street Fighter V Ever

Fighting game competition is tense no matter the circumstances, but one recent moment from a local New York City tournament takes the cake as perhaps the most agonizing round of Street Fighter V I’ve seen since the game’s release. Capcom Cup champion Derek “iDom” Ruffin and fighting game legend Sanford “Santhrax” Kelly met in the…

Faust Is Back In Guilty Gear And The ‘Vore’ Jokes Are Flying

Arc System Works has been slowly revealing the playable cast for the upcoming Guilty Gear Strive. Last weekend’s installment of the annual—and aptly-named—Frosty Faustings tournament series hosted to a brand new trailer for Faust, a longstanding figure in the Guilty Gear franchise who’s returning in Strive with an updated look and a penchant for devouring…

Palestinian-American Smash Player Uses Top Ranking To Advocate For Palestine

Spending time in the fighting game community makes you accustomed to referring to people by names like SonicFox, HotDog29, and Dr. PeePee. The latest rankings of Super Smash Bros. Melee players are full of such names, and one high-level Smash competitor is using his gamer tag for an explicitly political purpose: advocating for a free…