Nathan Grayson

Fan’s Counter-Strike Map Imagines A Far More Deadly Oregon Militia Standoff

I would wager that not even the remaining Oregon militia members want to be part of the Oregon militia standoff these days, but now you can join in on the dismal venture. In a video game, I mean. Nipper’s cs_wildrefuge map was actually made shortly before the whole fiasco took a turn for the uglier-than-it-already-was,…

Counter-Strike Player Says Their Fake Hacks Got Thousands Of Cheaters Banned

Counter-Strike has a cheating problem. One player decided to do something about it. Something, shall we say, creative. In a post on Reddit, AndroidL explained that they released a handful of fake “multihacks” that promised everything from wallhacking, to aimbotting, to bunnyhopping, to crazy lean angles. If you can name it, AndroidL’s dirty hack pack…

The Steam Controller, Reimagined To Be More Mouse-Like

Ever since its release late last year, the Steam controller has received mixed reviews. Plenty of people have suggested nips, tucks, and layout changes that might improve it. Hardware hacker Ben Heck decided to just make his own. On the most recent episode of his show, Heck dissected the Steam controller and then proposed his…

Why One VR Game Is Letting Players Shoot Themselves In The Head

I whirled around and plugged two perfectly placed shots into an enemy player. I was finally getting the hang of Vive VR shooter Hover Junkers. I was in the zone. I thought nobody could take me by surprise. Then I watched as another player slowly raised a gun to their head and pulled the trigger.…

Track: Lady of Death | Artist: I The Mighty | Album: Connector Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

12 Steam VR Games That Look Cool, Even If I Didn’t

Valve and HTC’s virtual reality headset, the Vive, is almost here. It’s the one that tracks you while you move around, and it’s pretty damn cool. During a recent event, I got to play 12 of the games that it’ll launch with. Here is what they look like and what I looked like while playing…

Counter-Strike Players Think Valve’s Strict New Mod Rules Go Too Far [Updated]

Valve recently brought the hammer down on custom Counter-Strike servers that don’t fall within a set of very specific guidelines. It’s a big change to the game’s ecosystem, and many players don’t think it’s for the better. In a post on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s official site, Valve announced the following rules: We’re aware that some…

Steam Could Learn A Thing Or Two From GOG’s New Early Access Program

DRM-free gaming service GOG is introducing its own take on Early Access. Thanks to things like strict curation, a version rollback feature, and generous refunds, I’m super into it. I hope Valve is taking notes. The three pillars of GOG’s Early Access program (functionally but not-so-creatively titled “Games In Development”) sound like a brilliant way…

Team Fortress 2‘s long-awaited competitive mode is officially a thing. Valve’s created a Steam group for competitive matchmaking’s beta, and you can join for a chance to be part of it. Prepare for bitter, drama-packed rivalries! And probably also more hats.

Darkest Dungeon: The Kotaku Review

Progress isn’t permanent. Darkest Dungeon is a tremendously popular Steam game that just emerged from Early Access. It’s a Lovecraft-inspired dungeon-crawling RPG with a few twists: 1) you have an entire persistent town to upgrade, 2) if any of your characters die, they’re gone for good, and 3) as a result of adventuring-related trauma, your…

The Other Ways Nintendo Is Changing The English Version of Fire Emblem Fates [UPDATE]

Despite being another sequel in a longtime Nintendo series, Fire Emblem Fates is… quirky. Its Japanese version sparked quite a bit of controversy among English-speaking fans when it launched last year. Nintendo is making some fairly significant changes. As I reported last week, Nintendo is removing a scene that’s been regarded as homophobic from the…

Players Uncover New Secrets Buried In Undertale‘s First Big Patch [Updated]

Undertale just got its first big update, and at first glance it doesn’t seem like much. Players, however, have begun picking it apart like hungry vultures, and they’ve already found some interesting stuff. This post originally ran on 1/20/16. It’s been updated with more secrets. For a while now, Undertale creator Toby Fox has been…

For Years, A Few Steam Games Seem To Have Been Hiding A Larger Secret

Throw your detective hat into a pile of rotting fish after that whole Steam winter sale sorta-kinda-not-really alternate reality game? Well, snatch it out. Intrepid sleuths have uncovered evidence of something much larger: a series of symbols and puzzle pieces that span multiple seemingly unrelated games. People are only just now beginning to piece together…

Crashlands Is Diablo Plus Survival Plus Humor

Crashlands is a new Steam action role-playing game that has me hooked. That’s a problem, because I can play it pretty much anywhere. Crashlands is an action-RPG (think Diablo, except cartoonier) with elements of crafting/base-building (think Don’t Starve, except less ruthless) and humor (think jokes). I think it’s best summed up by its main character’s…

It Has Come To This

This image comes from a game called Balls Kicking Simulator 2016. I would say we’ve hit peak Steam Greenlight, but I’m not sure that’s possible anymore. Here’s a trailer to prove that, yes, this is a real game that exists: The game’s developers claim it’s a joke—likely at the expense of Steam’s hurl-$100-into-a-garbage-bin game submission…

New Game About Dead Rock Stars Is Unexpectedly Timely

Wailing Heights has the strangest premise of any game I’ve seen on Steam Greenlight in quite some time, and that’s saying something. It’s about dead/undead rock stars, which is… weirdly timely, given recent events. OK so, let me try to explain it: Wailing Heights is a game about the deceased manager of a deceased band,…

Uhhhhhhh [Update]

Update:

Nintendo Removes Controversial Scene From English Version Of Fire Emblem Fates

When Fire Emblem Fates launched in Japan last year, there was controversy over a scene that was perceived as homophobic. Nintendo says that part won’t be in the English version. The aforementioned scene sees the player character (you) use a “magic powder” to make Soleil, a woman who’s into women, like men. Or rather, it…

Counter-Strike Team Quits After Allegedly Being Asked To Throw Matches

Valve recently made itself abundantly clear in matters of Counter-Strike match fixing: if you’re involved in a thrown match, you’re banned from Valve-sponsored events for life. One team claims they were asked by their owner to do it anyway. So they quit. The team—now known as “Orgless”—was briefly under the financial wing of CSGO.one, a…

A Game About Building Crazy Cars Is Tearing Up Steam’s Charts Right Now

Prediction time: for the next few months, you will see people make the wildest shit in Scrap Mechanic. Scrap Mechanic has been Steam’s best-selling game all day—pretty much since it came out—and it’s not too difficult to see why. It’s a game that lets you use a simple yet versatile toolset to build vehicles you…