Nathan Grayson

Fed Up With Janky Steam Games, Guy Clones One In 12 Minutes

In his Steam review of a game called Glitch Simulator 2018, user IAmPattyJack claimed that “anyone can make it in roughly 25 minutes.” But as it turned out, he was wrong. It only took him 12 minutes and 18 seconds. Glitch Simulator 2018, from the esteemed creators of hits like ISIS Simulator and Suicide Simulator,…

Track: Ruin | Artist: Hide Your Fires | Album: Empty Vessel Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

A Game About Deciding What Is (And Is Not) Soup

What makes soup qualify as soup? Must it be liquid? What if it’s frozen? Need it be edible, or can it contain rocks or batteries? Those are the kinds of heady philosophical questions posed by Something Something Soup Something Something Something Soup Something is a free browser game made by Italian philosopher and game designer…

Popular Battlegrounds Streamer Apologizes After Falsely Accusing Player Of Hacking

Shroud, one of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds’ most popular streamers, isn’t somebody who loses very often. A former Counter-Strike pro, he’s rarely outsmarted or outgunned. It’s not uncommon to see would-be rivals try to level the playing field with hacks. Every once in a while, he calls out cheaters on stream. Recently, however, he seems to have…

Kerbal Space Program Review Bombed Over Controversial Chinese Gender Translation

For the past few days, Kerbal Space Program has been bombarded by negative reviews on Steam, so much so that the big thumbs-down parade has triggered Valve’s new anti-review bomb countermeasures. The reason? A small phrasing change in the game’s Chinese version. Originally, a space shuttle on the game’s main menu had the phrase “不到mun非好汉”…

What Counter-Strike Mapmakers Think Of The New Dust2

Valve has once again tampered with the holy grail of Counter-Strike maps, Dust2. Long considered a gold standard not just for CSGO, but for multiplayer maps in general, it’s very difficult to tangibly improve without accidentally knocking the overall synergy of the map out of balance. Has Valve succeeded this time? I asked a handful…

World Of Warcraft Player Solos One Of The Game’s Toughest Raid Bosses

Gul’dan is a pivotal figure in Warcraft lore, a powerful warlock and founder of the whole dang Orcish Horde. When he finally became a raid boss in World of Warcraft earlier this year, it was a Big Deal. Even now, he’s no cakewalk to fight. That’s why it’s basically astounding that one player, Mionee, has…

Overwatch Players Are Photobombing Halloween Mode Again

In Overwatch’s Halloween-themed “Junkenstein’s Revenge” mode, boss characters get stylish entrances that are one part Play Of The Game and one part Too Many Cooks. Naturally, players have found a way to screw with them. This post originally ran on October 14, 2016. It’s been updated with new photobombs from the 2017 version of Junkenstein’s…

Overwatch’s Most Popular Player Talks Overwatch League (And Bastion)

Brandon “Seagull” Larned has had quite a year, going from esports player to full-time streamer and back again, all while continuing to grow a fandom of millions who love him for his easygoing demeanor and gravity-defying Pharah and Genji plays. Over the weekend, his new team, EnvyUs, swept the finals of the $100,000 Overwatch Contenders…

Counter-Strike’s signature map, Dust2, is getting an official rework from Valve. The “updated, refined” version will be playable in beta form “soon.” For now, enjoy one whole screenshot

Five Cool Games From Indiecade 2017

I spent the weekend in Los Angeles at Indiecade, an annual event that celebrates independent games of all sorts, from PC and console games to games where you put on costumes and pretend to be witches. Here are the coolest ones I got to play this year. The Black Widow The Black Widow is a…

Shadow Of War‘s PC Download Is Nearly 100 GB

Hoping to play noted orc dating/shaming simulator Shadow of War on PC when it launches early tomorrow? You’ll probably want to start pre-loading it asap. By default, the Steam download of Shadow of War weighs in at a whopping 97.7 GB, making it one of the largest game downloads on the platform in recent memory.…

Big Divinity: Original Sin 2 Patch Improves Final Act, Nerfs Chickens

It’s quite an achievement that Divinity: Original Sin 2 launched mostly functional despite how massive it is. That said, the experience had a few patches of pimples. Some quests were unclear or busted, it was too hard to talk your way through act 4, and most glaringly, chickens were way overpowered. Today, a big update…

Cuphead, As Told By Steam Reviews

Ever wondered how many different ways people can find to say, “this video game is hard”? Then oh boy, Cuphead’s Steam reviews are gonna be a treat for you. In our review, Heather wrote that she mostly enjoyed Cuphead despite (and also because of) the difficulty. Sure, bosses had a few cheap attacks, but she…

Hugs And Shoulder Taps Speak As Loud As Words in Divinity: Original Sin 2‘s Conversations

Physical contact has always been fairly limited in video games. In many games, your character can hit others with their hands, feet, or arm that’s also a sword, if you have one of those. In some, your character can flirt or have sex with other characters. In a handful, you can hold hands. I can…

Modder Crams Two Zelda Games Into Mario 64

“Why not?” It’s such a simple question, yet it’s led humanity down all sorts of interesting pathways and also to the brink of destruction and back on multiple occasions. Now, finally, we’ve arrived at our pinnacle: somebody managed to cram both Nintendo 64 Zeldas into Super Mario 64 SKELUX is a developer who enjoys creating…

Elite: Dangerous‘ Aliens Are Evolving

Earlier this week, Elite: Dangerous’ players found themselves struggling with a moral quandary. They’d figured out how to kill aliens, but they weren’t sure if they should. Now, though, they’ve been hit with a curve ball: the aliens are growing wise to human weapons and tactics. It all began yesterday, in the wake of a…

First Of The North Star Parody Makes Fun Of Hanzo Mains In Overwatch

If you’re an Overwatch player capable of pulling off pro strats like switching characters when the moment calls for it, you’re probably perplexed by Hanzo mains, who stick by their limited hero of choice at all costs. Consider, though, that perhaps being a Hanzo main is actually a heroic and poetic struggle perfectly summed up…

Track: Everybody Knows | Artist: Kimbra | Album: Primal Heart Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Players Slam Classic Star Wars: Battlefront 2 PC’s Servers After Online Multiplayer Returns

Do you have fond memories of playing the 2005 version of Star Wars: Battlefront 2? Do you wish with every fiber of your being that it had official online servers again? Well then, good news: your wish just came true, somehow. On both Steam and GOG, the PC version of the original Battlefront 2 has…