Culture

Kind Words, A Game About Sending Nice Letters To Strangers, Is Successfully Resisting Trolls

I played Kind Words, a game about anonymously sending letters expressing fears, anxieties, and other concerns and receiving kind responses from real people, for 10 minutes today. I was immediately assaulted by a barrage of unironic positivity, I came away feeling immensely better than when I started—after just 10 minutes. Such is the power of…

Our Favorite Cosplay From Anime NYC 2019

Anime NYC was held at the Javits Center on Manhattan’s West Side late last month, and being one of the biggest anime shows in the U.S., there was lots of cosplay there. We’re featuring some of the best of it below, with everything snapped by Mineralblu. As usual, you’ll find the cosplayer’s social media info,…

Finisher Roulette Is My New Favorite Low-Key Destiny 2 Feature

Killing hordes of the same aliens over and over again feels a lot livelier thanks to Destiny 2’s new random finishers. Finishers seemed like a fun but mostly superfluous idea back when Bungie added them to the game with the release of the Shadowkeep expansion in October. The option to perform a finisher kicks in…

The last episode of Highlight Reel for 2019 is going up tomorrow. As always, feel free to email your great gaming moments to [email protected] and we may include it on the show! You can also DM me on Twitter if you have any questions

Here’s January 2020’s Xbox Live Games With Gold

We’ve got Xbox’s upcoming Games with Gold a bit early this month, which might help you plan your holiday shopping. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription. January’s Xbox Games with Gold are: Xbox One Styx: Shards of Darkness (January 1-31) Batman: The Telltale Series (January…

The Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro Is A Decent Retro Console In A So-So Fight Stick

I can’t get over how pretty the Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro is. The curvaceous white housing, the brightly colored buttons, the candy-apple-red joystick—it’s just so pleasing to my eye. It’s almost more fun to look at than it is to use. Announced in September and available now, the $130 Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro…

Track: False Sympathy | Artist: Mondo Grosso | Album: Itsuwari no Sympathy 

Puma Has Made Gaming Footwear For Some Reason

Puma has decided to make gaming shoes that are “sock-like,” “comfortable,” “lightweight,” and “grippy.” According to Puma, the shoes are the perfect gaming tool for arena and home use. Okay! There are loads of wonderful sneakers from numerous shoe companies, and I am not convinced that gaming footwear is anything less than a cash grab.…

Why KFC Is Christmas Dinner In Japan

Every year across Japan, people line up at Kentucky Fried Chicken joints to place their orders for Christmas dinner. The yearly ad campaigns and meal ordering have made KFC part of Japan’s holiday season. This Twitter user writes, “If we’re talking Japanese Christmas, it’s gotta be KFC!” Of course, not everyone eats KFC at Christmas…

Winter in Big D. Dallas, Texas. By Brian Ashcraft | Twitter JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Sleepless Nights

Alone Lee is an artist based in China. You can see more of Lee’s stuff at her ArtStation page

Real Overwatch Loot Box Opens, Reveals 100% Chance Of Marriage Proposal

I’m not sure what this says about the odds of a successful union, but it’s at least a very nice way to spend big on an engagement. When Gavin Carter—a producer on Fallout 3 and Halo 4—wanted to propose to his girlfriend recently, he didn’t want to do things the old fashioned way. Instead, he…

One Way To Beat This Upcoming Puzzle Game Is To Wait 400 Days

In 2012, the game developer Anselm Pyta visited a cave in Germany. This tangle of caverns, lakes and grottos, called The Barbarossa Cave, is tied to a legend of a former emperor who sleeps there until he awakes to become the King of Germany once more. In the legend the king had a servant who…

A Closer Look At Dark Souls‘ Most Difficult Player-Created Challenges

Dark Souls’ gloomy world and difficult battles appeal to players and writers alike. One of the deepest dives is You Died: The Dark Souls Companion, written by Jason Killingsworth and long-time Kotaku contributor Keza MacDonald. The original released in 2016 but a brand-new Kickstarter for a hardcover version places it all into a package that…

The original art of Johnny Five Aces from the hilarious and failed steampunk video game venture The Zybourne Clock has sold for $5,100 Remember to keep any of the dumb bullshit you put on the internet just in case you think you’ll be able to use five grand in the future.

Track: Last Christmas (Official 4K Video) | Artist: Wham! | Album: Last Christmas

A Great Distillery. Chichibu, Saitama, Japan. By Brian Ashcraft. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Lone Wolf & Cub

Luigi Lucarelli is a character and concept artist who has done work for companies like Disney, Universal and Hasbro. You can see more of Luigi’s stuff at his ArtStation page

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is getting a $10 season pass. Two multiplayer DLC packs will each include three extra costumes for ScareScraper and three new mini-games for ScreamPark. The first will launch by April 30; the second by July 31. You can pre-buy them both starting today and get a new Polterpup flashlight for all modes.

Total War: Three Kingdoms’ next DLC chapter pack is a prequel called Mandate of Heaven. In a neat touch, your playthrough of the prequel can then carry over into the main game.