Culture

Wind Waker’s Ending Was Incredibly Badass

My kids have started playing Wind Waker recently—for the record, my favourite game of all time—and it’s been a joy seeing them encounter everything for the first time. Gasping at Aryll’s abduction, laughing at the Killer Bees, screaming “this stealth level is the worst I hate it”. I wonder, though, what they’ll make of the…

Please, Cate Blanchett, Do Not Star In The Borderlands Movie

Variety are reporting today that Cate Blanchett “is in talks to star as Lilith in Lionsgate’s ‘Borderlands,’ an adaptation of the popular video game”. This is sad and terrible news. If you missed the announcement back in February, Eli Roth is directing an adaptation of Gearbox’s shooters, and between his involvement and the series’ trademark…

Two Publishers Trade A Bunch Of IPs (Including Red Faction) Like They Were Baseball Cards

THQ Nordic and Koch Media did something today that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before: they picked up a bunch of intellectual properties they own—including Second Sight and Risen—and just traded them. Like they were athletes, or collectable cards, or Pokemon. It’s important to note before we start thinking this is too weird that…

Fallout 76 Players Donate To Wasteland Doctor Whose Real-Life Home Caught Fire

Brent “CJ Martin” Fairchild role-plays in Fallout 76 as a doctor offering aid to other players. After his real-life home caught on fire over the weekend, players have been raising money for his family to try to return the favor. As first reported by Polygon, a GoFundMe page was set up by Fallout 76 podcaster…

Sekiro Multiplayer Mod Lets Friends Die Horribly, Together

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a solitary experience by design. The combat is at its best when facing a foe one-on-one, trading blows and parries while trying to throw each other off balance. But if you thought it was missing something by forgoing the asynchronous multiplayer of From Software siblings like Dark Souls and Bloodborne,…

Valorant Players Don’t Like That Valorant’s Top Rank Is Called ‘Valorant’

Despite the fact that it’s still in closed beta, there are many Valorant players. There are not, however, many Valorant players who are also Valorants, aka Valorant Valorant players. You can probably see why some players already find the game’s naming scheme for its top rank confusing. Less than a week ago, Valorant added its…

Halo 2: Anniversary will be on PC starting May 12. It’s the latest game in the series to get ported as 343 Industries transitions the entire Master Chief Collection to PC. It’s also not-so-secretly one of the best Halo games.

Perhaps you, like me, missed pixelated-action adventure game Arrest of a stone Buddha when it came to PC earlier this year. If so you’re in luck. The latest game from the maker of the fantastic beat ‘em up Friends of Ringo Ishikawa is coming to Switch on May 21.

How’s It Going?: Weird Habits Edition

It’s Tuesday! Good job, everyone. Welcome back to our daily open thread. I’ve recently gotten into the habit of falling asleep on my couch watching Bob’s Burgers episodes for the millionth time. This used to be just an occasional weekend quirk, but lately it’s morphed into a nightly thing. The noise keeps me from lying…

After Nearly Two Decades, Microprose Is Making Strategy And Simulation Games Again

Founded in 1982 by game industry legends Sid Meier and Bill Stealey, developer and publisher Microprose released some of the greatest military simulation and strategy games ever made. After nearly two decades defunct, the Microprose name returns, with a trio of new strategy and simulation games in the works. The Australia-based company that currently owns…

Microsoft Will Show Xbox Series X First-Party Games In July, Still Promising Halo For Launch

Microsoft says it plans to show updates on its first-party games some time in July and is still planning on launching Xbox Series X and Halo Infinite later this year. The company shed more light on its plans for the rest of 2020 in a blog post today, including announcing a series of “monthly moments”…

Track: Sunday Morning | Artist: The Velvet Underground & Nico | Album: The Velvet Underground & Nico

Relax, Sir, I’m A Doctor

Sarunas Macijauskas is a concept artist and illustrator from Lithuania. You can see more of Sarunas’ stuff at his ArtStation page

Doom Eternal’s Soundtrack Has Been A Trainwreck

A video game soundtrack release is normally a pretty straightforward thing, but Doom Eternal’s 59-track OST has found itself mired in controversy as the game’s composer and publisher Bethesda are at odds over the quality and composition of much of the score. The story begins last month, when the album was released (after some delays)…

Top Smash Player Uses Fake Name In Online Tournament

The fighting game community’s shift to online competition in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic has increased the scene’s vulnerability to problems that rarely proved serious in the past. Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament organizers learned this firsthand when a top player using a fake name threw their plans into disarray. Rona Rumble, an online…

Massive Nintendo Leak Reportedly Includes Wii Source Code, Developer Materials, And N64 Test ROMs

What appears to be an unprecedented trove of information related to several past Nintendo consoles was leaked to the internet starting last Friday. Many of the thousands of leaked files concern Nintendo’s 2006 Wii console, including detailed design documents and even seemingly its source code. Such information would be of great interest to emulation enthusiasts,…

It Took You Cowards Long Enough To Add Yaddle To A Video Game

In 1999, our galaxy received a gift: a wise Jedi Master named Yaddle. This Jedi Master was a female member of Yoda’s species. She never appeared in any video games, but that’s going to change when LEGO Star Wars The Skywalker Saga releases later this year. Finally. Yaddleappeared in a few scenes in the first…

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Update Adds New Game Plus, Combat Challenges

Today is a made-up Star Wars holiday, but the new update for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is in fact very real. The free patch adds a new game plus mode, combat challenges, additional cosmetics, and a slew of upgraded accessibility options. Where many games allow you to carry over abilities into a second playthrough,…

I Don’t Want To Finish Final Fantasy VII Remake

When this time of imposed social isolation began, I had a theory: In the absence of real human connection, some people would find themselves growing more attached than usual to video game characters. Well, dear reader, It Happened To Me. For the past handful of weeks, I—like a great many members of the zeitgeist-chasing gamer…

How’s It Going?: Reset Edition

Welcome to another week, and welcome back to our daily open thread. Social distancing is starting—or continuing—to wear on me. Nothing’s really changed where I live, but the string of days stuck at home is starting to take its toll. My apartment, particularly my couch, looks lived in in a way no amount of cleaning…