Culture

Zelda Can’t Make This Jump In Wind Waker

Hello! This week we find a never released NES game, explore the history of the Air Bud franchise, figure out how screwed up that last Steam Summer Sale event was, build with friends, do some farming and watch Zelda fail. It’s Morning Checkpoint! Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week Like most weeks, Kotaku was…

Warframe‘s New Spaceships Are Powered By Portals

Adding fully-manned spaceships and space combat to a gargantuan online game like Warframe isn’t rocket science. It’s portal science. It’s also game development wizardry that makes my brain hurt. Warframe’s upcoming “Empyrean” update will include space combat that allows players to do things like run around inside their ship while somebody else is piloting and…

The Twitch Streamers Who Put People To Sleep (Literally)

I don’t know if I’ve ever been fully conscious for an entire David “Dog” Caero Twitch stream. The Hearthstone personality (and now inaugural Masters Tour champion) lives in Nevada, which means that when he hits the internet, it’s already twilight in my Brooklyn apartment. There’s nothing to blame but human chemistry; Hearthstone is a sedate…

Despite boasting the most followers, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is not the undisputed king of Twitch. Data from streaming utility company StreamElements shows that Turner “Tfue” Tenney had six million more hours watched from April through June. In general, Twitch’s top five is in flux, with others like Jaryd “Summit1g” Lazar posting strong numbers, as well.…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for going to a sensory deprivation tank, which will either awaken my latent superpowers or drive me mad. What better way to celebrate either outcome than with video games? I’m excited to check out Griftlands, the new game from Klei, developers of some of my favorite games like Mark of the Ninja…

A Noble Stranger Stayed By My Side While I Died In Fallout 76

You do not want me in your Nuclear Winter squad. I have a penchant for switching my drop location at the last second, landing on the map hundreds of meters away from my teammates. I’m never on mic. And I’m terrible at staying hidden. But none of this stopped another player, let’s call him Bill,…

Minecraft Earth Gameplay Looks Adorable

Minecraft Earth, an augmented reality mobile game based on the hugely popular series, is coming to a closed beta later this summer. To tide you over, Mojang released a short video yesterday on that shows off some gameplay. It’s incredibly charming. So far, all we’ve seen of Minecraft Earth is the admittedly impressive augmented reality…

Track: Whispers | Artist: Ian Brown | Album: Music of the Spheres Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment. 

Angel Road. Shodoshima, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. By JC Fang. 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!

TurboGrafx-16 Mini Launches In March With 50-ish Games

You’ll be able to complete the trifecta of tiny 16-bit throwback systems on March 19, 2020, when Konami releases the TurboGrafx-16 Mini. It’ll include Dracula X, Bonk’s Revenge, Gradius and many more games, including many Japanese exclusives. Konami said today that it will sell the device exclusively through Amazon, with preorders opening up on Monday,…

Open Carry

Tan Di is an artist from China. You can see more of Tan’s stuff at his ArtStation page

Ubisoft Bans Player-Created Assassin’s Creed Quests That Let You Level Up By Doing Nothing

Last month, Ubisoft released a tool that allows players to create their own quests in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Players could choose to have other players’ custom quests appear in their games.. Almost immediately came a mess of quests dedicated to rapid-fire power-leveling. “To each their own,” you might say of this questionable practice, but Ubisoft…

Why Veronica Mars Is Still Worth Watching, 15 Years Later

Veronica Mars has been on a hell of a ride. The beloved, short-lived TV series debuted in 2004, telling sun-drenched teen noir stories about a high school girl who solved mysteries in her spare time. Starring Kristen Bell as the eponymous troubled amateur detective, the show gained a cult following for its sharp wit, heartbreaking character arcs,…

Steam’s New Customizable AI Tool Scans Your Playtime And Tells You What To Buy Next

Just days after the end of a summer sale that laid bare many of Steam’s issues with helping people discover new games, Valve has announced a new section dedicated to “experiments around discoverability, video, machine learning, and more.” It’s called Steam Labs, and the first bits of mad video game science to emerge from it…

The Nintendo Switch Lite Has Sealed The 3DS’s Coffin

Remember the Nintendo 3DS? Enjoy that while you can, because after the Nintendo Switch Lite comes out, the 3DS will be erased from all of our collective memories. Okay, not really, but the Switch Lite does look nifty. On this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen, we talk about playing Switch games while lying in a hammock and…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: Is My Ex Leading Me On?

Hello you beautiful and terrifying love piranhas, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the dating advice column for people who got a recommendation from Dr. Mario. This week, we’re gonna squash some relationship viruses. How do you clear up a misunderstanding that’s led to a conflict in your friendship? How can you tell whether your…

I Can’t Deal With People Getting Ahead Of Me In MMOs

Earlier today, my Kotaku coworker Heather Alexandra posted what I am sure was an amazing and insightful look at the end of Final Fantasy XIV’s Shadowbringers expansion. An ending that I’m still a level and a half and a whole bunch of quests away from experiencing. I am so damn jealous. It’s not just Heather.…

Track: Maps | Artist: Yeah Yeah Yeahs | Album: Fever To Tell  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment. 

Imabari Castle. Imabari, Ehime, Japan. By JC. 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!

Track: Half Manne Half Cocaine | Artist: Freddie Gibbs & Madlib | Album: Bandana Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.