Culture

7 Sonic The Hedgehog Prototypes You Were Never Meant To Play

Few things make me happier than hearing that a generous soul, upon discovering a prototype or unreleased game, has decided to take it upon themselves to get that game off of its ROM cartridge and make it available to the world. It’s one thing to read anecdotes from the developers and look at early concept…

The Games That Make Me Feel Free

In times of distress—and right now, I am constantly distressed, despite what manner of bullshit I post on Twitter—people seek out the things they need. Comfort, stability, understanding; we’ll scavenge until we can find a scrap of the emotion we need to feel more like ourselves. And I’ve found myself floating towards games that make…

How’s It Going?: Family Edition

It’s Wednesday! We’re doing it! Welcome back to our daily open thread. My parents live in Florida, and my sister lives in Texas, and suddenly all of them are trying to get me to leave New York and come where they are, which is very weird timing given that coronavirus cases are jumping in their…

Track: Wrote for Luck (Think About the Future) | Artist: The Happy Mondays | Album: Bummed (Collector’s Edition)

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Connor Sheehan is an artist based in the UK. You can see more of Connor’s stuff at his personal site and ArtStation page

Dreams Nabs Game Of The Year At Games For Change Awards

Media Molecule’s PlayStation 4 game-creation tool Dreams was named Game of the Year at tonight’s Games for Change Awards, which closed out the first day of the digital festival. Since launching in February, Dreams has allowed players to create magnificent works of art, puppet shows, breakfast, and, yes, even games with its extensive suite of…

ICBM Wants You To Blow Up The Planet With Nukes

Defcon, released in 2006, was an excellent exercise in mutually assured destruction. The upcoming ICBM is looking to be a more modern take on the same subject matter. Published by strategy specialists Slitherine, it’s coming to PC…sometime in the future, and while a serious game about the destruction of civilization does not sound like something…

Spook Ware Is Wario Ware, Only With Horror Games

I miss Wario Ware, you miss Wario Ware, everyone misses Wario Ware except for Nintendo, who are being assholes and not making more Wario Ware. Ah well! Let’s all get over that together by playing something very similar (and free!), only it involves sawing through human legs. SPOOK WARE, by Adam Pype, is a collection…

Call Of Duty: Warzone Devs Rename Controversial ‘Border War’ Skin

A controversial Call of Duty: Warzone skin saw its name and description changed by developer Infinity Ward in an update released earlier today Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone players used to be able to equip operator Wayne “D-Day” Davis with a unique skin named “Border War” which, when combined with its description, seemed…

New Online Harassment Hotline Offers Emotional Support To Game Industry

Several prominent members of the gaming community have come together to organize a new text-based hotline aimed at providing emotional support to the industry, especially those that feel isolated by abuse and harassment. The Games and Online Harassment Hotline, which was announced earlier today during a Games for Change panel and launches on August 3,…

Google Announces Stadia Is Getting More Games, But Not Much Else

Stadia is still here, still getting additional games, and might one day be really cool, but nothing in today’s Stadia Connect event made it look like the platform has turned a corner as it struggles to establish a new ecosystem for gaming. The most exciting game (at least to me) announced during today’s event was…

How’s It Going?: Biosphere Edition

We’ve made it all the way to Tuesday—good for us! Welcome back to our daily open thread. Last night I watched Spaceship Earth, a documentary about some folks in the 90s who lived inside a biodome for two years. I was alive then, but I don’t remember this at all besides the 1996 Pauly Shore…

Creaks, the latest game by Amanita Design, maker of Chunchel and Machinarium, is coming out July 22 on PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. It’s a spooky-looking puzzle game reminiscent of a series of Edward Gorey illustrations brought to life, and it’s apparently been in development for eight years

YouTuber Uses Kinect Mod To Play Mario 64 With A Trampoline

It turns out using motion controls to make Mario jump is hard work. YouTuber Super Louis 64, who you might remember from beating Halo 3 with a guitar or taking on Dark Souls 3 with a Ring Fit, is back again, this time with a bizarre new control scheme for Super Mario 64. Using a…

Lego officially confirmed the retro NES console and TV sets that leaked yesterday are real, complete with a new trailer showing the crank that makes Mario side-scroll in action. The set is due out August 1 and costs $230.

Through the Trees. Drivenik, Croatia. By Eduard Tucaković | Instagram 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!

Everything Is Cake Now, Including Dragon Ball Z Characters

He’s cake! He’s really cake! Memes hit a whole new level of galaxy brain over the weekend after a viral July 8 tweet showing all manner of objects being cut in half to reveal layer-cake inside changed how we think of reality: I think, therefore I am…cake? Maybe it’s the months of lockdown as a…

Destiny 2 Players Speedrun The Game’s Mind-Bending Prophecy Dungeon In Minutes

Prophecy is a three-person mini-raid full of gorgeous skyboxes and fun puzzles, both of which are on full display in a recent speedrun in which players cleared the Destiny 2 dungeon in just over eight minutes. Added when Season of Arrivals launched in early June, Prophecy lets players dig a little deeper into some of…

Titanfall 2, As Told By Steam Reviews

Titanfall 2 is a masterpiece, a sublime blend of speed, fury, and mech buddy feel-good vibes. Unfortunately, many people are not aware of this, because when the stompy shooter first came out, it flew uncharacteristically under the radar for something involving giant robots. Now it’s getting a second chance on Steam. While a dedicated community…

Rare Copy Of Super Mario Bros. Sells At Auction For Record-Breaking $114,000

A mint-condition sealed copy of the original Super Mario Bros. sold at auction for $114,000 on July 10, setting a new record for the sale of a single collectible video game. The previous record, a private sale for $100,150 in February 2019, was another sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. “How the heck did they…