Culture

Final Fantasy XIV’s final update of 2020, Futures Rewritten patch 5.4, launches on December 8. Along with new dungeons, main story quests, and trials, the patch adds Explorer Mode, which lets players explore dungeons and take screenshots without worrying about getting murdered by enemies. I’m down for some of that. 

The Week In Games: Empire Of Fenyx

It’s often a letdown when a holiday ends, but at least this week has some games to be excited about. Ubisoft’s Zelda-like Immortals Fenyx Rising comes out, along with Romero Games’ Empire of Sin and Dontnod’s Twin Mirror December 1 Chronos: Before The Ashes | Xbox, PC, PlayStation Empire of Sin | Xbox, PlayStation, PC,…

Bully Doesn’t Sound Like Your Typical Rockstar Game

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today I’m here to educate you all about the wonderful music in Bully.  Rockstar video games tend to have soundtracks filled with licensed music, like Max Payne 3, Grand Theft Auto V, or the Midnight Club…

Track: Grace Kelly Blues | Artist: Eels | Album: Daisies of the Galaxy 

Untitled Goose Game’s Map Is Just Beautiful

I’m not talking about the actual game world—though it also is lovely—but in this case a special hand-drawn map that was commissioned, included in the game’s physical edition, and now available for sale on its own as a big fancy print. Created byGoldie Bartlett—currently working on Wayward Strand—the image was designed to hark back to…

Two Of The Worst Zelda Games Have Been Recreated On The PC

Faces of Evil and Wand of Gamelon were the first two of three Zelda games Nintendo published on the ill-fated Philips CD-i system in the early 90s. They are very bad—so bad Nintendo doesn’t recognise them as series canon—but they’ve still got a certain charm to them, and so this fan effort to rebuild them…

Sunday Comics: Giving Thanks

Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published Nov. 23. Read more of Corpse Run Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published Nov. 23. Read more of Awkward Zombie Clueless Hero by…

Uri Geller Says Nintendo Can Print Kadabra On Pokémon Cards Again

Spoon-bending magician Uri Geller gave Nintendo permission to use the character Kadabra on Pokémon cards today, after a 2o year legal dispute in which Geller claimed the Pokémon’s Japanese name and image were too close to his own. “I am truly sorry for what I did 20 years ago,” Geller tweeted today. “Kids and grownups…

Yakuza’s Latest Protagonist Is The Hero I Need Right Now

In the midst of this chaotic, late-2020 world, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is the most comforting game I’ve found by far. Yakuza games have always offered wildly captivating plots, ridiculous combat systems, and endless opportunities for digital tourism, but I’m mostly finding Like a Dragon such a great source of joy because of its fresh…

RIP, Disney Infinity, And Thank You

Disney Infinity was, in 2013 at least, trying to be the biggest thing in both games and toys. Yet only three years after launching, in 2016 it was gone, its servers closed down, its playsets discounted then removed from stores entirely. Where once half the point of the game was building new levels and worlds…

SaGa Frontier Is Getting A Remaster

Square Enix announced a remaster of 1998 PlayStation game SaGa Frontier today, coming summer 2021. SaGa Frontier Remastered will be available on Switch, PS4, Steam, iOS, and Android. In a tweet, the developer says the remaster will feature “updated graphics, events, cutscenes, enhancements, (and a new protagonist!).” Here are the full details from the YouTube…

PS5 Owners Say They’re Receiving Bans After Selling PS4 Users Access To The PS Plus Collection

If you’re one of the lucky ones to have been able to buy a PS5 already, you’ll know that with a PlayStation Plus subscription you also get access to the PS Plus Collection, 20 well-loved, properly good PS4 games. But if you’re still on PS4, that bundle isn’t available to you. Well, it didn’t take…

Video Games Sure Do Have A Lot Of Bad Dads

It’s the day after Thanksgiving. Your gut is heavy with leftovers, your vision blurs from the accumulated eye crust of countless naps. You find yourself wishing to engage in the greatest of all American holiday traditions: watching a sport you don’t usually care about while drifting in and out of sleep. Sports, though, are old…

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Vs. Jagmeet Singh At Among Us, Streamed Tonight

Last night Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, challenged US Democrat Ocasio-Cortez to a streamed game of Among Us. AOC agreed, and it’s on, tonight at 4 pm PT/7 pm ET. USA vs. Canada. Pick a side. This really does seem like the ideal way forward for international politics Although what if it…

There’s A Bridge In Red Dead Online That Can Fling You To Mexico

The excellent trampolinists at Eurogamer report there’s a bridge in Red Dead Online players are using to fling themselves out of the map. Bear with me a moment, I’m workshopping Facebook taglines: A Bridge Too Far The Bridge Over Troubled Slaughter An Occurrence At Shit Creek Bridge Nailed it. The denizens of Reddit have been…

Marvel’s Avengers Didn’t Sell As Expected, Says Square Enix

Earlier this month in Japan, Square Enix held a briefing for investors. This week, the Tokyo-based game company finally released an official transcript of the meeting. During the presentation, Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda said, “The HD Games subsegment posted an operating loss as initial sales of Marvel’s Avengers were lower than we had expected…

Track: All You’re Dreaming Of | Artist: Liam Gallagher | Album: All You’re Dreaming Of (single)

Crusader Kings III’s New Ruler Designer Is, Ahem, Very Nice

Crusader Kings III got a free update this week, introducing a new “ruler designer” that lets you completely customise the leader you begin the game with. From their beards to their sexuality to their statistics. It’s all very personal and cool, but let’s just focus on those statistics for a second, which can be pushed…

Counter-Strike Player Says He’s Been Offered Thousands For Match Fixing

Esports match fixing has been on the rise lately, so much so that we’ve seen charges, arrests and direct accusations of links to organised crime. And in perhaps the clearest signal of how rife things are getting locally, one player has spoken up about how much they’ve been offered to fix CSGO games. The detail…

In The Console Wars, Astro’s Playroom Is Extraordinarily Effective PlayStation Propaganda

As I finished the short delight of Astro’s Playroom, sitting back in satisfaction at having defeated those daft dinosaurs, I found myself bathing in the warm glow of affection for a quarter-century of Sony technology, reminiscing about the days of… wait, hang on? I’ve never given a toss about PlayStations before. What is happening to…