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CultureIt’s Official: E3 Returns As An All-Digital, All-Free Event June 12
Following the cancelation of 2020’s event due to covid-19, and much rumor and speculation regarding this year’s iteration of what was once the most important video game trade show in the world, the Entertainment Software Association today announces E3 2021, a free all-digital event running June 12 through 15. Nintendo, Xbox, Capcom, Konami, Ubisoft, Take-Two…
By Mike Fahey Published April 6, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanRecord Covid-19 Cases In Osaka As Universal Studios Japan Limits Visitors
Today, Osaka posted its highest daily number of covid-19 cases: 719. This is the eighth straight day that covid-19 cases have been increasing in the prefecture. The numbers are also climbing in the surrounding areas. Online in Japan, some commenters online are worried about covid-19’s spread in Osaka, especially in regards to Universal Studios Japan…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 2021 -
CultureGlobal PS5, Xbox & GPU Shortage Partially Blamed On $1 Parts
As we talked about last week, the global supply shortage affecting all kinds of products, from consoles to phones to cars, is down to a lack of semiconductors. More specifically, though, one of the biggest culprits is a shortage of tiny parts that cost around $1. As this Bloomberg report points out, a global shortage…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 5, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryWhen My Disco Elysium Character Gave Up I Was Like Yeah, I Get It
I have never felt more in tune with a video game character than when Disco Elysium’s detective protagonist, his morale utterly devastated after a series of failed skill checks, tells his partner to fuck off and prematurely brings the game to a close. Disco Elysium: The Final Cut arrived on PlayStation 5 (as well as…
By Ian Walker Published April 5, 2021 -
CultureClassic Half-Life 2 Mod Neotokyo Gets A Singleplayer Spinoff
Neotokyois an absolute PC gaming classic, a (somehow) free mod for Half-Life 2 that remains one of the prettiest and coolest multiplayer shooters on the planet. And now, 12 years after its first release, it has a single-player experience for fans to play through. NEOTOKYO° Kshatriya is a little rusty around the edges, but in…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 5, 2021 -
CultureDiscord Deleted Thousands Of Violent Extremist And Criminal Servers In 2020
Thanks to the endlessly depressing extent to which covid has kept everybody trapped inside, Discord is more relevant than ever. But as the company revealed in its latest transparency report, that has led to new challenges—and improved efforts to confront other challenges it probably should have put more effort into sooner. Discord, which is reportedly…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 5, 2021 -
CulturePC RPG Installs Mystery Program, Fans Freak Out
Fans of the RPG Another Eden—out this month on PC—this week discovered that, alongside installing the game itself, copies of the game obtained on Steam were also installing something called ‘wfsdrv’ which seemingly had nothing to do with the game. Initially believed to be some kind of driver, then suggested as something more sinister, fans…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 5, 2021 -
CultureSomeone Might Have Found A Canceled Castlevania Dreamcast Prototype
In a mysterious new video (h/t Polygon), an off-camera player navigates through what appears to be a prototype of Castlevania: Resurrection, a canceled Sega Dreamcast game from the early 2000s. If legitimate, this is the first time gameplay footage has been made publicly available. The brief video appeared on a newly created YouTube channel and lacks…
By Ian Walker Published April 5, 2021 -
CultureDisco Elysium: The Final Cut, As Told By Steam Reviews
A free update to a masterpiece? That adds full voice acting, new quests, and a slew other of bonus features? Gee, I’m sure Steam users are hating that. I joke because Disco Elysium’s new Final Cut version might be the surest possible layup in Steam history. The original, released in 2019, was a role-playing masterpiece…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 5, 2021 -
OpinionAsk KotakuHave You Ever Raged And Thrown A Controller?
It’s Monday and time for Ask Kotaku, the weekly feature in which Kotaku-ites deliberate on a single burning question. Then, we ask your take. This week we Ask Kotaku: Have you ever raged and thrown a controller? Fahey While I have never thrown a controller myself, I have been around someone who has. In fact,…
By Alexandra Hall Published April 5, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsPrime 2D Is The Coolest Metroid In Over A Decade
A group of independent developers known as Team SCU recently released a demo for Prime 2D, an impressive side-scrolling remake of 2002’s Metroid Prime that has been in the works for over 15 years. After spending some time with it, I can say it was definitely worth the wait, even if Nintendo’s lawyers are no…
By Ian Walker Published April 5, 2021 -
CultureApex Legends Will Get ‘A Ton Of Titanfall’ Next Season
Since Apex Legends launched in February 2019, players have been wanting more crossover content from its related Titanfall universe. Over the weekend, developers at Respawn hinted that we’ll be getting a lot more Titanfall in the game’s next season. As reported by Dexerto, on a recent panel called BrownGirlGamerCode, Game Director Chad Grenier said, “We…
By Riley MacLeod Published April 5, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsSquare Enix: That ‘Redneck Mob Storming D.C.’ Line In Outriders Is Pure Coincidence
There’s an offhand line in Outriders that sure sounds like a reference to the failed January 6 insurrection in Washington, D.C. According to the game’s publisher, any connections one could make there are “purely coincidental.” Developed by People Can Fly and published by Square Enix, the class-based looter-shooter Outriders officially released last week for everything…
By Ari Notis Published April 5, 2021 -
CultureThe Week In Games: It’s An Odd, Odd, Odd, Oddworld
This week Oddworld: Soulstorm drops on PS5, PS4, and PC. Get ready to “help” your fellow Mudokons. (You’ll probably get a bunch of them killed. It’s okay. It happens.) I won’t name any names, but within Kotaku there are some folks who enjoy these games and the world. And then there are others, like me,…
By Zack Zwiezen Published April 5, 2021 -
AnimeWhy Studio Ghibli’s Anime Food Always Looks So Delicious
Watching Studio Ghibli movies can make you hungry. The food always looks so darn good. But why? There has to be a reason for this, and producer Toshio Suzuki has it. Recently on Twitter, Studio Ghibli’s official account fielded an array of questions, with Suzuki answering. One person asked the following: “Why is it that…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 5, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanYu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2021 Is Canceled Due To Covid-19
Konami has canceled the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2021. This isn’t a first. The event was also canceled last year. Below is the announcement: Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, we will be canceling “Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2021″ to ensure health and safety of all parties involved. We apologize to everyone that was looking forward to…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 5, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsA Song In Balan Wonderworld Sounds A LOT Like A Song From Ghostbusters
I’m not saying the composer on Balan Wonderworld ripped off a classic tune from the Ghostbusters film soundtrack, but the similarities are striking… GigaBoots on Twitter was one of many who spotted the similarity between the Balan Wonderworld track “The Firefighter with Heroic Aspirations: Main Theme” and the instrumental Ghostbusters theme. And yeah, played back…
By Zack Zwiezen Published April 4, 2021 -
CultureSolo Players With Nvidia GPUs Can Pause Always-Online Outriders
Outriders is an always-online game that you can play entirely solo. Normally, you can’t pause it even when alone. But a clever PC player figured out a way to pause the game using their Nvidia GPU. Like Dark Souls and The Division, when playing Outriders, even alone, you are unable to pause the game. The…
By Zack Zwiezen Published April 4, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsStar Trek Legends Is A Fun Time, Not An Annoying Grind
Star Trek Legends, recently released on Apple Arcade, plays a lot like Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes, Disney’s Sorcerer’s Arena, DC Legends and countless other turn-based mobile RPGs. But without any energy meters or annoying microtransactions. As a result, it feels like a game and not a treadmill designed to ferry you to a store.…
By Zack Zwiezen Published April 4, 2021 -
CultureShop Contest‘Shop Contest: Easter Sunday 2021
To those who celebrate, Happy Easter! To those who don’t care or just realized today is Easter Sunday, happy Sunday! A year ago things were bad. Today, things are…still bad. But getting better! I think. Your challenge this week: Help video game characters celebrate Easter! Don’t worry, Agent 47 just got his second shot. He’s…
By Zack Zwiezen Published April 4, 2021