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OpinionImpressionsChill City-Builder Forever
Life is hard. Sometimes games are hard, and that just reminds me that life is hard, and then everything feels too damn hard. Not early access city-builder Dorfromantik, though. That game is just the right amount of chill. Dorfromantik came to Steam early access last week. You’re given a stack of hexagonal tiles with landmarks…
By Riley MacLeod Published March 29, 2021 -
OpinionAsk KotakuWhat’s A Game You Like That Doesn’t Get Enough Love?
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: What’s a game you like that doesn’t get enough love? Alexandra It’s Bionic Commando (2009). The game famously bombed and sure enough, there’s plenty wrong with…
By Alexandra Hall Published March 29, 2021 -
CultureAnother Charizard Card Sells For Over $300,000
Pokémon cards have been having a bit of a boom lately, and nowhere is that more obvious than in auctions for the holographic Charizard card that acted as the base set’s crown jewel in 1999. A third card featuring the fire lizard recently sold for over $300,000. The eBay auction, which closed Sunday evening, started…
By Ian Walker Published March 29, 2021 -
CultureSony Closing PlayStation Store On PS3, Vita, And PSP This Summer
Sony has confirmed today that the PSN digital stores on PlayStation 3 and PSP will be closing on July 2. The PS Vita store will also shut down on August 27. Players will still be able to download games after the stores shut down. Today, Sony updated the important notice section of its official site…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 29, 2021 -
Tips & GuidesI Finally Fixed An Annoying PS5 Icon Glitch
Late last year, I replayed Assassin’s Creed III via the remastered PS4 edition. I played it on my PS5 and after completing it, I deleted the game. Yet its digital ghost haunted my PS5 for months. Finally, this weekend, I removed it thanks to a random Twitter user and Greg Miller. I installed Assassin’s Creed…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 29, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanMan Arrested Following Daring Pokémon Card Robbery
A 28-year-old Tokyo resident has been arrested for allegedly breaking into a trading card shop atop a six-story building to steal Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, after climbing over the side of the building with a rope. Mainichi reports that in the early morning hours last week, Kensuke Nakanishi anchored a rope to a railing on the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 29, 2021 -
CultureA Decade-Long Affair: The Making Of Maquette
I need to tell you about Maquette No, really. It’s a need. I’ve played a lot of wonderful games while working at Kotaku, but none have resonated with me as much as Maquette, a first-person “recursive puzzle game” released this month for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. Were I to review the game, the…
By Ari Notis Published March 29, 2021 -
CulturePAX East 2021 Canceled, Replaced With PAX Online In July
While convention organizers held out hope until the last minute, it turns out early June was still a bit too soon for thousands of gamers to descend upon Boston for PAX East 2021. The live event has now been canceled, replaced with a special PAX Online event running July 15-18. Last year’s PAX East in…
By Mike Fahey Published March 29, 2021 -
CultureCyberpunk 2077 Patch Gets Notes But Still No Release Date [Update: It’s Live]
Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has released patch notes for the game’s upcoming 1.2 patch, which was revealed in mid-March. CDPR did not provide a timeline for when the patch will go live in-game. (Update, 12:30pm—According to the Cyberpunk Twitter account, the patch is now live “on PC and consoles,” with a Stadia version coming…
By Riley MacLeod Published March 29, 2021 -
CultureOh Yeah? Well EA Is Making Its Own Damn Golf Game Again
Two weeks ago 2K announced it signed Tiger Woods, the long-time face of EA’s defunct PGA Tour series, to an exclusive long-term contract for its PGA Tour 2K series. Now EA announces it’s bringing back EA Sports PGA Tour for its first new installment since 2015. We got us a good old-fashioned video game golf…
By Mike Fahey Published March 29, 2021 -
CultureThe Week In Games: Outriders On The Storm
Outriders, the next big online looter shooter, releases later this week for consoles and PC. See, the headline is a pun based on the classic song “Riders On The Storm.” BUT also, there is a deadly anomaly storm featured prominently in Outrider’s intro. So there are really multiple layers to the joke, which according to…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 29, 2021 -
CultureMorning MusicKiller Loops With South Asian Flair Helped Skyblazer Stand Apart
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s ongoing hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. We haven’t been covering many chiptunes lately, so today let’s start remedying that by checking out a somewhat unknown SNES gem with a sound all its own. It feels surprisingly rare to find a game that’s…
By Alexandra Hall Published March 29, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanEditor At Japan’s Biggest Game Publication Famitsu Arrested For Alleged Fraud
Famitsu editor Eiichi Sato was arrested for alleged fraud. According to Asahi News, Sato is accused of pulling off an impersonation ruse to collect freelance fees for articles. Sato was previously employed as an editor at Famitsu, a subsidiary of Kadokawa, and he was in charge of editing freelance articles. Famitsu, of course, is Japan’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 29, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanShin Ultraman Movie’s Release Delayed By Covid-19
Originally scheduled for “early summer” in Japan, the upcoming Shin Ultraman movie will be delayed. According to the official site, the scheduled release has been impacted by covid-19. Shin Ultraman will now get a new theatrical debut date, announced at a later time. Shin Ultraman is the latest collaboration between Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 29, 2021 -
AnimeAnime Tokyo Babylon 2021 Canceled Due To Plagiarism, But New Version Planned
Originally scheduled for this April, Tokyo Babylon 2021 was delayed last December after the anime had apparently based character designs on a promotional photo of K-pop star Yeri from Red Velvet as well as another source without permission. Now, it’s been announced the anime will be canceled, with plans to start again anew. Tokyo Babylon…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 29, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsControl’s Architecture Is More Than Just Saying “Brutalism” Over And Over Again
The defining visual signature of Control isn’t its enemies or weapons but its setting. The Oldest House, which has been lauded for its take on brutalism, is a concrete-heavy architectural style from the latter half of the 20th century. But for a moment, let’s look a little beyond that. OK, maybe a little longer than…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 28, 2021 -
CultureTrack: MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name | Artist: Lil Nas X
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 28, 2021