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OpinionImpressionsForegone Is So Much More Than A Dead Cells Clone
If you missed Foregone, fix that immediately. Foregone is incredible. Full stop. At first glance, you might think Foregone—which released last year for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC—is a carbon copy of Dead Cells, Motion Twin’s eternally popular roguelike. For sure, the two share a lot of DNA in terms of art style, animation,…
By Ari Notis Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureTwitchTwitch Viewers Elect Meme Lizard As New Permanent Pogchamp
Today, Twitch let viewers vote on a new permanent Pogchamp emote. A lizard won. Frankly, it was inevitable. KomodoHype first got to be Pogchamp for a day last month as part of the intermittently disastrous Pogchamp-a-day promotion that brought us to this point, which Twitch decided to run after the original face of the popular…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsThose Are Strawberries (Not Hearts) On Arthur’s Boxers In Ghosts ‘N Goblins
Ghosts ‘n Goblins creator Tokuro Fujiwara recently shared a mind-blowing factoid from the development of Capcom’s fiendishly hard platformer: Arthur’s iconic heart-patterned boxers are actually covered in strawberries. Okay, maybe it’s just mind-blowing to me. “There’s one very important detail I need to share with you that people might not know: the pattern on his…
By Ian Walker Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureThe Division 2 Will Get More Updates, Announce Seemingly Surprised Developers
Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment have confirmed today that The Division 2 will receive more content this year, doubling down on statements made by Ubisoft’s CEO earlier this week during a call with investors. The current season of The Division 2 is named “End of Watch” and wraps up a storyline and character arc that began…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsMy Son Inadvertently Designed A Metroid Xbox Series X/S Controller
Overwhelmed by the options available at custom controller shop Mega Modz, I turned to nine-year-old Seamus Fahey for design advice. What at first seemed like a completely arbitrary selection of colors and buttons coalesced into this purple, green, red, and orange homage to Metroid, a series that will never be officially playable on an Xbox.…
By Mike Fahey Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureSplitscreenSordid Tales Of Real Romance In Online Games
It’s February, and love is in the air. But so are airborne particles that transmit a global pandemic, so real-world romance isn’t an option for a lot of people. Fortunately, uh, online games still exist, at least? And where there’s a will to flirt with complete strangers, there’s a way. On this week’s episode of…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureEven The Justice Department Is Looking Into The GameStop Stock Fiasco
While the dust starts to settle around GameStop’s meme stock phenomenon, investigations into the hedge funds, trading platforms, and the Reddit community that fueled it are just getting started. Many people have already lost a lot of money, but even more could be on the line if lawmakers and regulatory agencies discover that actual laws…
By Ethan Gach Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureSuper Mario 3D World Penis Uncut On Switch
Super Mario 3D World, out today on Switch, is pretty much the same game that appeared on Wii U with a few minor changes. As such, the large, dong-shaped bridge in the World 4 castle remains gloriously intact. (h/t Akfamilyhome) And here’s a different angle, just for funsies. Look, there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit…
By Ian Walker Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureHalo 3 Is Getting A New Map Over A Decade After Release
Halo 3 received its last official new map all the way back in 2009, as part of the Mythic II Map Pack release. Now, 343 Industries has announced that a new map, first featured in Halo Online, will be added to the next round of Master Chief Collection beta testing. In a blog post released…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Killed A Very Big Deer In Valheim, And It Was Metal As Hell
My time with Valheim so far can be summed up thusly: I killed a fuckton of deer. They screamed in fear and died in agony. It made me sad. Then I killed the biggest, meanest deer ever conceived, and it was metal as hell. Valheim, Steam’s latest out-of-nowhere mega-hit, mashes up an epic Viking tale…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureWhat Are You Playing This Weekend?
The weekend is for getting together with the family for a nice meal, preferably without being stuffed and posed around the table by a deranged maniac. It’s also for having some little nightmares, as a treat. Little Nightmares II came out this week, and I am slowly working my way through its dark and gloomy…
By Mike Fahey Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureCyberpunk 2077 Is Not Selling Great On Console
Cyberpunk 2077‘s console launch was a disaster, and sure enough sales on console now seem to reflect that, with the game tumbling off of last month’s best seller list according to the latest report by the NPD market research group. Even the nearly four-year-old Switch exclusive The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold…
By Ethan Gach Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureDestiny 2‘s Cosmodrome Isn’t Getting Any Bigger
Bungie announced yesterday that Destiny 2’s partial Cosmodrome, which was brought over from the first game last November, won’t be expanding to reach its original size and scope. The studio says its part of a trade-off to focus on making new content. Excluding the Plaguelands area added in Destiny 1‘s Rise of Iron expansion, Destiny…
By Ethan Gach Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureMorning MusicThe Surviving Mars OST Will Keep Me In High Spirits When I Blast Off Into Space
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s ongoing hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today, let’s listen to a soundtrack that’s out of this world: that of Surviving Mars, the Paradox-published 2018 city builder from Haemimont Games. The dream of Mars is no longer a fantasy, but it might be…
By Ari Notis Published February 12, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanJapanese Vending Machines Tell People To Wear A Mask, Wash Their Hands And Gargle
This week, new vending machines that tell customers to fight the coronavirus were unveiled in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. As NHK reports, the samurai-themed machines have a pre-recorded message that states, “Fight the coronavirus! Wear a mask, wash your hands, and gargle.” When people get their drink, the message adds, “Well done! Always be prepared.” The…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 12, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanTeenager Arrested In Japan After Kicking Arcade Machine
At many arcades in Japan there is often an amusement cabinet called a punching machine that measures how hard one can punch. A sixteen-year-old has been arrested after kicking one. Here is a YouTube clip from 2012 showing a punching machine in action: According to Kobe Shimbun Next, a sixteen-year-old resident of Kakogawa city, was…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureTrack: Ghost | Artist: Hitsujibungaku | Album: Powers
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 12, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsHere’s Dan’s Legendary Taunt In Street Fighter V
Dan Hibiki is back in Street Fighter V, which means we now have a new incarnation of his legendary taunt to appreciate. Let’s take a look. And for comparison, here’s how Dan’s legendary taunt has evolved from game to game. Dan has been Street Fighter’s go-to joke character since his debut in 1995’s Street Fighter…
By Ian Walker Published February 11, 2021 -
CulturePS5 Scalpers Unwilling To Admit They’re Grade-A Douchebags
In a recent interview with Forbes, a man who claims to have purchased 25 PlayStation 5 consoles in January and resold them for upwards of $350 profit apiece says “reselling” is an incredibly valuable industry that does not deserve the bad press it gets. Fuck him right in the face. The scalper interviewed by Forbes,…
By Mike Fahey Published February 11, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Killed A Dancing Bear In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Feel Terrible, And Would Do It Again
Lurking out in the fields and forests of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla are immensely powerful beasts. The kind of animals that people tell stories about. Dangerous, killer monsters that only a hardy, brave, and perhaps foolish warrior could…Oh wait, never mind. It got stuck in the ground like an idiot. Since wrapping up the main story…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 11, 2021