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CultureSomething’s Fishy About This Steam Game’s ‘Very Positive’ Reviews
Emoji Evolution is a simple-looking puzzle game in which you “combine different elements to find a new one” in order to—and wow, this really escalates—“solve the main dilemma of humanity.” It seems like Steam users like it pretty well…or do they? Take another look at that image of its Steam page, and you’ll notice that…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureTwitchGrand Theft Auto Role-Playing Is Big On Twitch Again, Starring, Uh, Johnny Silverhand From Cyberpunk
The scene: Grand Theft Auto V’s iconic city of Los Santos. People mill about outside an apartment building, likely plotting crimes. Nothing seems out of the ordinary—except for a lone figure. Clad in suffocatingly tight leather pants and a bulletproof vest, he looks prepared for anything and nothing all at once. He also looks like…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureUbisoft Considering Changing Rainbow Six Quarantine‘s Name Amid Covid-19 Pandemic
Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot told investors yesterday that the company is looking into changing the name of Rainbow Six Quarantine due to the negative connotations of the subtitle while the world is still in the middle of the covid-19 pandemic. “We are creating a product that is actually… as it’s named today, it…
By Ian Walker Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureCD Projekt Red Hackers Allegedly Ready To Auction Stolen Source Code
Earlier this week, Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red announced that its cybersecurity had been compromised, resulting in attackers gaining access to various internal files. Now, it appears as if those hackers are ready to cash out with a big-money auction of the data, which allegedly includes source code for some of the Polish studio’s…
By Ian Walker Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureEpic’s MetaHuman Creator Helps Devs Pump Out Fancy ‘Digital Humans’
Today, Epic Games launched a sneak peek at its newest Unreal Engine creation tool that promises to drastically cut down on the time needed to create realistic-looking digital humans. “Creating one high-quality digital human is difficult and time-consuming,” the announcement post says. “Scaling that effort to create many diverse digital humans of the quality required…
By Ash Parrish Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureThe Blizzconline 2021 Schedule Is Available And God, I’m Going To Miss The Overwatch World Cup
Blizzconline 2021, Blizzard Entertainment’s digital answer to their yearly in-person Blizzcon event, posted its schedule today. In addition to offering updates on the development progress for Diablo IV and Overwatch 2, Blizzconline also boasts a number of community events. Viewers can choose from Hearthstone streamer matches, arts and crafts tutorials, and an Overwatch League exhibition…
By Ash Parrish Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureBorderlands 3‘s Directors Cut DLC Out March 18, Adds New Raid Boss
Like its own boss fights, Borderlands 3 keeps going. Today, Gearbox revealed details about Director’s Cut, an upcoming DLC for the looter-shooter out March 18. Director’s Cut will add a series of recurring challenges called Vault Cards, concept art, storyboards, and something players have requested for a long time: a raid boss. Like the first…
By Ari Notis Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureThe Pokémon Company Can’t Print New Cards Fast Enough
Pokémon trading cards have once again exploded in popularity, and the Pokémon Company is struggling to keep up with demand. Prices are surging for new packs thanks to scalpers and resellers as a result. “We’re aware that some of you are experiencing difficulties purchasing certain Pokémon Trading Card Game products due to very high demand…
By Ethan Gach Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureTales From The Borderlands Returns To Digital Storefronts On February 17
During today’s Borderlands presentation, the folks at Gearbox revealed that Telltale Games’ excellent Tales from the Borderlands will be returning to digital storefronts next Wednesday, February 17. The first episode of Tales from the Borderlands, a player choice-drive adventure game in the iconic Telltale style, was first released in late 2014, with additional chapters extending…
By Ian Walker Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureNintendo Switch Online Adds Psycho Dream And Three Other Random-Ass Retro Games
Nintendo Switch Online’s slowly-growing Super Nintendo and NES library adds four more old games on February 17, including Doomsday Warrior, Prehistorik Man, Fire ’n Ice, and Psycho Dream, a former Japanese exclusive that scored 18 out of 40 in Famitsu. Hooray. No offense to fans of NES classic puzzler Fire ’n Ice, also known as…
By Mike Fahey Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureEpic Games Settles Lawsuit Against 14-Year-Old Fortnite Player
Epic Games has settled a 2017 lawsuit against a 14-year-old Fortnite player who allegedly made YouTube videos of himself using cheating software. As noted by PC Gamer, the court documents don’t contain the details of the settlement. Epic first sued the 14-year-old in 2017, claiming he had downloaded and used cheating software and showed other…
By Riley MacLeod Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureHackers Bring New Version Of Android To Nintendo Switch
Developers who originally got Android running on Switch back in 2019 have reportedly now managed to port a new version of the operating system to Nintendo’s hybrid console, bringing with it a slew of new features and fixes. “Now based off of Android 10 (LineageOS 17.1 with Shield TV trees) it’s faster, more responsive and…
By Ethan Gach Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureLucid Games released a hotfix for Destruction AllStars today that increases the amount of EXP you can get from daily challenges. It also reduces the chance that parties will get split up after a match, and addresses general issues with matchmaking. Full patch notes here
By Ari Notis Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureRez Website From 2001 Brought Back From The Dead
The English website for Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s legendary rhythm shooter Rez went live in 2001 and shut down in 2003. Thanks to the efforts of Rez preservationist (Rezervationist?) Brian Hargrove, that sweet piece of internet history has been restored, complete with detailed staff bios, tiny screenshots, and Windows Media Player-friendly video clips. A passionate fan of…
By Mike Fahey Published February 10, 2021 -
ReviewsSwitchSuper Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury: The Kotaku Review
Super Mario 3D World would be incredible if I didn’t already know who Mario was and what he was all about. In his 2013 review of the Wii U original, Kotaku writer Luke Plunkett described Super Mario 3D World as a “greatest hits collection, bringing together all the best things Mario has already done in…
By Ian Walker Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureMorning MusicFinal Fantasy VII Remake’s Brand-New Tracks Kick Ass, Too
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s ongoing hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today I’m going to gush about just how amazing Final Fantasy VII Remake’s music is, and specifically a few of its new tracks that weren’t in the original. It took me a while to get into…
By Ethan Gach Published February 10, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanThings Are Horrible For Japanese Arcades Right Now
No doubt, the pandemic is bad for lots of businesses. But in Japan, it’s especially awful for arcades. Because Japan is currently under a state of emergency due to covid-19, nightspots have been ordered to close early. If they don’t, they risk fines. As AFP News reports, bars and restaurants get compensation from the government…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2021 -
AnimeJapanese Animator Gets Four Months In Prison For Driving Without A License
This week at a Tokyo District Court, animator Shiro Kudaka has been sentenced to four months in prison for driving without a license and violating Japan’s Road Traffic Act. Kudaka has provided animation—including earning key animator credits—for a number of popular TV series, including Lupin III, Naruto, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. He has also worked…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureMcDonald’s Pokémon Card Packs Are Selling Out
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pocket Monsters, McDonald’s is including Pokémon card packs in Happy Meals. It seemed like a good idea! Others thought so, too. Included are four random cards out of a 50-card set, Inven reports. The rarest or most valuable cards are, as ever, the shiny versions. Some collectors and YouTubers…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureTrack: Shimanchu nu Takara | Artist: Begin | Album: Begin no Shimauta: Omoto Takeo 2
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2021