Too Fast Too Fantasy XV: Episode Gladio? More Like Episode Bad-io

When I sit down for my daily session of Final Fantasy XV I’m expecting one of two things: A happy-funtime road-trip adventure with my boys, or a sad, emotionally wrought meditation on the bonds of friendship. I am not expecting a horror-suspense thriller filled with stealth mechanics and jump-scares, yet that’s exactly what I got…

Mass Effect 2 Almost Had Another Gay Romance, With Jacob

Turns out Jack’s pansexuality wasn’t the only instance of BioWare scrubbing same-sex romance from Mass Effect 2 before it shipped. Jonathan Cooper, a former BioWare cinematic animator, revealed on Twitter this morning that his team also worked on a similar scene involving party member Jacob Taylor “We prevized Jacob as the male/male [relationship], matching shot-for-shot from…

Report: Activision Blizzard Calls Policy To Make Hiring More Diverse ‘Unworkable’

Earlier this month, Activision Blizzard was asked to institute some version of the Rooney Rule, a policy requiring employers to interview diverse candidates when hiring, according to a new report by Motherboard. Lawyers for the massive publisher behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft responded that such a policy would be “an unworkable encroachment…

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Players Figured Out How To (Legitimately) Score That Secret Bow

Over the weekend, players of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla uncovered a secret bow (the laughably powerful Noden’s Arc) by…smacking a rock in the middle of a lake over and over again. The trick bounced around the web. Ubisoft’s Darby McDevitt even chimed in, describing it as a “clever brute force hack” before mentioning that some players…

Hitman Player Tries To Kill Every NPC In One Map With A Single Rubber Ducky

Twitch streamer RTGame (meatspace name: Daniel) had a dream: to kill every NPC in a single Hitman level. But while you can find dozens of videos on YouTube of people doing the same thing, Daniel’s plan was a bit more explosive, chiefly because he intended to take out everyone at the same time. Unfortunately, things…

Even the White House is getting questions about GameStop. “Our economic team, including [Treasury] Secretary Yellen and others are monitoring the situation,” Psaki said when asked about the gaming store’s unprecedented stock price surge during today’s daily press briefing

There’s A Lot Of Sonic And Nights In Balan Wonderworld‘s Trippy Demo

Want to spend an hour or so wandering colorful cartoon dreamscapes crafted by the creators of Sonic the Hedgehog? Do you enjoy the sensation of being pleasantly bewildered? If you answered yes to either of those questions you’re going to want to play the demo for Balan Wonderworld. It’s something else. That something else is…

How To Actually Access The New Dead Cells DLC

Dead Cells recently got a lot bigger. This week’s Fatal Falls expansion adds a crop of weapons and enemies to the game, plus two new biomes. Trouble is, actually accessing those two zones—the Fractured Shrines and the Undying Shores—eludes simple explanation. Classic Dead Cells, right? Here’s how to find them. Fractured Shrines This one’s easy…

Here’s February 2021’s PlayStation Plus Lineup

February’s PlayStation Plus games are great. You get Destruction AllStars for PS5, and the storied Control: Ultimate Edition as either the PS4 version or PS5 version As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active PlayStation Plus membership. February’s PS Plus games are: PS5 Destruction AllStars PS4 Control: Ultimate Edition (also available…

For like the eight millionth time, Lara Croft is coming to the silver screen. Today, Netflix announced a new anime series based on Tomb Raider. According to Deadline, the show will follow and pick up after the recent reboot trilogy, which culminated with 2018’s terrific Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Also in the works: A series based…

GameStop Stock Drama Continues As Price Soars And Hedge Fund Blinks

GameStop’s stock price continued to soar in after-hours trading last night to over $300. While many are waiting for it to come crashing back down, it might be too late for some major hedge funds. With the stock still sitting at well over $250 a share (unthinkable just last year when it was trading at…

The 1950 Radio Series Dimension X Has The Science Fiction You’ve Been Looking For

Nine years before Rod Serling brought America The Twilight Zone, NBC had a science fiction anthology series that offered very similar dark tales of potential dystopia and future-set malarkey. It was called Dimension X, featuring stories by some of the most famous sci-fi writers of the 20th century, and the reason you’ve likely never heard…

I Hope Bowser’s Fury Is The Future Of Mario

Bundled with the enhanced port of 2013’s Super Mario 3D World coming to the Switch on February 12, Bowser’s Fury is an open-world side-story that pits Mario against the scariest damn Bowser ever. So far it’s the most fun I’ve had with Mario since Odyssey Bowser’s Fury is a 3D Mario sandbox adventure that would…

OutRun’s Composer Rewrote Sega’s Sound Drivers So Sword Of Vermilion Could Rock

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s ongoing hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today we’re diving into the sounds of Sword of Vermilion, a middling RPG for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive with music that is anything but. Upon the 16-bit Mega Drive’s 1988 debut, Sega of Japan redirected as…

Japan Now Has A Super Nintendo World Train

Starting today, the JR Yumesaki train line in Osaka is covered in Mario and friends to celebrate Super Nintendo World, which was supposed to open February 4. However, it has since been delayed. Again. Universal Studios Japan visitors will ride the train line to the theme park. Japan is currently under a state of emergency…

Nothing Says Valentine’s Day Like Chocolate Ramen

Do you like chocolate? What about ramen? Well, this Valentine’s Day in Japan, people can eat chocolate ramen. Once again, ramen chain Kourakuen is serving up “chocolate ramen” for a limited time only. The chocolate ramen is made with a shoyu (soy sauce) ramen base, then adding cacao oil and a chocolate bar. This isn’t a…

In Japan, The Nintendo Switch Covers Itself In Monster Hunter

To mark the release of Monster Hunter Rise this March, Nintendo is releasing a special emblazoned Switch in Japan. Update January 27 – 7:08 AM: Nintendo UK has also announced this bundle. The hardware is tastefully covered in Monster Hunter motifs. Priced at 38,400 yen ($370), it also comes with Monster Hunter Rise preinstalled and…

Xbox Game Pass now has 18 million subscribers, up 20% from the fall, Microsoft announced during a call with investors today. It also said it sold more Xbox Series X/S’s than during the first month of any other console launch. The company still won’t release specific numbers though.