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CultureWhat Are You Playing This Weekend?
The weekend is for…staying inside, I guess. At least there’s lots of video games! I’ve been really lax on keeping up with my Fortnite challenges, and I still really want that Meowscles skin. (Remember that? That feels like 100 years ago.) Some friends have been trying to get me to play Monster Hunter: World with…
By Riley MacLeod Published March 27, 2020 -
UncategorizedSuper Mario Bros. 3‘s Angry Sun Gave Me Anxiety
I’ve been playing Super Mario Bros. 3 on my Nintendo Switch lately. It’s been reminding me how the Angry Sun, an enemy that appears in the fifth level of the game’s Desert Land, provoked terror in me when I was young. Its implementation is a lesson in narrative level design and accomplishing less with more.…
By Kevin Wong Published March 27, 2020 -
CultureEngineer Combines Smash Controller With A Taser Because Why Not
Recent advances in virtual reality have done wonders to make video games more immersive than ever. But certain persistent technical limitations still bedevil this developing technology, such as, say, its inability to shock the living hell out of players with agonizing bursts of electric current. It’s a problem. But one enterprising hacker sought to change…
By Ian Walker Published March 27, 2020 -
CultureSony And Microsoft Put Out Vague Statements About How Covid-19 Will Affect Their Games
In a press release on its website, Sony announced that it doesn’t expect the game and network services part of its business to be impacted during the current fiscal year, which ends March 31. At the same time, the company didn’t rule out that things could change in the future. Sony and Microsoft both put…
By Ethan Gach Published March 27, 2020 -
CultureEven Final Fantasy XIV Is Freezing House Evictions
Final Fantasy XIV has one of the most competitive housing markets in an online game. Buying a cozy digital home requires lots of money and the patience to fight with other players—including big guilds and bot owners—to place a bid on a home. If you don’t use it, you also lose it. In light of…
By Heather Alexandra Published March 27, 2020 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI’m Driving Myself Crazy Trying To Name My Animal Crossing Island
It is important, in these trying times, to take it easy on yourself. That self-critical voice constantly berating you in your head? Turn it down to a whisper. Unfortunately, I am a gigantic dummy incapable of following my own advice. Case in point: I’ve spent the better part of three days (and counting) trying to…
By Nathan Grayson Published March 27, 2020 -
CultureHow’s It Going?: Friends Edition
It’s Friday! Welcome back to our daily open thread. It’s been a while since I’ve seen another person; maybe it’s been that way for you too. I had been doing some Google hangouts and other virtual stuff, but that’s been hard to schedule this week. (Weird how busy you can get even though you’re just…
By Riley MacLeod Published March 27, 2020 -
CultureTrack: Murder Most Foul | Artist: Bob Dylan | Album: Murder Most Foul (single)
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 27, 2020 -
Kotaku EastJapanCoronavirus Covid-19 Is A Pandemic, But Comic Market Still Seems Scheduled For May [Update: It’s Canceled]
Yesterday, the World Health Organization officially declared covid-19 a pandemic. The NBA suspended the season. E3 was canceled. The Osaka sumo tournament banned in-person spectators. But Japan’s Comic Market, dubbed the largest fan event on Earth, still seems slated for this May. Update: 3/27/2020, 7:30 p.m. EST: IT Media reports that this May’s Comic Market will…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 27, 2020 -
Kotaku EastJapanPeople Are Adding Dragon Ball‘s Yamcha To Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Some players have been adding Yamcha’s infamous pose to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. But why? The pose is well known, but the reason is more than how striking (and humorous) it looks in New Horizons. Rather, Yamcha’s birthday is March 20, which is the day Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released. When New Horizons was…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 27, 2020 -
CultureTrack: Red Star Pt. 2 | Artist: King Buffalo | Album: Dead Star
By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2020 -
CultureDwarf Fortress Premium Shows Off Its, Uh, New Visuals
It is true that while Dwarf Fortress is an incredibly complex and rewarding game, it is also true that it has forever looked like ass. The upcoming Steam release, Dwarf Fortress Premium, is going to look a little better Co-creator Tarn Adams has shared some of the improvements they’ve made to the game’s visuals (earlier…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsGood Job! Turns Office Nepotism Into Something More Fun
I haven’t been into the office in weeks. If your job can be done from home, and your employer isn’t a heartless monster, you probably haven’t either. Good Job!’s workplace carnage is a perfect substitute. I only wish every office was this much fun. Developed by Dutch game studio Paladin and published by Nintendo, Good…
By Ethan Gach Published March 26, 2020 -
Tips & GuidesHow To Multitask While Playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has taken the world by storm. The game has inundated social media (and this very website). It shattered Switch sales records in Japan. Even Brie Larson loves it. Now, this isn’t a bad thing. Given how awful the real world is right now, it’s nice to have a pastel-colored paradise we…
By Ari Notis Published March 26, 2020 -
CultureHalf-Life: Alyx Players Are Using VR To Teach Math Classes, Kiss Headcrabs
Virtual reality means options. If you own a high-end VR headset like the Valve Index, you likely have money and, therefore, options that those less fortunate than you do not. Also, you can do funny things with headcrabs. Half-Life: Alyx players have embraced VR’s bold new frontier voraciously, testing the limits of the medium’s invisible…
By Nathan Grayson Published March 26, 2020 -
UncategorizedCapcom has canceled the first half of this year’s Capcom Pro Tour due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. The second half of the developer’s official Street Fighter V competition is still set to begin in July, but the schedule will be adjusted further if necessary.
By Ian Walker Published March 26, 2020
