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Joanna Kizinska is a freelance concept artist and illustrator working in the games business. You can see more of Joanna’s stuff at her ArtStation page

Some Nier: Automata Fans Made An Awesome Cartoon

A team of just six people is to thank for this Nier short, whose mix of game-related action and 1990s Liquid TV-ish style is very good. The actual short (excluding credits) only runs for just over a minute, but there’s so much going on—and so much animation—that it feels a lot longer. The short’s director was…

There’s a new Destiny 2 comic live on Bungie’s site, which I’m mentioning here because it’s got a cover and art done by Steve Lichman’s Dave Rapoza.

Sony Is Automatically Changing Offensive PlayStation Usernames

We used to live in a world where someone with an offensive username was just outright banned from an online service. With the coming of PlayStation’s ability to edit names, though, things have now changed, and those offensive names are changing along with them. Gamasutra spotted a notein the move’s FAQ that reveals what happens…

Celeste Is Way Easier When You’re Playing As Kirby

During these dark times of difficulty discourse—in which brothers tear down brothers and Sekiro purists get memed to heck and back—hit platformer Celeste stands out as a bastion of both brutality and accessibility, pushing players to the limit with devious level design but also allowing them to dictate the terms of engagement with a multifaceted…

For A Game About Pot, Weedcraft, Inc. Sure Is Square

Weedcraft, Inc., a new tycoon-style management sim released today on PC and Mac, wants you to know that it’s cool. Hip-hop beats that wouldn’t sound out of place on a popular YouTube “lo-fi beats to study to” playlist fill the soundtrack. The art is grimy, but in a hip, DIY way, and the writing is…

Anthem Players Are Playing Dress Up While Waiting For The Next Update

With Anthem currently in a holding pattern as players wait for BioWare to add more content, its community has taken to dressing up like characters from other video games, comic books, and movies to help pass the time. For several days now, players on the game’s subreddit have taken a break from the usual topics—how…

Scuf Gaming’s Vantage, the$200 officially licensed PS4 answer to the Xbox Elite Controller, now comes in four cosmically-inspired new colors, just in time for black hole photo season. More importantly, the Scuf Vantage now works perfectly on PC, thanks to a newly-released driver. Check out the whole Cosmic line at Scuf’s website

Thousands Watch As GTA V Streamer Puts On Elaborate In-Game Concert

On Twitch, Grand Theft Auto V role-playing is a full-on phenomenon. Every day, streamers pretend to be criminals, cops, doctors, and other types of criminals. Together on a heavily modified custom server, they craft a 24/7 streamer cinematic universe of unfiltered, gleeful trash. With so many people now aboard the GTA V RP bandwagon, standing…

Platformer’s Levels Are Twisty Mobius Strips

Video game players have been jumping over pits and collecting keys in platformers for a long time. Mobius twists the usual perspective to add fresh challenge and mind-teasing trickery. Mobius is a riff on classic platformers that’s currently available for the PC. You control an adorable little dude with overalls who needs to collect coins…

PlayStation Is Really Bad At Suggesting New PSN Names

Yesterday, Sony announced PlayStation Network name changes were officially ready for primetime. While a lot of people might have crappy user names they want to get rid of, they might not be sure what to replace them with. Fortunately, PlayStation provides suggestions. Most are terrible. Some are secretly amazing. For some people, a new PSN…

In case you missed me and Chris playing the first-person puzzle game Supraland on our stream yesterday, here’s the YouTube archive. Follow us on Twitch for daily streams!

Red Dead Online‘s New Modes Are Hit And Miss

Over the last few weeks, Red Dead Online has received four new game modes, all focused on player vs player competition. These modes come at a time when many players are frustrated with what they see as the game’s lack of content. These new modes are, at least so far, the main way Rockstar has…

Breaking Out Of Bounds In Sekiro Makes It Even More Beautiful

Sekiro makes it a point to push back at players. From difficult bosses to winding world design, there’s friction that players need to fight against. Speedrunners and glitch hunters buck that trend. Last night while playing it, I broke out of bounds and it was a reminder of how even the most tightly composed game…

Apex Legends Players Finally Like Gibraltar Thanks To His Sticky Shield

Apex Legends players aren’t too impressed with tank character Gibraltar, whose large hitbox and somewhat unexciting loadout don’t make him a lot of players’ first pick. Recently, though, some players have found a reason to bring him into rotation again. Turns out you can stick things to Gibraltar’s gun shield, which is a tool that…

Overwhelm Is A Tough Game That Still Feels Like It’s Rooting For Me

I am not a glutton for punishment in games. I don’t usually enjoy dying over and over again until some mercurial mix of skill, experience, and luck finally combines to see me through to the next level. But I revel in the moments just before failure occurs, when I’m fighting for my life and the…

How Kirby Games Are Made

Shinya Kumazaki seems to have a fun job. He is the chief creator at HAL Laboratory and gets to dream up major Kirby games. I interviewed him over e-mail recently, trying to satisfy my growing fascination with a series that, at the clip of about two releases a year, somehow manages to be rich in…