A Mario Master Coached Me On The Hardest Mario Technique

I’ve been playing Super Mario games since the first Super Mario Bros. came out on the NES. I think I’m pretty good at them. However, whenever I see masters like GrandPOOBear playing demonically difficult Super Mario Maker courses, I question the richness of my childhood. In the interest of officially kicking off my midlife crisis,…

Young Women Are Reclaiming The Slur ‘Egirl’

Jayden “YourPrincess” Diaz is haunted by the term “egirl.” A League of Legends streamer competing among the top two percent of players, Diaz hasn’t been able to escape it for years—every day in Twitch chat, in League of Legends games and across social media. “I let it really hurt me,” Diaz, 20, told Kotaku of…

Don’t worry, everyone: Peely is as horrible in real life as it is in Fortnite. Don’t say I didn’t warn you

When Your Frustration At A Game Makes You Even Worse

Video games can be frustrating. Sometimes, that frustration can overpower your ability to play them well. There’s a term for that: In those moments, you’re “tilted.” On this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen, we had Kotaku’s newest staff writer Joshua Rivera join us to discuss the ways that games have tilted us and how we deal with…

Kingdom Hearts III, Six Months Later

Kingdom Hearts III had plenty of drama before launch thanks to a massive leak of physical copies that led director Tetsuya Nomura to ask fans not to share spoilers. Square Enix also delayed the game’s epilogue until after the game’s release. When release day finally came, Sora and his pals mostly ended up okay, save…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for going to the Fortnite World Cup, which means watching a lot of people play video games and not getting to play very many of them myself. If I can find the time, though, I’m really excited to dive into Wolfenstein: Youngblood. I’m a bit bummed not to have BJ Blazkowicz’s Thin…

The $30 Million Fortnite World Cup Kicks Off Today

The event that competitive Fortnite players have been waiting for finally gets underway today at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York. Hundreds of pros will be present at the three-day Fortnite World Cup, and thousands or millions more will be watching. When all is said and done a few will end up a…

I Finally Understand The Appeal Of Escaping Into A Video Game To Cope With Stress

For most of my life, I never quite understood escapism. I knew how powerful video games could be, how seductive and wonderful their worlds were, but I never quite understood the idea of wanting to melt through the screen and leave the real world behind. After I’ve had string of rotten luck and high stress,…

Looks Like The Original Doom Games Are Coming To Switch As Soon As Today [Update]

Earlier this morning listings for the original Doom, Doom II, and Doom III briefly appeared on the Nintendo eShop, suggesting the trilogy is set to come to Switch, potentially as early today. Spotted by Nintendo Life, the listings for the iconic first-person shooters appeared on the Nintendo UK Switch website. While none of the games…

Comic History: Why The First EarthBound Wasn’t Released Outside Japan

When Nintendo released it as Earthbound Beginnings on the Wii U, the innovative, beloved role-playing game Mother finally made it to the West. But back in the early 1990s, Nintendo had every intention of launching it for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System in America. It just didn’t work out. Nintendo of America planned to give…

Fire-Themed Anime Edited After Kyoto Animation Tragedy

In the anime Fire Force, firefighters must contend with people who suddenly burst into flames. In the wake of the tragic fire at Kyoto Animation, the latest episode has been edited. As Yomiuri and ANN report, the episode was delayed but will be broadcasted today. The episode, however, will be edited with new narration and…

JPEGMAFIA. Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago, IL. By Roberto Campos. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

If Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy Was In Overwatch

Ladislas Gueros is an artist based in Canada, and this is his idea on how Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy would look as a guest-starring Overwatch character. Like Hanzo, basically, only less annoying. You can see more of Gueros’ stuff at his ArtStation page

Gloomhaven’s Video Game Version Is, So Far, Just Fine

Gloomhaven, the biggest board game (both literally and figuratively) in years, is coming to the PC, and is currently playable in a limited form as part of an early access deal. With only a few options presently available to players (in terms of both gameplay and party composition), Gloomhaven is not really interested in making…

Twitch Streamer PaladinAmber Does Not Have Time For Your Shit, Internet Creeps

Make creepy comments in PaladinAmber’s Twitch chat at your own risk. “How much for a hug?” somebody asked during a stream a few days ago. In the blink of an eye, PaladinAmber switched over to an infomercial-style overlay, complete with a (fake) phone number and a list of payment options. “You wanna know how much…