The Yakuza Series Treats The Homeless With Empathy And Respect

Throughout the Yakuza series, we’re shown that protagonist Kazuma Kiryu is not a normal man. Despite being a member of an organized crime gang, he stubbornly sticks to his good morals even if that means the entire seedy underbelly of Kamurocho turns against him. A gruff man with a soft heart, Kiryu will help those…

In Anthem, Falling Is Faster Than Flying

BioWare’s new loot shooter Anthem really nails the feeling of flying around in Iron Man-style exosuits, except when dive-bombing. As players have learned, it turns out the fastest way to get around in the game’s world is by simply falling. While it’s nice to pause every once in a while and take in the beautiful…

What We Loved (No, Really) About Alita Battle Angel

Alita Battle Angel is an adaptation of the beloved Gunmm  manga, and it’s a movie where everything that could happen in a movie happens. It’s got fights, a fake sport, a romance, and at the center of it all an amnesiac cyborg and her adoptive dad. I sat down with Tim Rogers to talk about…

Final Fantasy XIV‘s Director Talks Blue Mages, World Visits, And ‘Modern’ MMOs

Final Fantasy XIV is prepping for a new expansion later this summer. The lead-up to this expansion, Shadowbringers, has brought new classes like the Blue Mage, and will soon open worlds with the ability to visit other servers. Kotaku emailed questions to game director Naoki Yoshida (a.k.a. “Yoshi P”) about new job classes, whether or…

Shout Out To The Teen Who Played Apex Legends With Me Last Night

Last night, on my actually for real final Apex Legends game, I thought my squad was doomed. Our third squadmate had been disconnected, and I knew I was dead weight for the more experienced player I was tagging along with. I was content to get lost and then shot, because it was around midnight and…

How To Play Your PS4 When You’re Stuck In A Hospital For Nearly A Month

From January 23 through February 18 I was confined to a hospital bed, recovering from a surgical procedure that required me to remain almost completely prone in order to heal. Fortunately I came to the hospital prepared, and managed to still play Kingdom Hearts 3, Jump Force, Apex Legends and Anthem. All I needed was…

This Life-Sized Pokémon Plush Toy Is Quite Long

Furret is a Long Body Pocket Monster measuring in at 5 feet, 11 inches long. The character is getting a life-sized plush toy that is, well, long. Fun fact: While Furret is 5’11”, Charizard is only 5’07”. Priced at 30,240 yen ($273), this life-sized Furret is available for order in Japan from February 23. Back…

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Duel Disk Remade In Cardboard

In Yu-Gi-Oh!, the Duel Disk is a piece of dueling hardware for card-carrying Duelists. Here is the Academia Disk from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX brought to life in cardboard. YouTube channel Crafty Transformer made a do-it-yourself walkthrough, which you can watch below In case you need them, here are templates

Osaka Nights. Osaka, Japan. By Jesse Dijk | Instagram 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! 

Pokémon YouTubers Mistakenly Banned For Child Abuse

A trio of popular Pokemon YouTubers were among the accounts wrongly banned by Google over the weekend for being involved in “activity that sexualises minors”. As the BBC report, Mystic7, Trainer Tips and Marksman all found their accounts removed not long after uploading footage of themselves playing Pokemon GO It’s believed the error occurred thanks…

Civilization Has Helped Me Feel Slightly Less Terrible About Climate Change

A large part of my day involves sitting on Twitter watching news break, and so a large part of my day is spent surrounded by people justifiably freaking out over climate change news. It’s depressing as hell, but help has come in the last month from the most unlikely of places: Civilization VI The game’s…

Epic Is Suing That Awful Fortnite Festival

The organisers of Fortnite Live, a dumpster fire of a show that drew almost 3000 people to a showground in England then disappointed them, are being sued by Epic for using the game’s name and imagery without permission. To recap: the show, which cost parents £12-20 (USD$15-25) to attend, offered a few lame diversions and…

Anthem‘s Loading Times Are A Real Problem

On Saturday night, I logged into BioWare’s new game Anthem and loaded up what I thought was a mission called Finding Old Friends. Instead, I got to play an entirely different mission: Finding Old Friends On Facebook While Wondering If Anthem Will Ever Actually Load. Anthem, which came out February 15 in early access and…

PSA: Don’t Forget About Apex Legends‘ Self-Revive

Apex Legends’ legendary knockdown shield grants players the ability to revive themself once. Maybe you knew this already. For all the people who have learned the hard way: I’m sorry, but watching people surprise you is hilarious. Apex Legends is still a fairly new game, so players are still learning its mechanics. Legendary items, which…