Nintendo Announces Labo VR Kit For Switch

Coming out of absolutely nowhere, Nintendo just announced a new virtual reality set for the Nintendo Switch, which will make use of the platform’s Labo cardboard-building concept. The full pack’s name is the “Nintendo Labo: VR Kit”, and will come in two versions: a full set ($80) that includes software, goggles and five cardboard designs…

Just Cause 4 Hits Xbox Game Pass Only Three Months After Release

Despite all of the explosions in Avalanche Studios’ open-world chaos simulator, Just Cause 4 did not set the world on fire when it launched last year on December 4. Now, less than 100 days later, it’s free for Game Pass subscribers to download and play on Xbox One. Microsoft announced the game would be the…

Left Alive Is A Fascinating Concept, But A Crappy Game

Left Alive, the new game by Square Enix, sounds amazing. It mixes intense sneaking and massive robot battles, and if that doesn’t sound familiar enough, it even has art from Metal Gear’s Yoji Shinkawa to drive the point home. But the reality is less impressive than the concept. Left Alive is a clunky disaster whose…

In case you missed it, Heather and I streamed Left Alive earlier and talked about mechs, vodka, and bad haircuts. Follow us on Twitch for more streams!

Steam’s ‘Popular Upcoming Releases’ Section Is Easy To Manipulate

On a platform as crowded as Steam, every ounce of visibility counts. For many developers, the “popular upcoming” section is the most reliable way to get precious front-page real estate before release. Some people, however, have figured out how to game it. As it turns out, Steam allows developers to display one release date on…

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s Bloodline Expansion Is A Solid End To A Divisive Saga

As I battled the final boss in the new and final chapter of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s first big episodic expansion, a chapter that happens to be all about parenting, I heard my two-year-old daughter cry out for me and her mom. It was half past midnight. She was down the hallway, three rooms away, wide…

Valve Removes Rape Day From Steam With Vague, Nonsensical Statement

Yesterday, Rape Day, a self-described “game where you can rape and murder during a zombie apocalypse,” raised new questions about Steam’s laissez-faire release policy. Today, Valve elected to remove it from the store. In a post on Steam, Valve attempted to explain its decision-making around Rape Day, a game that did not cross Valve’s no-go…

Anthem‘s Level-One Weapons Are Stronger Than Endgame Ones, Thanks To An Apparent Bug

An apparent bug in the new loot shooter Anthem has made beginner weapons just as powerful as the ones you’ll get in the final levels. In fact, players have discovered, the level-1 rifle might currently be the strongest gun in the game. Earlier today, a player by the name of YeetLordSupreme shared a major discovery…

20 Minutes Of Devil May Cry 5’s Excellent Combat

Devil May Cry 5 doesn’t release until Friday, but I’ve played it and had a veritable ass-load of fun. Each of its three protagonists plays differently, with neat quirks and flashy moves. Tim Rogers and I played as all of them, in order to break down their smokin’ sexy styles. Oh, yeah. If you want…

Here’s A Wooden Cheeseburger That Plays Nintendo Games

Swedish artist Love Hulten combines technology with natural wood to create outstanding works of functional art. He’s made gorgeous retro gaming PCs and an ingenious retro console disguised as a wooden boom box. And now he’s made a wooden cheeseburger than plays NES games. He calls it the Game Burger Advance. Tiny PCs and LED…

Nintendo Is Reportedly Toning Down Micro-Transactions In Its Mobile Games

Developers behind some of the free-to-play mobile games Nintendo has published in recent years say the company has told them not to be too aggressive with the microtransactions that these games tend to rely on to make money, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal Where individual studios Nintendo partners with are looking…

Red Dead Redemption 2’s Vaudeville Shows Are More Than Just An Impressive Diversion

Red Dead Redemption 2 is full of distractions. There’s poker, blackjack, and dominos to play. There are animals to hunt and collectibles to find. Many of these activities seem like ways to take your mind off the main story, and you can easily ignore them to focus on the game’s more pressing matters. But one…

‘Voice Skins’ Could Let Gamers Customize Their Voices Online

Online, we can be whoever we want—a bulked-up soldier, a freakish banana, Sonic the Hedgehog—only until we start speaking. Over any online game’s built-in chat or Discord, our voices have the power to immediately reveal information about our geographic region, our gender, even our ethnicity. Now, a company that makes “voice skins” is trying to…

Everything About Anthem’s In-Game Stores Is Bafflingly Bad

Every time I log into Anthem I stop by one of its in-game stores, and every time I am disappointed. The selection is bad. The three-day refresh is bad. Even the locations of the in-game shops are bad. It boggles the mind. Pictured above is Prospero, the first vendor players come across in Anthem’s home…

Days Gone Is Basically AAA Video Games: The Video Game

I got my hands on the upcoming PS4 game Days Gone a few weeks ago, and if you want to hear more about it, you can listen to this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen. Or you can read this post. First up, we talk about Bloodborne (which I’ve finally finished), Danganronpa (which Maddy’s almost finished), and the…