Paradox’s Next Big Strategy Game Is Set In Rome

Paradox, makers of epics like Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis, have a new grand strategy game coming called Imperator: Rome The debut trailer doesn’t show much (actually it doesn’t show anything), but Paradox fans should know what to expect: granular control over all aspects of your faction, as you “relive the pageantry and challenges of…

Uzi Gets His Trophy In Midseason League of Legends Finals

Jian “Uzi” Zi-hao is easily one of the best players in China’s League of Legends championship series, the LPL. But on the international stage, he’s frequently come up just short of the title. With a commanding win in today’s 2018 Midseason Invitationals, Uzi seems to have started his campaign to topple the regional hierarchy of…

The Correct Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Won This Weekend’s Splatfest

This weekend, Splatoon 2 players ended a multi-week popularity contest over the best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. And unsurprisingly, they chose the objectively best turtle in the end, Donatello. Donnie, the brains of the team who can also kick righteous ass, won 2-1 over his brother-in-shell, Raphael. While he lost the popular vote, he won…

Deadfire‘s Maps Are Really Good

Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire is a big epic fantasy game about gods, pirates, boats, and ghosts, but what’s stuck with me post-game is how good the maps are. They’re really good, and the navigation is even better. Following the Baldur’s Gate franchise, the first Pillars of Eternity game has two “layers” to the world.…

Brigitte’s First Week In The Overwatch League Was Fine After All

The start of stage 4 in the Overwatch League meant the debut of the newest hero in the game, Brigitte. The anti-dive support was a big question mark, as pros would be playing her on a patch where she was still incredibly dominant. But it turns out, at least in week 1, things were kind…

‘Shop Contest: Kingdom Hearts Expanded Universe

We finally have some real information about Kingdom Hearts III, so let’s take this opportunity to show Square Enix, Disney, and everyone else what we really want to see in the third entry of this transmedia franchise. Kingdom Hearts is about jumping into weird worlds with some Final Fantasy-ish characters and just going hog wild…

What It Was Like To Play D&D For The First Time

I recently played Dungeons & Dragons for the first time ever, and it sure was fun. We talk about that and much more on this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen First, Kirk and I talk about cults and audio tricks (clearly it’s Laurel), then get into the news of the week on Boss Key shutting down, a…

Sunday Comics: Don’t Touch That Dial

Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published May 14. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published May 17. Read more of Corpse Run Double XP by…

Overwatch‘s New Map Is A Brawl In A Hidden City

At halftime in today’s match between the Philadelphia Fusion and Florida Mayhem, the Overwatch developers showed off their new map, called Petra, that will go live in the game on May 22 during the Overwatch Anniversary event. In the short gameplay trailer that we saw between Overwatch League matches, it appears that Petra is part…

It’s the third anniversary of the release of The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. The game remains one of the most interesting and engaging games around, and it only got better with the release of two expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. Here’s to more years of appreciating Geralt & Co.

Blighttown Apparently Runs At 60 FPS In Dark Souls Remastered

Digital Foundry have created a comparison video for Dark Souls Remastered that demonstrates that, at least on the PS4 and PS4 Pro, Blighttown runs at a smooth 60 fps. Blighttown is a notorious part of the original Dark Souls experience. It’s a massive swamp reached via rickety scaffolding and weird elevators. There are dozens of…

Concept For Las Vegas Sphere Sure Does Look Like A Blitzball Arena

The Madison Square Garden Company will break ground this summer in Las Vegas, according to officials (via AP), to build a massive sphere with projection and lights that sure does look like a damn blitzball arena from Final Fantasy X. The 170,000-square-foot LED screen that wraps around the interior bowl of the sphere can project…

Ravnica Got Me Into Magic, And Now We’re Going Back

Magic: The Gathering is a card game, but the storytelling and worldbuilding that goes into informing those cards is basically unmatched across the world of games. They announced this week that the game is going back to the world of Ravnica, and it took me down a nostalgia hole. Each plane of Magic (think “world”)…

Turret Will Not Be Denied Its Shot In Pro League of Legends Match

In today’s semifinals between the Flash Wolves and Kingzone, Su “Hanabi” Chia-Hsiang was pushing up to the bottom lane turret when he decided to take his leave for a scrap in the middle area of the map. The turret, scorned but undeterred, shot a parting blast at Hanabi that would eventually be his undoing. Some…

‘Shop Contest: Put It On The Switch, Winners!

The wide world of Switch ports got me excited for new things on the platform, so I asked our excellent community image editors to come up with even better ports. I now need all of these to exist. The Switch is the console with infinite possibilities. Those two little controllers and their big screen friend…

Go1 Summons The Dragon In Dragon Ball FighterZ Match

The titular Dragon Balls don’t see a lot of actual use in competitive Dragon Ball FighterZ, as the conditions to gather them all and summon the wish-granting dragon aren’t always conducive to a player’s game plan. So when the opportunity to bring out Shenron in a match presents itself, you can bet a player like…

The Weekend In Esports: Midseason Finale

The 2018 Midseason Invitational comes to a close this weekend, marking about the halfway point in the competitive League of Legends season. While Korea’s Kingzone takes on China’s Royal Never Give Up, the rest of the weekend will be packed with a variety of events as well. There are a ton of fighting game events,…

This Week In The Business: Fewer, Bigger, Better, Later

QUOTE | “What we see now is we can launch games whenever we are ready and whenever we want, just because there’s a good appetite for new products on the market thanks to the fact that there are less big games coming to the industry. That gives us the possibility to choose when to launch,…

The Xbox Has Quietly Gotten Some Cool Features

This week, Microsoft revealed the Xbox Adaptive Controller, a new peripheral to help make gaming more accessible. It includes two large, programmable buttons and works in conjunction with a mix of joysticks and other devices like the Quadstick, a controller designed specifically for people living with different forms of paralysis. It’s just the latest in…

A Frighteningly Accurate Analysis Of Mario Kart‘s Politics

Wario is a libertarian. Bowser is a fascist. We know this about them, in our hearts, but no one has ever sat down and categorized the political leanings of the Mushroom Kingdom’s best-known residents. Art House Politics has put together a video demarcating the political leanings of each of the characters in Mario Kart 8,…