Samus Is A Better Character When She’s On Her Own

Metroid games are so much better when the story is as subtle as possible. On this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen, we discuss why. First, Kirk and I talk about the failings of Detroit: Become Human before getting into the news of the week (24:46) on Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Xbox One accessibility, and HBO’s…

PUBG Developers Commit To Improving Game’s Performance

The PUBG development team have announced a whole host of specific game optimizations targeted at improving the game experience for players. Many players of PUBG on the PC rightfully complain about the game’s performance. In my own experience, the game often lags during the beginning of the game (where players are most vulnerable) and during…

Dynamic Tekken Rematch Proves That Adaptability Is Key

One of the best parts about a series of bouts between two talented fighters is seeing how they adapt. When a player has to scrap it and step outside their comfort zone, that’s where contenders are made. And it’s exactly what Hoa “Anakin” Luu did in a tense Tekken 7 loser’s bracket match-up today. Jeannail…

Dragon Ball FighterZ Player Stages Comeback From Sliver Of Health

You can have a sliver of health, but it’s landing that final blow that matters most. In the winner’s side of phase 2 pools for Dragon Ball FighterZ at Combo Breaker 2018, Dawn “Yohosie” Hosie was tied 1-1 in rounds against SQ. Her signature Gotenks had done some real damage to SQ’s lineup, with the…

‘Shop Contest: The Big Battlefield

The Battlefield V trailer came out this week, and it’s full of customization and the stressful weirdness that players have come to expect from the franchise. But we’ve gotta make this battlefield bigger. I’ve played a lot of Battlefield 1, and I’m looking forward to whatever the hell happens in this next big, boisterous franchise.…

Sunday Comics: There’s Only One Bro

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 21. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published May 24. Read more of Corpse Run Double XP by…

Killer7 Is Coming To Steam This Fall

Multi-character adventure and assassination game Killer7 will be coming to Steam this fall, developer Grasshopper Manufacture announced at a Momocon panel today. The cult classic directed by Goichi Suda and written by Shinji Mikami will be “optimized for the PC,” according to the game’s Steam page, and Game Informer reports that the game will have…

Atari Co-Founder Ted Dabney Dies At 81

Ted Dabney, the co-founder of Atari alongside Nolan Bushnell, has died at the age of 81. News of Dabney’s death was announced in a Facebook post by the video game historian Leonard Herman, the author of the Phoenix series of video game history books. Dabney was an important figure in the history of both Atari…

Street Fighter Showcase Is A Trip Down Memory Lane

Last night, some of Street Fighter’s old guard assembled to play an exhibition tournament that took the players and viewers through the timeline of the series. It was both ridiculous and nostalgic, and a nice reminder of the legacy of these games and the people that play them. Five on-site auction entrants at Combo Breaker…

PUBG‘s Crossbow-Only Game Mode Is Surprisingly Legit

PUBG’s alternate game modes are often explosion-filled, gunshot-popping, silly experiences. Ghillie Crossing, this week’s game mode, is is all about crossbows, ghillie suits, and grenades. It’s very good. It is a stone cold fact that the crossbow is one of the worst weapons in PUBG. Its one benefit is that it is silent, but you…

When You Find The Good Button

Fighters in games like Tekken 7 can have a wide arsenal of attacks, with different angles, weights, and recovery time. But when you get the chance to mash that good button, ol’ reliable, you make the most of it. At least, that’s what Mr. Whooppee did when he trapped Rickstah’s Akuma in a barrage of…

Oh, what’s this? Another lost soul found their way to Lordran? Staff Writer Heather Alexandra is streaming Dark Souls Remastered live now on Twitch.

‘Shop Contest: Kingdom Hearts Expanded Universe, Winners!

A teen boy, a giant key, and all of our lovable Disney favorites make up the basis of the Kingdom Hearts universe. Together, we made it a whole lot bigger. The Kingdom Hearts games seem full of possibility, and Kingdom Hearts III have promised us a jump into the CGI world of Toy Story as…

The Weekend In Esports: No Coast, No Kings

The Memorial Day slugfest is back for 2018, as Combo Breaker is underway in Illinois this weekend. This tournament, for me at least, marks the start of the big fighting game tournament rush leading up to Evo. Between this weekend and the big one in August, there are going to be plenty of majors with…

This Week In The Business: Sex, Violence, And Business Conflicts

QUOTE | “According to the email, Kindred Spirits will be re-reviewed and we will be equipped with specific feedback if there are concerns about the game’s content.” – The Twitter account of MangaGamer, announcing that Valve seemingly backtracked on its demand that the studio (and other risqué visual novel developers) censor their games or see…

Finally, A Place To Store Those Joy-Con Straps 

Someone 3D printed a contraption to hold some Switch games and, more importantly, the strap attachments for their Switch’s Joy-Con controllers, creating something I didn’t know I needed until now. The Joy-Con are great for playing local multiplayer but also terrible for playing local multiplayer. As nice as it is to be able to boot…

Here’s What Game You Should Be Playing This Weekend

Hey y’all! Riley’s probably off playing The Witcher 3 somewhere already, so I’m taking over for him. Happy three day weekend! This weekend I’m going to be DMing my first tabletop roleplaying game as a treat for my friend’s birthday. We both wanted to play The Sprawl, a cyberpunk themed game, so I volunteered to…

School Shooting Game Angers Steam Users, Developer ‘Likely’ Changing It [UPDATE]

Earlier this week, a game called Active Shooter appeared on Steam. It’d be nothing more than another heap of hacked-together pre-purchased assets—or an “asset flip,” as they’re known on Steam—if not for its subject matter. It’s about mass shootings. The unreleased game’s Steam store page describes it as a “dynamic S.W.A.T. simulator” in which you…

The Speedrunner Smashing Records On Mario Kart 64’s Donkey Kong Track

Matthias Rustemeyer has been trying to collect every individual Mario Kart 64 course world record for half a decade, but thanks to Daniel Burbank that job just keeps getting harder. Burbank has been getting better and better times on the game’s lone Donkey Kong race track since the beginning of the year and shows no…