Understanding The Hype (and Hate) For Nintendo Labo

Nintendo’s upcoming grand experiment with cardboard is unexpected enough that people have reacted dramatically to the announcement. Largely, fans seem to fall into two camps: either they’re psyched to build their own contraptions, or they don’t understand why something like this exists at all. Isn’t Nintendo a video game company? What are they doing messing…

Overwatch Pro Flips Bird When He Thought No One Was Watching

Last night, London Spitfire DPS player Joon-yeong “Profit” Park shot a middle finger at the camera right after he got brought out as a substitution in the team’s second game against SF Shock. But Profit didn’t think anybody would see it. Update: Profit has issued a fantastic apology. Enjoy it below. Stylosa, who serves as…

Here’s February’s Xbox Live Games With Gold Lineup

There’s a range of games in February’s Games with Gold, from racing to stealth. As ever, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Games with Gold subscription. February’s Xbox Games with Gold lineup is: Xbox One Shadow Warrior (February 1-28) Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India (February 16-March 15) Xbox 360 (compatible with…

Five Of My Favorite Things About Monster Hunter: World

Kotaku’s review of Monster Hunter World will be coming soon. (Sneak preview: it’s pretty damned good.) In the meantime, here are a few of the things I like about it. The monsters are terrific This series has always been all about the beasts. They have such personality in their animation and behavior. The new creatures…

Perhaps sensing that I was only two levels away from 120, mobile MMO Lineage 2: Revolution’s latest update ups the level cap from 120 to 180, adding several new quest areas, new high level dungeons and a shiny new metal beetle mount that I will never get. Thanks, jerks.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Just Got Real Heavy, Real Quick

The latest Boruto episode deals with topics you might not expect, with fans surprised to see the show tackle such issues. Warning: This article has spoilers. In the latest episode, Boruto has to stop a bank robber outfitted with a suicide vest. The robber worked in the game industry, and that bleak experience is how…

The Buddhist Swastika Becomes Popular Slang In Japan

If you’ve ever been to a Buddhist temple in Japan or looked at a Japanese map, you’ve probably seen swastikas, called “manji” in Japanese, all over. In Japan, the character has become popular youth slang. As Tofugu points out, the manji has long been a holy and auspicious symbol in Japan and throughout Asia. Now…

How SoulCalibur‘s Nightmare Has Changed Over Two Decades

SoulCalibur VI’s second trailer dropped today, offering players a glimpse at the 20-year-old fighting game’s upcoming roster. One constant throughout SoulCalibur’s shifting cast of fighters is the cursed villain Nightmare, whose new design was revealed today. Nightmare is the antagonist of the series and the living avatar of the evil sword Soul Edge. When I…

Miitomo Is Shutting Down In May

Miitomo, Nintendo’s first tentative step into the world of mobile gaming, will be ceasing operations at 12:00am on May 9. While Nintendo can’t reach into your phone and delete the app, they’ll be shutting down pretty much everything it relies on, saying “If you launch the app after the end of service on 5/9, you’ll…

There Are Two New Farming Games In Steam’s Top 10 Right Now

Shooting, stabbing, soaring, and truck simulating? That stuff’s old hat. These days soil-tiling—possibly while wearing an old hat—is where it’s at. Yesterday, two early access farming games, My Time At Portia and Staxel, both launched into Steam’s top ten. Once upon a time, hardcore users of platforms like Steam looked upon farming games with derision,…

What We Liked (And Didn’t Like) About Assassin’s Creed Origins’ Story

Here at Kotaku, several of us have finally been wrapping up Assassin’s Creed Origins. That means we can get together to talk about it, spoilers and all. Yesterday afternoon, I got on the horn with fellow Kotaku Assassin’s Creediphiles Luke Plunkett and Stephen Totilo to record a special bonus episode of Kotaku Splitscreen all about…

Overwatch League Commissioner Just Hasn’t ‘Gotten Around’ To Posting Code Of Conduct

Overwatch League has a code of conduct, but no, you can’t see it, at least not until league commissioner Nate Nanzer gets around to putting it online, which he still hasn’t done two weeks into the league’s inaugural season. “We just haven’t gotten around to it,” Nanzer told the Telegraph. “I don’t know the exact…

Twitch Reacts To Snoop Dogg Apparently Pretending To Play A Game

Yesterday, Snoop Dogg livestreamed the early access survival game SOS, a game where 16 players need to work together to escape a dangerous island. He appeared to do a pretty good job grabbing loot even though he wasn’t actually playing the game. It led some viewers to cry foul about the celebrity endorsement and whether…

Sailor Moon Cosplay Is A  Husband And Wife Thing

On the left, fenixfatalist as Sailor Neptune. On the right, her husband vergiil-sparda as Sailor Uranus. It’s not their first time cosplaying together (see below), but it is his first time crossplaying, and it’s absolutely incredible. We’ve actually featured fenixfatalist a bunch here previously, if you’d like to check out more of her cosplay: