Russian Military Uses Video Game Screenshot To Allege US Support For ISIS

A post on the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation’s Facebook page earlier today purported to show photographic proof that the US was aiding ISIS fighters in Syria. It turns out that one of the photographs included was from a video game. According to the post, Russian air power was used to help Syrian…

What You Do On Steam Can Now Influence Who You Play Against In Counter-Strike

Have you ever been a jerk or cheated in Counter-Strike? No? What about in other Steam games? Now, that might come back to bite you, thanks to CSGO’s “Trust Factor” matchmaking system. The Trust Factor system arrived late yesterday as part of a game update. Valve’s goal here is simple: to match you with people…

L.A. Noire: It Was A Weird Game

When I heard that the 2011 detective game L.A. Noire was getting remastered for current consoles, my first thought was, “Oh, cool! That was an interesting game.” Then I remembered that L.A. Noire was a very weird game, and one I didn’t even like back when I first played it. A thousand years ago in…

Snipperclips DLC Makes The Switch’s Most Surprising Launch Game Worth Revisiting

After not playing Snipperclips for months, I had more or less written the game off as being easy and filler-y. But after last week’s DLC, Snipperclips Plus, I was wrong. As is the case with a lot of cute co-op games I buy to play with friends, I ended up not finding anyone who wanted…

Han Solo Is A Little Different In Battlefront II

Star Wars Battlefront II is off to a rough start with crummy lootboxes and unpopularunlockables. Thankfully, everyone’s favorite smuggler is living life with no reservations and isn’t afraid to show it. SPOILERS AHEAD Most of Battlefront II’s campaign focuses on Iden Versio, an Imperial commando struggling to survive after the Empire’s defeat at the Battle…

Turns Out, Cappy Can Kill You In Super Mario Odyssey 

We were right to suspect something messed up was going on with the possession mechanic in Mario Odyssey Cappy has a mind of its own, and if you’re not careful, it can take Mario out of the picture entirely. It’s some creepypasta-level stuff. Twitter user @NichtSascha discovered a peculiar glitch in Odyssey’s co-op mode that…

It Happened To Me: I Kept My Redbox Game For Way Too Long

I just got totally owned by my local Redbox. I thought I was beating the system by enjoying a new game at a fraction of the cost of buying it. As it turns out, I’m a Redbox whale: one of those poor sops who’s helping prolong the company’s slow decline because I can’t keep track…

Rocket League‘s Switch Port Is Perfect For Casual Players

Until today, I only got my ass kicked at Rocket League indoors, on a couch, proximate to a television. Now that the beloved car soccer game is on the Switch, the realm of ass-kicking possibilities is infinite. I didn’t know I wanted this and I am so happy. Rocket League’s Switch version, released today, is…

The space fascists of New Monarchy have won Destiny 2‘s second faction rally. Wouldn’t have been my first choice, but hey, at least Dead Orbit didn’t win. Time to go buy the New Monarchy sword and then never really use it.

Switch Developers Dedicate Entire Trailer To New Icon

Nintendo Switch owners yearning to keep their system dashboard as pretty as possible did not appreciate Kingdom: New Lands’ minimalist icon design. Well their nightmare is now over. This week’s game update swapped the pixelated crown for an icon so epic it got its own trailer. As we reported back in September, Kingdom: New Lands…

What Made L.A. Noire So Great

I gazed into the future, saw L.A. Noire’s Switch release and other remasters coming and did an entire playthrough of the game on Kotaku’s Twitch channel. Here’s a collection of writings inspired by that playthrough. First, I looked at the early missions and noted how the game, while offering an intriguing and gorgeous world, has…

The nominees for 2017’s edition of The Game Awards are out, and you can check out a full list here. Will Mario and Zelda split the Nintendo vote for Game of the Year? Staff from our competitive gaming site Compete were on the jury for the esports categories of the awards. Alas, our fighting game…

Report: Nintendo Making Animated Mario Movie With Studio Behind Minions

Nintendo is in talks to bring Mario back to Hollywood, according to a report today by the Wall Street Journal The paper reports that Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures are close to reaching a deal with Nintendo for an animated Super Mario Bros. movie. Illumination is the company behind Despicable Me—which foisted Minions on the…

Someone’s Making A Spiritual Successor To Theme Hospital

On the back of the recent revival of management sim games, a new studio out of Prague has decided to tackle healthcare with an upcoming game called Project Hospital As the name suggests, the game revolves around building and maintaining a hospital. Players will focus on identifying diseases, researching cures, and treating as many patients…

This War of Mine: Stories—Father’s Promise is out today on PC. It’s the first of a planned ‘season’ of story-oriented DLC for This War of Mine.

Sabotage And Stealth Make For Call Of Duty: WWII‘s Best Mission

Call of Duty: WWII mostly focuses on large battles and explosive confrontations, but the game’s best mission is quiet, intimate, and subtle. Call of Duty: WWII’s narrative focuses on the US Army’s 1st Infantry Division, centering on major battles like the Invasion of Normandy and The Battle of the Bulge. These levels feel as loud…

GameStop ‘Temporarily Pauses’ Unlimited Used Games Program

GameStop has suspended its PowerPass program, which offers customers six months of unlimited access to used games. The retail chain told employees yesterday to pull down all signage involving the program and store it in their backrooms, according to two GameStop staff. It’s not clear why GameStop is freezing the program, but employees have speculated…