The Most Important Part Of Writing A Video Game Is The Tools

Today on Kotaku Splitscreen we’re talking Monster Hunter, Nolan Bushnell, and what it’s like to write video games. First we tackle news (16:44) on the Nolan Bushnell controversy, a revoked Dragster world record, and Paragon shutting down because Fortnite was just too popular. After that, writer Leigh Alexander joins the show (34:27) to talk about…

Super Metroid‘s Elevators Are No Joke 

Speedrunning is often best known of the amazing records it produces. The practice that goes into producing those moments can be grueling though, like when you’re trying to set a new personal record in Super Metroid only to get stuck on an elevator. UNHchabo had that exact thing happen while working on a new personal…

Dota Pro Falls For The Bait

In last night’s StarLadder i-League Dota Invitational, reigning TI7 champs Team Liquid fell for an early ruse that led to first blood and more for their opponent, Mineski. Mineski picked a lineup of heroes like Ursa and Shadow Fiend, meaning it was theoretically possible they could kill Roshan before the horn sounded. Killing Roshan is…

Football: The Kotaku Review

If Football—that is, the American National Football League football—used the same naming scheme as “Dungeons & Dragons,” we’d call it “Beer Commercials & Cheerleaders.” Like dungeons and dragons, beer commercials and cheerleaders are two things that not everyone likes. They are also, however, not The Point of their respective games: they are simply nouns which…

Sunday Comics: I Am Goku

Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics that usually occurs on Sunday except when it doesn’t. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published February 3. Read more of Nerf NOW!!  Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published January 29. Read more…

Dragon Ball FighterZ Does Some Weird Stuff Behind The Camera

Dragon Ball FighterZ is a polished fighting game with tight controls and a combat system that’s fast-paced but still approachable. It also looks amazing, which is why people have been sharing all of its scripted animations for weeks leading up to the release. It turns out there’s some really weird stuff happening during them though.…

After Three Months, Pirates Say They’ve Finally Cracked Assassin’s Creed Origins 

The Italian hacking group CPY announced today it finally cracked Assassin’s Creed Origins meaning people with pirated versions of the game will now be able to bypass its DRM protections. The announcement from CPY cropped up on the CrackWatch subreddit earlier today where commenters have been speculating for months about when and if the game…

Former NASCAR Driver Scott Speed Suspended From iRacing For Trying To Intentionally Wreck Opponents

Former NASCAR and Formula 1 racer Scott Speed has been suspended from popular simulation racing game iRacing after footage of him attempting to intentionally crash into other players surfaced. Speed confirmed to The Drive that he’s been suspended from the game for actions captured in a Twitch clip from streamer Jake “YTBigz” Hewlett. iRacing is…

Dragon Ball FighterZ Has People Debating Fighting Game Notation

Dragon Ball FighterZ has been a wildly popular game, but it’s also resurfaced some old discussions among the fighting game community—namely, numpad notation. The method for transcribing long strings of combos has varied over the years, thanks to different games having different inputs. Street Fighter has punch and kick buttons, while other games like FighterZ…

The Week In Esports: Dota, League of Legends, And More Overwatch 

The LCS, OWL, and Dota 2’s Starladder I-League Invitational headline this weekend alongside a number of fighting game tournaments. If you’ve been digging Dragon Ball FighterZ as much as I have, be sure to check out Body Count Fighting 4 going on later today. Below you’ll find where and when you can catch all the…

Slay The Spire Has Some Fun Infinite Combos 

Slay The Spire is one of Steam’s latest Early Access gems thanks to its polished combination of roguelike dungeon crawling and traditional card game mechanics. The game’s quite challenging at first, but some players have already been discovering special combos that allow them to rip through the game with ease. Twitch streamer RiskyCB is one…

Staff Writer Heather Alexandra is sharpening her dual swords and hunting some nasty critters in Monster Hunter World right now on Twitch You can join in the fun on PS4 with session ID 6nzs3hEAmwJk.

Struggling Overwatch Dynasty Finds Important Win In Last Night’s Matches

Last night’s clash between the Houston Outlaws and the Seoul Dynasty in the Overwatch League was dire for both teams. One was trying to keep a streak alive, another recovering from two straight losses, and both still posturing for a playoff berth. Seoul has been in a rut after falling from undefeated to 5-2, galaxy-braining…

This Week In The Business: Actions And Reactions

QUOTE | “Essentially, it’s made [our Xbox business] worthless overnight… Effectively overnight they’ve wiped massive value off our company and made it not worth doing. Why should we support them and sell their consoles and accessories if we’re going to get very little out of it? We don’t make anything off their digital selection. It’s…

Monster Hunter Archer Is A Legend

Today on Highlight Reel we have tons of Monster Hunter: World clips, close shaves, Dragon Ball FighterZ moments, and much more! Watch the video then talk about your favorite highlight in the comments below. Be sure to check out, like, and share the original videos via the links below. Subscribe to Kotaku on YouTube for…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for having finally bought a casserole pan and being really excited to casserole some things. Or just make brownies in it. The weekend is also for playing video games. I cannot stop playing Subnautica, even though I’ve hit a bit of a snag progressing in the story. I’ve been too scared to…