The Biggest Video Game Disappointments Of 2017

This year, some things were unexpectedly good. But a lot of things sucked, too. Let’s put all those sucky things into a big list. As we do every year at Kotaku, it’s time to take a look back on the highs and lows of the last 12 months. Today, we’ll focus on the lows. (See:…

Virtual reality just lost another big exclusive. Ubisoft’s cross-platform starship simulator Star Trek Bridge Crew, one of my favorite games of the year, has been patched to be playable without VR. That’s great news for Star Trek fans without virtual reality headsets, not-so-great news for VR in general.

Eric’s Top 10 Games Of 2017

In 2017, I played a lot of games, but only 10 could make the cut for this blog. Culling the herd to just 10 was heartbreaking and required intense soul-searching. In no particular order, the best games I played in 2017: Battle Chef Brigade It’s exciting enough that a competitive cooking show game got made,…

Five Things That Are Still Broken In Battlegrounds Even After ‘Launch’

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is finally, officially released. After such a rich life in early access—a life haunted by glitches and server outages—I bet you’re wondering how Battlegrounds is holding up after its 1.0 debut. Well, Battlegrounds in 1.0 is still the glitchy, adrenaline-filled, totally random game that has seduced millions. I love this game as much…

Xavier Woods’ Most Successful Tag Team Effort Last Weekend Was At A Windjammers Tournament

Xavier Woods and his WWE tag team may have failed to regain the tag titles in the squared circle at last weekend’s Clash of Champions, but Woods fared much better a few days before in some 2-on-2 Windjammers competition. The superstar jumped into the Northeast Championship fighting game tournament and, with his trademark hype levels,…

Nintendo Power Comes Back In Podcast Form

Nintendo Power magazine ceased publishing at the end of 2012. It was a nostalgic time full of sad goodbyes and fond memories. Its last cover was even a call-back to the first issue, where Mario pounds his fist triumphantly into the air while standing on a mushroom. But today, on the five-year anniversary of its…

Breath Of The Wild iMessage Stickers Make Texting An Adventure

There is nothing you have to say that cannot be said with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s new animated iMessage stickers. Released today on iTunes for $1.99, the official Breath of the Wild sticker set features 24 animations to use in place of ponderous words while texting with your friends or loved…

Apple Says Apps Must Now Disclose Odds For Loot Boxes

Apple announced a sweeping revision to the guidelines for its App Store yesterday, which now includes a provision that loot boxes must be transparent about their odds. “Apps offering ‘loot boxes’ or other mechanisms that provide randomized virtual items for purchase must disclose the odds of receiving each type of item to customers prior to…

The Last Jedi’s Porgs Are Just Puffins, Which The Film Crew Couldn’t Get Rid Of

Everyone thought the Porgs, those cute lil’ animals from The Last Jedi, were basically space penguins. Turns out they’re actually space puffins, because Skellig Michael (aka Luke’s Island) is so covered with the birds that it was easier for the VFX team to just work with them than try and cut them out of the…

Bridge Constructor Portal Is Actually Pretty Good

When I heard that the next game to yank us back into Aperture Science’s bleached-white bowels would be about bridge building, I figured it’d be a skip for me. I just got done playing Bridge Constructor Portal for a few hours, though, and I couldn’t stop smiling. This collaboration between between Bridge Constructor developer ClockStone…

Designing Yennefer of Vengerberg

We’ve featured the work of CDPR’s Bartlomiej Gawel before, both individually and as part of our massive Witcher 3 special, but today we’ve got a more narrow focus: the origins of Yennefer of Vengerberg. Below you’ll see “a very messy, early” round of sketches and photobashingthat were part of the effort to nail down Yenn’s…

Cosplay Wishes You A Very Merry Christmas

The last major cosplay show for the year is Holiday Matsuri, aka Holmat, which takes place every December in Orlando, Florida. This year’s show was held between December 15-17 at Orlando World Center Marriott, and the resort location—coupled with Florida’s warmer weather—means it’s one of the only places in the US you can visit this…

Please Bring Back Star Wars Space Shooters

Hello. Are you a Disney executive, passing a few minutes downtime between acquisitions and layoffs? Maybe you work at EA, and are trying to work out how to salvage your brand’s Star Wars efforts after the disaster that is Battlefront II. Here’s a free idea: make another space shooter. If you’re new to this concept—maybe…

The Story Of Dwarf Fortress’ Loneliest Necromancer

Dwarf Fortress is an incredible, absurd game. Sometimes the funniest parts of your game are buried somewhere you’ll never see. Last night, for example, I discovered a tale of the world’s loneliest dwarf necromancer. When you start a game of Dwarf Fortress, you must first create a new world. You set parameters like how big…

Hori’s PS4 Fighting Edge Controller Is A Beauty

Back in 2012 we reviewed Hori’s Fighting Edge for the PlayStation 3, a mighty beast of an arcade fighting controller with a fancy programmable touch panel. The PS4 version of the Fighting Edge is still a beast, but it trades the gimmicky touchscreen for brushed aluminum. It looks good. It feels even better. Being only…

One Man Is Trying To Speedrun Three Final Fantasy Games–At The Same Time

Speedrunning a long role-playing game requires both concentration and stamina. There are endless menus to navigate and character builds to optimize, and doing everything fast means knowing the game’s secrets like the back of your hand. Speedrunning an RPG can be grueling for even the most accomplished player. So naturally, one guy wants to speedrun…

Closers Is A Fine Beat ‘Em Up

Free-to-play episodic PC action MMO Closers is a complicated game, filled with complicated menus and all sorts of management minutia, but its core appeal is easy to summarize. Anime teens with psychokinetic powers battle an alien invasion. The rest can be sorted out later. In Closers, a popular Korean game that’s now in open beta…

Woohooing In The Sims Is Actually Horrifying

Woohoo is what sims do in The Sims series instead of having sex. But what is it? You will regret asking that question. In the first Sims game, woohoo didn’t exist. Instead, in a later expansion pack, you could place a vibrating bed, have both sims relax on it, and then have them “play” on…