- Esports
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,…
By Ian Walker Published December 21, 2017 - Uncategorized
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…
By Ethan Gach Published December 21, 2017 - Uncategorized
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…
By Mike Fahey Published December 21, 2017 - Uncategorized
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…
By Jason Schreier Published December 21, 2017 - Culture
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…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2017 -
UncategorizedOne of Fallout 4‘s most popular mods is getting an expansion. Sim Settlements, which has been downloaded over a million times, lets you direct settlers in the construction of their own unique, living towns that they, not you, build. The expansion will add more personality and variety to that system. It looks so good that…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 20, 2017 -
CultureBridge 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…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 20, 2017 - Culture
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…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2017 -
CultureCosplayCosplay 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…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2017 -
UncategorizedPlease 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…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2017 - Uncategorized
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…
By Gita Jackson Published December 20, 2017 - Uncategorized
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…
By Mike Fahey Published December 20, 2017 - Culture
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…
By Ethan Gach Published December 20, 2017 -
UncategorizedClosers 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…
By Mike Fahey Published December 20, 2017 -
UncategorizedWoohooing 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…
By Gita Jackson Published December 20, 2017 - Uncategorized
The More I Play Call of Duty: WWII Zombies, The Less I Like It
I enjoyed Call of Duty: WWII’s Zombies mode when it launched. But now, having dumped over a dozen hours into it, I’m feeling differently. I originallypraised Sledgehammer Games for its scary and gory take on Zombies. There was something really satisfying about returning to the World War II setting with Nazi zombies, ripe for the…
By S.E. Doster Published December 20, 2017 - Uncategorized
The Best Video Game Surprises Of 2017
This year, a lot of things sucked. But a lot of things were also unexpectedly good! Let’s celebrate those latter things with 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. (See: the biggest surprises of 2012,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published December 20, 2017 - Uncategorized
Enter The Gungeon Is More Forgiving On The Nintendo Switch
Enter The Gungeon released on the Nintendo Switch last week, and they go great together. Despite a few bugs and some little niggling issues with the controls (which are 100% remappable) the overall experience is great. It’s also the most approachable version of the game thanks to some balancing tweaks that haven’t yet hit the…
By Ethan Gach Published December 20, 2017 - Uncategorized
Heather Alexandra’s Top Ten Games Of 2017
I’ve played approximately two billion video games this year. Narrowing that list down to 10 was a painful and bloody process, but I finally managed to choose my favorite games from one of the most exciting years in recent memory. 10. Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy Getting Over It is the closest we’ll ever…
By Heather Alexandra Published December 20, 2017 -
UncategorizedThe Witcher 3 Now Officially Runs At 60 FPS On The Xbox One X
When the Xbox One X launched in November, players discovered the console could run a completely un-patched disc version of The Witcher 3 at 60 frames per second. The Xbox One X update for the game dropped today, giving players a choice of 60 FPS performance or 30 FPS at 4K. Players who download the…
By Mike Fahey Published December 20, 2017