- CultureSplitscreen
Podcast: Persona 5 And Video Game Dialogue
Today’s episode of Kotaku Splitscreen is all about high school kids and high school squids. First Kirk and I talk about Splatoon 2 (pardon my grumpiness, which was triggered by an hour’s worth of audio issues) before getting into the news of the week (19:15) including the disaster at Pokémon Go Fest, speedrunner refresh rates,…
By Jason Schreier Published July 30, 2017 -
EsportsBlizzard Shows Off StarCraft: Remastered With Biggest Names In Brood War
After 20 years, StarCraft players will finally be able to see the details of the enigmatic man inside the spinning missile turret. During a showmatch event in Busan, South Korea, some of Brood War’s greatest took up the keys again to compete in the upcoming remaster. StarCraft Remastered definitely has the same vibe, but with…
By Eric Van Allen Published July 30, 2017 - Culture
Sunday Comics: Fragile As Eggs
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 July 28. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published July 24. Read more…
By Ethan Gach Published July 30, 2017 - Uncategorized
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age‘s Remastered Look Comes At A Cost
In my first few minutes with the PS4 HD remaster of Final Fantasy XII I was awestruck by how fresh it looked. As a recent blog post by designer Robert Yang explains, however, the new game’s new coat of paint seems to have come at the expense of its soul Remasters are getting more and…
By Ethan Gach Published July 29, 2017 -
EsportsLeague Casters Compare Future Of Healthcare To Death By Cyborg Man-Crab
The uncertain future of our nation’s health care system, or being ground to death by a giant cyborg? In a talk show-style segment that aired between games one and two of TSM vs. FlyQuest in today’s League Championship Series matches, Josh “Jatt” Leesman and Sam “Kobe” Hartman-Kenzler debated which is more terrifying: the League of Legends…
By Eric Van Allen Published July 29, 2017 - CultureShop Contest
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Sonic Crossover, Winners!
IDW has it’s work cut out for it if it’s going to ever realize even a fifth of the licensed Sonic and friends get togethers you’ve all dreamed up. Which is probably a good thing, because a lot of these are too hot for the page. While comic book Sonic has gone to a lot…
By Ethan Gach Published July 29, 2017 - Uncategorized
Nidhogg 2‘s Level Select Screen Is A Nifty Callback To Yoshi’s Island
The fencing game sequel arrives next month with a bigger, more detailed art style, including a beautiful recreation of the start screen from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, prompting the question: why are so many level select screens usually so boring? Although revealed earlier last month during a gameplay demo, Nidhogg 2‘s level select…
By Ethan Gach Published July 29, 2017 -
EsportsEuropean League Team Finally Wins Its First Series Of The Summer
With a surprise showing of skill and, at one point, a miracle, the bottom-ranked team in the European League Championship Series will not end the summer winless. It took Ninjas in Pyjamas eight weeks to find its first series win after rejoining the EU LCS by way of purchasing Fnatic Academy’s spot. Many were critical…
By Eric Van Allen Published July 29, 2017 - Uncategorized
A Zelda-Themed Nintendo Switch Case To Rule Them All
If a modified Pelican case was the mother of Switch protectors, then this ornate, leather bag is the mother of all Zelda-inspired Nintendo Switch cases. Created by Etsy user Ian Finch-Field for his SkinzNhydez storefront, the made to order carrying case is large enough to fit a Switch with both Joy-Con still attached and comes…
By Ethan Gach Published July 29, 2017 - Esports
The Weekend In Esports: StarCraft 2 IEM XII And The Rocket League World Cup
With some of the summer’s biggest tournaments behind us, things slow down this weekend. But not too much. Blessed with an SC2 tournament and another esports World Cup, as well as a tone of fighting game tournaments, there’s still plenty to watch. Below you’ll find where and when you can catch all the weekend’s biggest…
By Ethan Gach Published July 29, 2017 - Esports
Dota 2 Is Getting More Newbie Friendly
A new update to Dota 2 will try to make sure new players are always matched with nice players. In a blog post, the Dota 2 team discussed two changes to the newcomer experience. First, all new accounts will be limited to a selection of 20 heroes for their first 25 games, curated for new…
By Eric Van Allen Published July 29, 2017 - Culture
This Week In The Business: No Money In Retro?
QUOTE | “Mostly there’s just no money in it anymore, if there ever was… As much as I love those sorts of games and love to keep making those for years, I’m reaching a point where I know I’d be throwing money away if I continued to do that.” – Super Win the Game and…
Brendan Sinclair Published July 29, 2017 - Culture
Dream Daddy Creators Explain Why You Can’t Smooch All The Dads
In most dating sims, you can rest assured that if you pour time and effort into winning a character’s affections, you’ll have the option of ending up with them. In dad-tastic dating sim Dream Daddy, however, that’s not always the case—a fact that’s made some players upset. I recently spoke with creators Leighton Gray and…
By Nathan Grayson Published July 28, 2017 - Culture
Sadly, Most ‘Survival’ Games Aren’t Really About Survival
Looking over reviews of recent Steam sandbox hit Citadel: Forged With Fire, I was struck by a repeated refrain: Finally, reviewers cheered, a game that eschews survival “busywork” like hunger, thirst, and stamina. It’s true that in many so-called survival games, survival is tedious. But survival is about more than just food and shelter, and…
By Nathan Grayson Published July 28, 2017 - Esports
Network Error Exiles Street Fighter V Players To Fictional Island
Street Fighter V players noticed something strange happening during their online matches on the afternoon of July 22. Instead of appearing near their real-world locations on the Capcom Fighters Network map (a platform that ensures competitors match up with opponents in their general vicinity), they were being placed west of Africa, smack dab in the…
By Ian Walker Published July 28, 2017 - Uncategorized
Nioh Just Added A Feature That Should Be In All Loot Games
The excellent PS4 samurai action game Nioh is overloaded with loot, but its developers may have solved one of their game’s few problems with a clever tweak in the game’s new 1.14 patch. Like many things in Nioh, the tweak is initially inscrutable. The patch notes describe it this way: -Added the option “display take”…
By Stephen Totilo Published July 28, 2017 - Culture
The Mother Of Dragons
Alex Negrea is an artist who has done work for companies like Crytek and Volta. We’ve actually featured Alex’s art previously: the Mercy piece here was commissioned by Blizzard,and ran in a best-of we made around the game’s launch You can see more of Alex’s work at his ArtStation page To see the images in…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 28, 2017 -
UncategorizedAn In-Depth Look At Overwatch‘s Eichenwalde Map
Strong multiplayer maps in video games create stories. Their construction and design generate emotional reactions from frustrated defeat to jubilant victory. It is not enough to put players in a space and do battle; strong maps shift and contort in unexpected ways. They are not always fair and they are rarely symmetrical, but they’ll create…
By Heather Alexandra Published July 28, 2017 - Culture
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
The weekend is for going to a new laundromat for the first time. Will it be terrible? Tolerable? Also, video games. So every weekend I decide I’m going to play some Witcher, and then I get busy with other games and I don’t play The Witcher. It cannot stand, readers. The Witcher must be played.…
By Riley MacLeod Published July 28, 2017