How Folks In Japan Get Their Gaming News In 2017

It’s actually not too different from the way people outside the country get their gaming news, but there are a few local twists. The above image is from Level-5’s newest anime The Snack World, which mixes contemporary Japanese mass culture with a role-playing game type world. In the image, the top banner reads “Hechima Kikou”…

Temple of Heaven. Beijing, China. By Kenny Wu. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Artist Brings Simon Stålenhag’s Robot Invasion To Life

Simon Stålenhag’s images of a robot-strewn Scandinavia have been big hits on the internet over the last few years. They’re very static, though, so 3D artist Wiktor Öhman has decided to make them a bit more animated. Öhman has worked on games like Far Cry 3. You can see more of his art at his…

Overwatch‘s Doomfist Starts Strong In First Pro Match, But Can’t Close The Deal

Overwatch’s newest hero, Doomfist, isn’t officially out yet, but that didn’t stop him from appearing in a recent pro exhibition match held on the game’s public test realm. Kim “Libero” Hye Sung of pro team Meta Athena charged out the gate with a barrage of punches that flattened more than half the enemy team. Sadly,…

The Longest Game Name On Steam, And Other Interesting Facts

We see stats about Steam all the time, but they’re usually pretty boring. Here, instead, are some weird and interesting ones about the most popular colours in screenshots, and how long game titles have gotten. Using data pulled from SteamSpy, developer Tim Garbos has crunched all kinds of data to come up with findings like…

Look At This Mercy Figure

Good Smile Company now has a third Overwatch Nendoroid to go along with those cute lil’ Meis and Tracers: this very smug Mercy. It’s out in January 2018, and will cost around $50. The little healing beam is a nice touch.

How To Redeem D&D‘s Worst Alignment, Which Is Obviously Lawful Good

Enter the tavern. Bite the plot hook. Go on your righteous journey. Kill the monsters. Fight the boss. Free the town. Rinse, repeat, and rejoice in those experience points. There you have it: the life of a lawful good Dungeons & Dragons character. Let’s face it. “Lawful good” in D&D is shorthand for “obedient and…

An Open World Game About Building The Best Workshop

A little bit of Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon, My Time at Portia is an open world, post-apocalyptic RPG where you manage a construction workshop. In My Time At Portia, which is available as an alpha on GameJolt, you can build and sell items to townspeople, collect ore, fight monsters, fly around in a jetpack,…

SimCity 4 Is Still Great

SimCity 4 is a spreadsheet that will never be balanced, but that’s what makes it so fun, even 14 years after release. Yesterday, an article about SimCity 4’s Network Addon Mod, a comprehensive mod for roads and traffic in SimCity 4, reached the front page of r/Games.”Not only has SimCity 4 survived, it has thrived…

50 Battlegrounds Players Band Together To Test The Game’s Limits

In PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, the only thing 50 players gathered in the same small space are supposed to do is kill each other. But with enough coordination, anything is possible. Exactly like in that one pivotal scene from The Hunger Games, DooM49‘s band of renegades refused to slaughter each other during a recent match, and instead…

New Switch Port Is Pulpy Trash, But I Dig It Anyway 

Originally released in 2015 as a mobile game, Implosion: Never Lose Hope is a futuristic hack and slash title now available on the Switch. It’s awkward to play, but it’s full of old school charm. Implosion follows the story of a mech pilot named Jake as he battles virus ridden zombies after an apocalyptic event…

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age: The Kotaku Review

One of the strangest features in Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, which comes out today, is called the gambit system. This system allows you to write out a sequence of if-then statements, like “if you see an enemy, then attack it” or “if your HP goes below 100%, then use a Potion.” You can…

Toy Time Plays A Combo Of Pokémon and Jenga Called Beasts Of Balance

Beasts of Balance is a game of balancing skills featuring stylized plastic animals and icons. It’s also a colorful mobile strategy game involving collecting and evolving fantastic hybrid animals. It’s how both of these elements come together that make it a game that’s hard to stop playing. Beasts of Balance comes in a big friendly…

The Best Part of Hearthstone Is Learning How to Play

You want to get into Hearthstone, but you’re scared. You hear the stories of intricate deck-building and elaborate mind games, and you wonder: Is there a 100-hour wall of learning, research, and abject failure standing between me and having a good time? Quite to the contrary, I would argue that the most fun part of…

I Swear Arms’ AI Must Be Cheating

I am very sure that the Arms AI is cheating, and I am not the only person who thinks so. I’m not saying this because losing to a game’s AI is a little embarrassing. Actually, Arms’ AI is remarkably robust. At higher levels, it is always one step ahead of me at every moment, much…

Touring Super Mario Odyssey‘s New Donk City

We recently played more Super Mario Odyssey and enjoyed the sights and sounds of New Donk City. If you want to learn about the city that never leaps, sit down to watch this informative travelogue before making a trip there when Odyssey releases on October 27th.  Transcript: If you’re looking to get away for a…

Splatoon’s Creepy Boss Sounds Are Back In The Sequel

Back in 2015, Splatoon’s low-key disturbing moments baffled everyone. Turns out, the sequel can be just as unsettling. I’ve been playing Splatoon 2 over the weekend, and while I’ll have more to say about how the game feels when our review drops, one big thing stood out to me after finishing the second boss battle:…