Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: The Kotaku Review

Mario Kart 8 is an excellent game. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is even better. Normally in a situation where a game we’ve reviewed in the past gets an updated version on a new console, we’d simply republish the original review with some notes on any significant differences. The Mario Kart 8 situation is a little…

Debugging A Massive RPG Like Skyrim Means Leaving Some Bugs In

When a company like Bethesda is trying to debug a massive game like Skyrim, where do they even start? Skyrim lead programmer Brett Douville tackled that question (and much more) on this week’s episode of Kotaku Splitscreen Here’s an excerpt from our conversation: Jason Schreier: Something that I bet is a really interesting topic of…

GTA IV’s Slow Opening Hours Were Also Some Of Its Best

You can go several hours in Grand Theft Auto IV before you get a gun. Soon after that, you’re blasting your way through shootouts with SWAT teams. But for those first few hours, you’re just some guy in Brooklyn, trying to make a new life. I’ve been replaying GTA IV, which came out nine years…

Magic: The Gathering Issues Rare Emergency Card Ban

Magic: The Gathering has issued a rare emergency card ban effective today. One card in a popular but dramatically overpowered two-card combo is now illegal in Standard play. Publisher Wizards of the Coast announced Felidar Guardian’s emergency ban two days after they put out their April “Banned and Restricted” cards list, prompting players to raise…

Robot Unicorn Attack Isn’t Screwing Around This Time

Since the release of the 2010 original, Adult Swim’s unicorn runner has been delighting players with fanciful flights over fantastic dreamscapes to the turn of Erasure’s “Always.” Robot Unicorn Attack Forever takes that base and builds a collectible robot gacha game on top. When you first start playing Robot Unicorn Attack Forever, available as a…

Brazilian League Player Suspended After Tweeting Racist Jokes

Red Canids were set to be a team to watch in League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational, which kicks off today, but now they’re in the spotlight for an entirely different reason. After posting a racist joke to Twitter, Felipe “YoDa” Noronha has been served with a three-game suspension, and a $2,000 fine. Noronha made several…

Deaf Gamer Founds A Fighting Games Team For Players Like Him

Learning fighting games is hard enough, even with YouTube tutorials, commentators’ insight during pro tournaments, and local meet-ups. But what if you literally could not hear any of those things? That’s the case for Chris “Phoenix” Robinson, a deaf fighting game player whose most recent Twitch streams feature him fighting opponents online at Guilty Gear…

Razer Blackwidow Chroma V2 Yellow Review: More Gaming, Less Typing

With the debut of Razer’s new linear yellow keyboard switches, one of the gaming-est keyboards going gets a lot gamier. It’s a board for playing, not so much for typing. Razer’s Blackwidow line has been carving out spots in best mechanical gaming keyboard lists for years now. And why not? It’s got a striking look,…

Battle Royale Esports Are Still A Work In Progress

A week ago, a team won a six-figure esports competition through sheer patience. Obey Gaming, a team competing in H1Z1 King Of The Kill, orchestrated their strategy around not starting fights, opting to wait patiently on the sidelines as the Battle Royale-esque game of survival and slaughter played out. This patience would not only lead…

Dude Says He Picked Kpop Over Esports

Quick! Which would you rather be, a Kpop star or a gaming pro? Wanna-be idol Choi Dong Ha is choosing music. Choi is appearing on reality music show Produce 101 Season 2. According to mainstream news sites Joongang Daily and Insight, he claims to have received offers to become a gaming pro after apparently ranking…

Sony Is Not Messing Around With This Dragon Quest XI PS4

New Dragon Quest games are always big deals in Japan. And big deals need special edition hardware like this. Sony is calling it the “PlayStation 4 Dragon Quest Edition.” The console, which comes with a 1TB HDD, and its controller are covered in DQ As 4Gamer reports, it even comes in a special box! Oh,…

Anime Paint Jobs For Gundam Models

What’s better than regular paint jobs for Gundam models? Anime ones! Kotaku previously introduced this style of painting (here and here), which makes three-dimensional Gundam models look like flat animated images. Twitter user Kyo is a master at it. For example, you start with an unpainted Gundam model. And then… Cool, huh? Have a look…

The First Special Edition Nintendo 2DS XL Is Beautiful 

The 2DS XL was just revealed. But that isn’t stopping Nintendo from announcing the new iteration’s first special edition: a Dragon Quest Metallic Slime 2DS. Just look at it! So lovely. Priced at 22,480 yen (US$201), the handheld comes bundled with Dragon Quest XI and will be released on July 29 in Japan. No word…

The Top. Mt. Fuji, Japan. By Ces Chavez. 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! 

Buggy D.Va Is Temporarily Unplayable In Overwatch  (Update: She’s Back!)

Blizzard announced that due to an Overwatch bug, D.Va has been removed from the game for the time being. UPDATE April 28 – 2:50am: Blizzard announced she’s returned to the game: Original story continues below. This message popped up in Overwatch, surprising players. A short tweet also appeared on Blizzard Entertainment’s official Twitter: Over on…

NFL Draft Pick Excited To Spend His Cash On A Gaming PC

Jonathan Allen just got picked by Washington at #17 in the NFL draft, guaranteeing him a big paycheck. Which he is most excited to spend on…something that can play Total War

Nintendo Announces The New 2DS XL

Just because the Switch can go places doesn’t mean Nintendo is done announcing mobile hardware. Meet the New 2DS XL. It’ll be out in July 28 (the same day as Hey Pikmin and Miitopia) in the US and will retail for $150. And it looks…really nice. If this is how the 3DS line goes out,…