- Esports
Smash ‘God’ Drops Out Of Tournament Because His Controller Isn’t Properly Malfunctioning
Adam “Armada” Lindgren, considered one of the “five gods” of competitive Super Smash Bros. Melee, has dropped out of this weekend’s DreamHack Austin due to a controller that isn’t malfunctioning properly. Yes, you read that correctly. The obvious questionhere is why is a professional player—with the resources of an organization behind him—isn’t prepared with multiple…
By Eric Van Allen Published April 29, 2017 - Esports
The Weekend In Esports: Dota 2, DreamHack Austin, And Splatoon
A Brazilian Dota 2 team looks to make history in the Ukraine this weekend but one of the best teams in the game still stands in their way. With the League of Legends spring season behind us, the spotlight this weekend is on the Valve’s $3,000,000 Major in Kiev where the stage is still being…
By Ethan Gach Published April 29, 2017 - Esports
The Lowest Seed In Dota‘s Kiev Major Just Beat The Top Team
It’s not often you see upsets like the one that happened today in Kyiv, Ukraine, where the lowest seed of the tournament not only pushed the top seed to a game three, but eliminated them altogether. SG Esports is the South American qualifier team, and they hail from a region not traditionally known for strong…
By Eric Van Allen Published April 28, 2017 -
EsportsNot Even Excellent Outfits Can Save Overwatch Pros From Other Team’s Genji
KongDoo Panthera’s outfits are so good. While other Overwatch teams go with the standard “we wear jerseys basically all the time” look (aka “the Kevin Smith”), KongDoo’s players prefer to snazz it up. Last season they wore stylish dress shirts and suspenders. This season? Sailor uniforms It’s a heck of a fashion statement, which I…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 28, 2017 - Culture
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
Weekends are for going to sing karaoke for your friend’s birthday but never knowing the available songs because all you know is 90s punk rock, musical theater, and obscure hymns from the 1800s. Also, video games. I’ve been playing Sailaway, a sailing simulator that just came into early access. It uses real-time weather data, so…
By Riley MacLeod Published April 28, 2017 -
UncategorizedThe Lack Of Master Chief Was The Least Of Halo 5’s Campaign Problems
Video game sequels often fix the problems of their predecessors thanks to, among other things, the iterative advancements of technology. That’s on top of the fact that making creative work in the gaming medium is still an exercise in being an artistic pioneer. So you at least hope that the people making sequels know what…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 28, 2017 - Uncategorized
Nintendo Finally Says Goodbye To 3D
Few video game systems have had as strange a journey as Nintendo’s 3DS. The spunky portable console flopped, got a massive price cut, gradually built up a spectacular library of games, and received several bizarre (and confusing) hardware models throughout its six years on store shelves. And now, it’s ditching its biggest selling point. Farewell,…
By Jason Schreier Published April 28, 2017 -
UncategorizedBattlefield 1 Easter Egg Hunters Find Giant Shark
The Battlefield series is renowned for intricate easter eggs. In the latest, a series of clues added in the recent They Shall Not Pass DLC allows players to summon a terrifying giant shark from the depths. Before They Shall Not Pass, the game had alreadyhidden a secret dog taglocated by deciphering encrypted morse code message.…
By Heather Alexandra Published April 28, 2017 -
UncategorizedThe World of Pokémon Fan Games Has Become A Minefield
Some of the people who make Pokémon fan games are scared, if not a bit angry. They’ve been crafting amazing Pokémon games that rival the official releases for a decade, dodging lawsuits and relying on increasingly dated tools. It’s never been easy, but it’s also never been as stressful as it is today. Pokémon fan…
By Patricia Hernandez Published April 28, 2017 - Uncategorized
Try Not To Be So Greedy, Fire Emblem Heroes
This week, Fire Emblem Heroes added characters from the popular title Path of Radiance. But an additional banner with top tier characters raise the question: why don’t you slow the hell down? Fire Emblem Heroes is a mobile take on the popular strategy game series. I’m a big fan but it’s not perfect. The most…
By Heather Alexandra Published April 28, 2017 -
ReviewsMario 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…
By Mike Fahey Published April 28, 2017 - Uncategorized
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…
By Jason Schreier Published April 28, 2017 - Uncategorized
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…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 28, 2017 - Uncategorized
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…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published April 28, 2017 - Uncategorized
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…
By Mike Fahey Published April 28, 2017
