- Culture
No Man’s Sky Update Is Bringing Thousands Of Curious Players Back
Before the big “Foundation” update that surprise-launched this weekend, No Man’s Sky wasn’t in a great place. On Steam, the game’s concurrent player count hovered mostly between 200 and 500. It wasn’t even within spitting distance of Steam’s top 100 most-played games. What a difference a solid update (after months of silence, which drummed up…
By Nathan Grayson Published November 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
Fancy Board Game Will Probably Smash Kickstarter Records
A few years ago, there was a very successful Kickstarter campaign for a board game called Kingdom Death: Monster. This week, a new, improved version of the game hit the crowdfunding service, and in only a few days has raised over five million dollars The original game had two key appeals: it had a neat…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
Civilization V Fans Are Playing A Single Game Like An Actual Democracy
A group of Civilization players have banded together and formed something called Democraciv, where a whole bunch of humans work together to operate a single Civilization, some of them actually playing, the rest arguing and giving advice. Just like a real democracy, then. Or at least the old-fashioned ideal of one. Democraciv—currently playing Civilization V…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
Overwatch Player Reaches ‘Max’ Level After Six Months Of Non-Stop Play
Overwatch has a max level! Kinda. A Chinese account reached it a little while back, but they made judicious use of account-sharing, allowing a single account to level up for ungodly amounts of time each day. Now, finally, one player has done it all on his own. Per PVP Live, French player TaZzeRK just hit…
By Nathan Grayson Published November 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
The King Of Fighters XIV Update Makes The Game Less Ugly
On the top left we have a screenshot from the release version of The King of Fighters XIV, a game that transformed beautiful 2D characters into lifeless 3D husks. On the bottom right, a shot from the game’s 1.10 update, which is looking to add a little life back into the game. This is good.…
By Mike Fahey Published November 28, 2016 -
UncategorizedCraftsmen Forge Genji’s Glowing Sword From Overwatch
Overwatch’s Genji is the annoying buzz in your ear when you know a fly is in the room and can’t damn find it. But you have to admit—his weapon design is awesome. In a video posted today, weapon craftsmen Man At Arms hand-made Genji’s glowing, green katana sword and Shuriken. They’re the same guys who…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published November 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
Unconscious Dishonored 2 Enemies Who Look Like They Just Had A Sick Party
Ever since I played Metal Gear Solid 2 nearly half my life ago (shudders), my goal in stealth games has been the same: to knock people unconscious and then position their bodies so that they’ll wake up thinking, “What the shit was I even doing?” In Metal Gear Solid 2, that mainly consisted of me…
By Nathan Grayson Published November 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
Pokémon Go’s New Tracking System Still Bad For Rural Players
Pokémon Go will not stop fumbling its tracking system. With each new update has come a slew of problems so damning that it’s a wonder people are still out there, tracking the little beasts with their phones. Last week, Niantic expanded Pokémon Go’s newly-updated “Nearby” feature to areas outside of San Francisco, where the company…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published November 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
Pokémon Sun And Moon Player Beats Elite Four With Just A Magikarp
It’s an accepted fact that Magikarp is a useless Pokémon until you evolve them into Gyrados. But one player managed to beat Sun and Moon Elite Four with nothing but the flailing fish. How did Japanese twitter user Nanako_Official accomplish this feat? Patience, grinding and a deep knowledge of Pokémon mechanics. While the Magikarp was…
By Gita Jackson Published November 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
No Man’s Sky‘s New Update Makes The Game Much More Grounded
No Man’s Sky is getting better. The game that left so many people feeling burned back in August may still not live up to the prior months of hype, but yesterday’s patch makes big changes that anchor the game by finally allowing players to build a home among the cosmos. When No Man’s Sky came…
By Kirk Hamilton Published November 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
Hearthstone‘s Mean Streets Of Gadgetzan Out Thursday
In a live stream today, Blizzard revealed the release date for Hearthstone’s fourth expansion, Mean Streets of Gadgetzan. The new expansion will arrive on Thursday, December 1st. Mean Streets of Gadgetzan will add 132 new cards to the game as players explore the seedy port city of Gadgetzan. Excited fans and collectors can pre-purchase packs…
By Heather Alexandra Published November 28, 2016 - Culture
Changing Weather Puts New Spin On Classic Counter-Strike Maps
Counter-Strike’s best maps are finely tuned staging grounds for battles of tactics, will, and hair-trigger reflexes. A slight change can have a tremendous impact on how they play. Even something as seemingly insignificant as the weather, as this mod demonstrates. Lewis Palfrey and Luke Millanta’s Changing Weather Collection (via Eurogamer) adds a slew of weather…
By Nathan Grayson Published November 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
Final Fantasy VI Once Had A Character Named Angela (And Other Little-Known Facts)
It’s Final Fantasy XV week, which means that it’s the perfect time to talk about Final Fantasy VI—especially in the wake of a bunch of fun trivia that’s been unearthed thanks to old interviews. Did you know, for example, that Cyan was meant to have an older “sister”-type role model named Angela? Over the weekend, the…
By Jason Schreier Published November 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
A Closer Look At Dishonored 2’s Best Level
Dishonored 2 lives and dies by its level design. Tricky guard patrols and magical abilities don’t mean much without a good playground to sneak around in. Luckily, the game has one of the best levels in recent memory: the transforming Clockwork Mansion. Playing as either Corvo or Emily, the player is tasked with disposing of…
By Heather Alexandra Published November 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
Pokémon Sun and Moon Hide A Big Secret In The Poke Pelago Mini Game
Anyone who has played Pokémon Sun and Moon has probably visited that secluded collection of islands known as Poke Pelago. You can send your monsters to Poke Pelago to train, find items, and just chill out. Poke Pelago is also the place that quietly ties the entire story in Sun and Moon together. Maybe you…
By Patricia Hernandez Published November 28, 2016 - Culture
What Did Black Friday Make You Buy? 2016 Edition
Once again I managed to make it through Black Friday sales without buying more than one new television set, a lovely 43-inch 4K for $199 that fits perfectly on the console side of my desk. How’d the rest of you fare? This year I ventured out on Black Friday, by which I mean Thursday while…
By Mike Fahey Published November 28, 2016 - Reviews
Final Fantasy XV: The Kotaku Review
You’re four years old, maybe five. Your parents got one of those Nintendos that everyone’s been raving about, along with a brand new game. A role-playing game. Other Nintendo games are good, sure, but this one’s on another level, transporting you to a world full of mages, ogres, and all sorts of incredible sights and…
By Jason Schreier Published November 28, 2016 - Culture
I SAID NO HAM, THANK YOU
Hazem Ameenis a concept artist and illustrator based in Dubai. You can see more of Hazem’s work at his ArtStation page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 28, 2016