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  The Bests

  The Best Free Games Of 2021

  From grand open-world adventures to murder mystery dating sims, it’s been a good year for free-to-play games

  By Sisi Jiang Published December 16, 2021
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  OpinionImpressions

  GTA Online’s Dr. Dre Update Is Good, But The Old Jank Still Irritates

  The return of GTA V’s Franklin and Lamar is fun, when you can actually play it

  By Zack Zwiezen Published December 16, 2021
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  ReviewsYear in Review

  The Best Video Game Surprises Of 2021

  During a downer of a year, some actually good stuff happened

  By Ari Notis Published December 16, 2021
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  Tips & Guides

  Where To Find Halo Infinite’s Funniest Skull

  The IWHBYD skull is a Halo classic, and it’s not too hard to track down in Infinite

  By Ari Notis Published December 16, 2021
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  Kotaku EastJapan

  Billionaire Goes To Space And Reviews A Manga

  Yusaku Maezawa has been uploading YouTube clips from the International Space Station

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 16, 2021
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  CultureNews

  Endwalker Is So Popular That Square Enix Suspended FFXIV‘s Sales

  This time, Square Enix is also pulling all new ads for Final Fantasy XIV

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 16, 2021
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  CultureNews

  Bungie’s HR Head Steps Down, Had Reported Executive For Abuse

  It follows a report last week detailing a myriad of problems at the studio

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 15, 2021
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  CultureFine Art

  The Wandering Swordsman

  Tonight's Fine Art is looking at the work of Ami Thompson

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 15, 2021
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  CultureNews

  Video Game Publisher Wants To Buy Board Game Giant Asmodee For Over $3 Billion

  The Embracer Group sure do like buying other companies

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 15, 2021
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  CultureNews

  Halo Infinite Fans Don’t Wanna Shell Out $18 For A Set Of Old Armor

  It’s not just the HAZOP’s price tag—it’s the repurposing of legacy armor that’s typically free

  By Ari Notis Published December 15, 2021
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  CultureOdds and Ends

  Lamar Is Still Roasting Franklin In New GTA Online Missions

  While the rest of the world has moved on from 2013, Lamar still has some issues to work through

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 15, 2021
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  CultureOdds and Ends

  Modders Hack Elden Ring Demo, Sprinkle In Some GTA San Andreas

  CJ was last seen wandering around the Lands Between with a huge sword

  By Sisi Jiang Published December 15, 2021
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  ReviewsYear in Review

  The PlayStation 5 Got Some Great Games In 2021 But Not Much Else

  Games like Ratchet and Returnal are terrific but Sony's PS5 could use some more bells, whistles

  By Mike Fahey Published December 15, 2021
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  ReviewsYear in Review

  The Ten Biggest Kotaku Posts Of 2021

  GTA news, Animal Crossing porn, and upheaval at Activision Blizzard were among the forces that shaped this year

  By Carolyn Petit Published December 15, 2021
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  CultureNews

  Original Splinter Cell Being Remade By Far Cry 6 Devs

  It’s in the early stages of development, and Ubisoft Toronto is currently hiring

  By Levi Winslow Published December 15, 2021
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  CultureNews

  Bob Ross Died Fighting Profit-Driven Vultures Only For Them To Turn Him Into A Funko Pop NFT

  The Joy of Painting has unfortunately become the Joy of Profiting

  By Levi Winslow Published December 15, 2021
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  CultureNews

  Everything Shown At Today’s Nintendo Indie Direct

  Sorry, no news about Hollow Knight: Silksong today, but at least Chicory comes to Switch

  By Ari Notis Published December 15, 2021
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  CultureNews

  S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Wants To Turn You Into An NFT, For Some Reason

  Developer GSC Game World plans to auction off the option to become an NPC in the dour shooter

  By Ari Notis Published December 15, 2021
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  CultureNews

  Indie Studio Forms First Video Game Union In The Country

  A new union at the makers of Beast Breaker even includes contract workers

  By Ethan Gach Published December 15, 2021
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  The Bests

  The Best Video Games Of 2021 So Far

  Despite the [waves hands], 2021 has produced killer games like Hitman 3 and Death's Door

  Kotaku Staff Published December 15, 2021