-
Kotaku EastJapanStory of Seasons Producer Writes An Apology To Fans Over Bugs, Glitches, And Loading Times
When Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town was released last month in Japan, fans complained of long load times, bugs, and glitches. Producer Dai Takemura addressed these issues on the game’s official blog and offers his apology. On Twitter in Japan, the game was being described as “load hell”, with numerous load screens, some…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 3, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanSquare Enix Launches Official Final Fantasy XIV Masks
Merchandising! Square Enix loves to do it. And with lots of people wearing masks in Japan, the Tokyo-based game maker saw an opportunity. Update March 3 – 11:40am: As one Kotaku reader points out, these masks are also available through the North American website. As Famitsu reports, pre-orders for Final Fantasy XIV masks kicked off…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 3, 2021 -
CultureIt’s Only 243 Days Until Halloween
Abigail Larson is a character designer at Netflix who has also worked on books, games and even tarot cards. She’s also currently got a book up on Kickstarter called Crimson, which collects a load of her past horror-themed work in a beautiful hardcover tome. The images you’re seeing below are all taken from that book,…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2021 -
CulturePS2 Emulation Gets Even Nicer With Custom Textures
PCSX2 has long been a fantastic PS2 emulator, but a recent advance has made it all the more appealing for anyone playing on a PC: the ability to swap textures in games While the famous Dolphin emulator for the GameCube has long supported this feature, PCSX2 has only just brought it in, and it’ll allow…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2021 -
CultureCrusader Kings III Is Getting Very Into Writing Poetry
Crusader Kings III has always had poetry—some romance paths would even adjust the quality depending on the skill of your pursuer—but the game is about to go all in on it, adding it as a character trait and even creating a generator that will write your ruler’s musings for you. The game’s upcoming 1.3 patch…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsAn Ode To My Favorite Flavor Texts
More than the set piece battle or the final showdown between hero and villain, it’s the quieter, smaller moments in video games that get me. In some games, those tiny moments can be a sudden expression on a character’s face or a short piece of dialogue from an inconsequential scene. But more often than not,…
By Ash Parrish Published March 2, 2021 -
CultureCosplayComic-Con 2021 Has Been Cancelled
There was no in-person Comic-Con in 2020, and there won’t be one in 2021 either after the show’s organisers announced a decision to “postpone” it until 2022. That’s…an odd use of the word, since the Comic-Con in 2022 would simply be the 2022 Comic-Con, but maybe there’s legal wrangling involved in the exact language employed…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2021 -
CultureTwitchTwitch’s First Transparency Report Is A Start, But Streamers Want More
Today, Twitch released its first-ever transparency report, a lengthy, stat-based look at the platform’s safety initiatives over the past year. It contains some interesting, albeit granular, information about Twitch’s efforts to cut down on hateful conduct, sexual harassment, and even terrorist propaganda. But it also fails to clear the haze from the question that has…
By Nathan Grayson Published March 2, 2021 -
Tips & GuidesHow To Beat Bravely Default 2’s Brutal Boss Battles
Bravely Default 2, the new Nintendo Switch game about watching numbers go up, isn’t easy. The boss fights in particular are guaranteed to mess up your day. If you’ve been playing the game since it launched last week, you’ve likely found yourself banging your head against a wall on more than one occasion. Yes, in…
By Ari Notis Published March 2, 2021 -
CultureFinal Fantasy Creator’s New JRPG Lets You Procrastinate With Its Random Encounters
Fantasian, the next game from Mistwalker, the studio founded by Final Fantasy creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi, is coming to Apple Aracde later this year. Now we’ve a new trailer finally showing off gameplay of the diorama-based JRPG, including its unique take on random encounters, called the “Dimengeon system.” In classic JRPGs, like the ones Sakaguchi made…
By Ethan Gach Published March 2, 2021 -
CultureEpic Games Buys Fall Guys Studio
Epic Games has bought Mediatonic, maker of last year’s hit battle royale Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, the company announced today According to Epic, “gameplay isn’t changing” and the company will continue to support Fall Guys “across platforms,” including PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch. “Your gameplay isn’t changing and neither is our mission to bring Fall…
By Ethan Gach Published March 2, 2021 -
OpinionSorry PS5, Xbox Series X Has Unexpectedly Become My Preferred Console
I started this new generation of game consoles with the expectation that I would be playing most games on the PS5, like how I played most stuff on PS4 last gen. But nearly five months later, I’m spending most of my time on the Xbox Series X and now I feel bad, like I’m ignoring…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 2, 2021 -
CulturePC Developer Issues Takedown Notice Against Its Own Game, Claims Publisher Pirated It
The Sinking City developer Frogwares has publicly accused former publisher Nacon of pirating the Lovecraftian adventure game for its recent re-release on Steam, the arrival of which put the Ukrainian studio in the weird position of asking potential customers not to purchase its own game last week. UPDATE 8:30pm – Valve has told Vice that…
By Ian Walker Published March 2, 2021 -
OpinionTrans Inclusion Means More Than Just Adding Potential Gender Options To Hogwarts Legacy
Upcoming Harry Potter game Hogwarts Legacy will feature some customization options related to gender, according to a report by Bloomberg. It’s a step toward trans inclusion in a game mired in controversy, even if it still shows the limitations of video games’ handling of trans people. Hogwarts Legacy players will reportedly be able to choose…
By Riley MacLeod Published March 2, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryBravely Default 2’s Level Up Screen Is So Satisfying
Sixty hours later I still love watching these numbers go up. Like many other JRPGs, Bravely Default II is extremely long and extremely grindy, but the game is also full of small touches that occasionally punctuate the tedium with joy. One of those is the level up screen. After killing a mob of enemies you…
By Ethan Gach Published March 2, 2021 -
CultureAliens: Fireteam Pits Colonial Marines Against The Xenomorph Horde This Summer
Coming summer 2021 to Xboxes, PlayStations, and Steam from Cold Iron Studios, Aliens: Fireteam is a co-op survival shooter set 23 years after the original Alien trilogy. Turns out those pesky H.R. Giger critters are still a huge problem, and it’s up to the Colonial Marines to feed them. Or exterminate them, I guess. My…
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2021 -
CulturePlayStation Store Will Stop Selling Movies Nobody Bought
Have you ever bought a movie or TV show through the PlayStation Store? Me neither. As a result, Sony announced today it will remove them, starting August 31, 2021. “We’ve seen tremendous growth from PlayStation fans using subscription-based and ad-based entertainment streaming services on our consoles,” Sony wrote in a post over on the PlayStation…
By Ethan Gach Published March 2, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanThe Wii U Gets A New System Update Two And A Half Years Later
Today in Japan, Nintendo released a new system update for the Wii U. The last firmware, 5.5.3, was released in early September 2018. Nintendo of America detailed the previous update as fixing the following: Improvements to system stability and usability Further improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments have been made to enhance…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2021
