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CultureModders Fix Valheim‘s Terrible Inventory, Odin Be Praised
Valheim rules. Exploring is fun, building is fun, kiting trolls around islands while crying quietly to yourself as you tap dance on the razor’s edge of death is fun. But nothing is perfect, especially not early access games. So I don’t think we need to kid ourselves here: Valheim’s inventory sucks ass. Praise be to…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 24, 2021 -
CultureBioWare Says It’s Giving Up On Anthem
Further development on Anthem has been canceled, BioWare Austin studio director Christian Dailey announced today. “I know this will be disappointing to the community of Anthem players who have been excited to see the improvements we’ve been working on,” Dailey wrote. “It’s also disappointing for the team who were doing brilliant work. And for me…
By Ian Walker Published February 24, 2021 -
CultureIllinois Rep Becomes 723,556th Lawmaker To Threaten Banning Violent Video Games
Another year, another attempt to ban the sale of violent video games. House Bill 3531 is the brainchild of Illinois State representative Marcus Evans, Jr. and is actually an amendment to a statute passed in 2005 that already bans the sale of violent video games to minors. HB3531’s proposed changes would instead ban the sale…
By Ash Parrish Published February 24, 2021 -
CulturePokémon Go Devs Have Punished Over 5 Million Cheaters Since 2020
Niantic, the studio behind augmented reality mobile games like Pokémon Go, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, and Ingress, has reportedly punished over 5 million cheaters since the beginning of 2020, with over 1 million players receiving permanent bans across the three games. “We are committed to ensuring fair gameplay across our game portfolio,” Niantic’s blog post…
By Ian Walker Published February 24, 2021 -
CultureCyberpunk 2077‘s Next Big Patch Delayed Following Cyber Attack
The next major patch for Cyberpunk 2077 has been delayed to an unspecified date in March, CD Projekt Red announced in a tweet today, citing the recent cyber attack against the company as a reason for the delay. “While we dearly wanted to deliver Patch 1.2 for Cyberpunk 2077 in the timespan we detailed previously,…
By Ari Notis Published February 24, 2021 -
CultureStar Wars: Republic Commando Comes To PS4 And Switch Over A Decade Later
Tactical first-person shooter Star Wars Republic Commando is finally coming to other platforms, port studio Aspyr Media announced today. Originally released on PC and Xbox, the Clone Wars-era game will launch on PS4 and Switch on April 6. The new port will be $15 and only include the single-player campaign, which is a shame for…
By Ethan Gach Published February 24, 2021 -
CultureMorning MusicI Hope Halo Infinite Sounds Half As Great As Ori And The Will Of The Wisps
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s ongoing hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today, let’s listen to the soundtrack for one of last year’s best games: Ori and the Will of the Wisps, the ethereal platformer from Moon Studios. Plenty of games have terrific music. (See: Exhibits A through…
By Ari Notis Published February 24, 2021 -
CultureFinal Fantasy XVI Is Taking Steps For Players Who Don’t Like Action Gameplay
During a recent radio interview, producer Naoki Yoshida was asked about Final Fantasy XVI. Despite some earlier wariness about spilling any beans, he revealed that following the very action-focused trailer, they’re developing a mode for people who prefer to focus on story. Previously, Yoshida has mentioned that Square Enix didn’t want to say “something that’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 24, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanNSFW Mousepad Gets A Surprising Number Of Pre-Orders
Late last year, a mouse pad for the character Kashino from browser game Azur Lane was announced. This was no ordinary mouse pad. Note: This article contains content some readers might find objectionable. For well over a decade now, there have been mouse pads featuring characters’ chests (or even butts!), resulting in what’s known as…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 24, 2021 -
CultureTrack: One Room | Artist: Yonige | Album: Girls Like Girls
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 24, 2021 -
CultureMore PC Games Get Magical DLSS Support
Two more PC games have gotten DLSS support—a form of modern sorcery—from Nvidia, meaning anyone with a card that supports the tech will now be getting much better performance. Those games are Nioh 2 (which did not launch in the best shape) and Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, which should both be getting framerate boosts…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureStardew Valley Is Now A Co-Op Board Game
For the past two years, designers Eric Barone and Cole Medeiros—who met while playing Stardew Valley online—have been working on turning the idyllic video game into something folks can play on a table. Their work is now done, and in addition to announcing the board game, they’ve also announced that it’s available for purchase, right…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureGameStop Exec Leaves With $2.8 Million Severance
GameStop chief financial officer Jim Bell is set to resign from his position on March 26, the video game retailer announced today. He’ll do so $2.8 million richer thanks to a lucrative severance bonus. According to SEC filings first reported by IGN, the contract Bell signed with GameStop in 2019 affords him a severance bonus…
By Ian Walker Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureYakuza’s Producer Would Like To Bring Its 17th & 19th Century Spinoffs To The West
While Sega has eventually managed to bring all the main Yakuza games to the West, we’ve still never gotten the series’ two historical spinoffs, Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! and Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! Set in the 17th and 19th centuries respectively, these games take the core cast and premise of the Yakuza series and transplant…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryPersona 5 Strikers’ Menus Are As Vibrantly Alive As Its Cast
Video game menus are like assholes—every game has them and more often than not, they stink. They are often the least-pretty, least splashy part of an otherwise beautiful game, partly because they aren’t central to gameplay (unless it’s Crusader Kings or something). But Persona 5 Strikers shows us a world in which menus do not…
By Ash Parrish Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryA God Damn Boar Sank My Boat
Many survival games feature animals you can hunt for crafting supplies and sustenance. Only in Valheim do they get revenge. Nautical revenge. My friends and I have had some good times in the surprise-hit survival game. We’re making bronze armor. We’re in hot pursuit of the game’s second major boss, The Elder. Last night, I…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsFinal Fantasy Got It Right With Two Black Fathers
Lately, dads have become the video game industry’s pet trope. There are a ton of games that have won a lot of awards about trying, failing, and in very few cases, succeeding at being a dad. But that trend largely excludes Black fathers (with one extremely notable exception), since the video game industry generally ignores…
By Ash Parrish Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureBlade & Soul Revolution Launches Worldwide Next Week
NCSoft’s martial arts epic Blade & Soul is one of my favorite massively-multiplayer online role-playing games in recent memory. Launching March 4 for iOS and Android, Blade & Soul Revolution is the free-to-play mobile adaptation of the PC game. And half of you left. I really should save the free-to-play bit for after the jump.…
By Mike Fahey Published February 23, 2021
