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CultureSplitscreenVideo Game Spoilers Are Good, Actually
For the most part, the internet is a screaming void where nobody can agree on anything—not even what to scream about. But there is one unspoken rule that a remarkably large number of people hold sacred: no spoilers. Is that for the best, though, or is it limiting our ability to talk about games (and…
By Nathan Grayson Published January 15, 2021 -
EsportsOverwatch League Announces 2021 Season Details
With around three months to go until Overwatch League Opening Day (for which we still don’t have a firm date), the League has released a new video detailing how the OWL 2021 season will play out. Here’s a look at what to expect. Heck Yeah Tournaments! For the entirety of the first and second seasons,…
By Ash Parrish Published January 15, 2021 -
CultureTwitchTwitch’s Rust Boom Is The Streamer Crossover Event Of The Century
There is no predicting which game Twitch will catapult into the spotlight next. Last year, it was Among Us, a previously obscure party game about deception. Now, it’s Rust, a survival game that first came out in 2013, whose heyday was thought to have long since passed. These seemingly random flavors of the month have…
By Nathan Grayson Published January 15, 2021 -
CultureDeveloper Delivers Expletive-Filled But Correct Rant About Xbox Series X’s Dumb Name
Game director Josef Fares is known for his penchant for saying whatever’s on his mind unfiltered. Also cursing a lot. “Fuck the Oscars,” he notably said back during the 2017 Game Awards. Now he’s back, this time roasting the Xbox Series X/S’s mind-numbing naming conventions. In an interview over at IGN, Fares was asked about…
By Ethan Gach Published January 15, 2021 -
CultureCapcom has announced that due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic the company has canceled the upcoming Capcom Cup and Steet Fighter League World Championship. Instead, the publisher will be holding an online season final in February. All players who won an online premier will be invited to participate.
By Zack Zwiezen Published January 15, 2021 -
CultureSony Scrubs Release Dates From Trailer Fine Print
Sony uploaded a video earlier this week that included some new release date info about some upcoming games buried in some fine print text. Now, a part of that video wasuploaded to YouTube today but with all that info removed. The original and full video of a showcase for the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show was…
By Zack Zwiezen Published January 15, 2021 -
The BestsLet’s Rank (A Few) Sonic Games
There are a lot of Sonic games. There aren’t too many Sonic games because one can never get enough of the blue streak, but in order to keep this list from spiraling out of control I created a few ground rules. 1. It must be a platformer. Sorry Sonic Team Racing and Sonic Spinball, we…
By Ash Parrish Published January 15, 2021 -
CultureAxiom Verge Gets ‘Sophisticated’ Randomizer Mode Six Years After Launch
Axiom Verge, the bespoke Metroid-like developed solely by indie designer Thomas Happ, is still getting new content long after it originally came out. A new update will make the game feel like new every time you play by randomizing the order in which you get new weapons and unlock new areas. Currently available on the…
By Ethan Gach Published January 15, 2021 -
CultureWhat Are You Playing This Weekend?
The weekend is for processing what happened last week and steeling ourselves for what’s going to happen next week. Video games are the perfect accompaniment to both of these activities. What is this adorable 16-bit dungeon crawler, you ask? Why it’s the third game in Cornfox & Brothers’ Zelda-inspired Oceanhorn series, Oceanhorn: Chronos Dungeon. Set…
By Mike Fahey Published January 15, 2021 -
ReviewsToysCyberpunk Anime Keanu Figure Is Just Happy To Be Here
Cyberpunk 2077 has had some problems, sure, but that doesn’t mean people don’t want adorable toys. Good Smile Company’s Nendoroid Johnny Silverhand figure’s got that big, soulful, Keanu Reeves energy in a tiny, big-headed package. I tell you, I’m glad one of the accessories this $50 Mr. Silverhand figure comes with is a pair of…
By Mike Fahey Published January 15, 2021 -
CultureDestiny 2 Will Bring Loot Back To The Moon Next Season
The moon was finally added to Destiny 2 back in 2019, but last year’s Beyond Light update made its loot obsolete. Bungie plans to fix that next season by re-issuing some of its old gear with a new infusion cap in the studio’s ongoing dance to try to get the game’s progression just right. Bungie…
By Ethan Gach Published January 15, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsTest Your Zombie Survival Skills With Cold War’s New Cranked Mode
Killing zombies is the best part about Black Ops Cold War’s mid-season update for Season One. New maps and modes were added on January 14, including a new large-scale Fireteam map, a standard 6v6 multiplayer mode called “Dropkick,” and a Cranked mode for Zombies. Overall, I feel a little underwhelmed by this content drop. The…
By S.E. Doster Published January 15, 2021 -
Kotaku EastSouth KoreaFor A Bootleg Pokémon Game, This Looked Pretty Good
This week, a bootleg Pokémon game called Pocket Trainer DX was finally pulled from the Google Play store. It featured Pokémon characters and art, and for a totally unofficial app, it didn’t look too shabby. The Korean language game, created by one Fanya Game Ltd, was released on January 6 and featured art from the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 15, 2021 -
CultureSunrise in South Texas. Ranchito Los Coyotillos, Starr Co., Texas. By Chris Lopez | Instagram | Flickr
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 15, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsControlling Mario Kart And Smash Bros. With An Exercise Bike Looks Like Fun/Hell
Look, man, I get the idea here, but I am playing video games to not exercise, not to exercise. But I admire the ingenuity on display, and can fully appreciate that my steadfast determination to die slowly in this husk of a body may not be everyone’s approach to health and fitness. The idea of…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 14, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsGoldeneye Meets Mario In The Perfect Nintendo 64 Game
This is a custom Goldeneye map and mod by StupidMarioBros1Fan that turns Peach’s Castle into what is essentially a murderhouse. So much murder. It’s funny, when Mario jumps on these guys to remove them it’s fine, but when you shoot them in the face with a silenced pistol it’s…deeply unsettling? If you ahem know how…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 14, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsASUS’ CES Showcase Is A Free Steam Game
Due to the ongoing global pandemic, this year’s Consumer Electronics Show is a completely online affair. Gaming hardware maker ASUS takes the show’s digital format to the extreme with ROG Citadel XV, a free download on Steam that’s one (small) part first-person shooter, one part fancy virtual hardware showroom. ROG stands for Republic of Gamers,…
By Mike Fahey Published January 14, 2021 -
CultureFighting Game Players Create Community-Wide Code Of Conduct
Members of the fighting game community recently unveiled a code of conduct for the competitive scene. Much like a similar (and, as of December 2020, disbanded) project in the Smash community, the document is a list of common-sense rules that includes a firm stance against several forms of abuse and harassment, hygiene standards, and procedures…
By Ian Walker Published January 14, 2021