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CultureMario Kart Live: Home Circuit Looks Like Fun If You Have The Space (And Money) For It
Earlier this week Nintendo let me preview its upcoming attempt to graft Mario Kart onto remote control cars through augmented reality. It’s called Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, and it looks like a lot of fun. It also looks very niche. Because of the ongoing pandemic I didn’t actually get to play Mario Kart Live:…
By Ethan Gach Published October 1, 2020 -
CultureTop Mod Site Bans All U.S. Political Mods For Rest Of The Year
Mods come in all shapes and sizes. Some turn you into Shrek. Others turn your enemies into Shrek. A few add Donkey, but they’re (sadly) rarer. There are also political mods. Or at least, on top mod site Nexus Mods, there were. Now they’re banned until at least early next year. The site announced its…
By Nathan Grayson Published October 1, 2020 -
CultureOdds and EndsWhy Everyone’s Horny For Hades
Hades is perhaps one of 2020’s games of the year. It’s an excellent roguelite, with an amazing story and addictive gameplay. But there’s another big reason why Hades is seeing such a massively positive response: Everyone is so friggin’ hot! Take main character Prince Zagreus, for example. I knew I was in trouble the moment…
By Ash Parrish Published October 1, 2020 -
CultureWorld of Warcraft: Shadowlands Delayed, Pre-Patch Expected October 13th
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands has been delayed. Announced in a blog post, World of Warcraft executive producer John Hight cites the need for “additional polish,” and the strain of working from home during the covid-19 crisis, as the reasons for delay. “Blizzard has a commitment to quality,” Hight writes. “We believe Shadowlands will be something…
By Ash Parrish Published October 1, 2020 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryGenshin Impact Gets A Lot Better After The Lengthy First Quest
Genshin Impact, a free-to-play totally-not-Zelda game that came out this week for PC, PS4, and mobile, starts slow but quickly picks up the pace. If you’re just starting out and aren’t immediately gripped, that’s fair, but don’t throw in the towel just yet. Stick with it through the first, lengthy prologue quest. Yes, it’s a…
By Ari Notis Published October 1, 2020 -
CultureTwitchStreamers Concerned Twitch’s New Unban Request Feature Will Just Lead To More Harassment
Fact: No chat user in the history of Twitch has ever believed they were justly banned. But generally speaking, a streamer or moderator did, in fact, ban them for a reason. Despite this, Twitch has introduced a new feature that allows viewers to appeal their bans and get a new lease on their life of…
By Nathan Grayson Published October 1, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsSuper Mario Bros 35‘s Novelty Doesn’t Last Long
Super Mario Bros. 35 is an interesting social experiment: Pit 35 players against one another in a contest for survival while playing through classic Super Mario Bros. levels. Unfortunately its charm is already wearing thin. Out today on Switch for players with a paid subscription to Switch Online, Super Mario Bros. 35 borrows the basic…
By Ethan Gach Published October 1, 2020 -
CultureOdds and EndsPlease, For The Love Of God, Let Masahiro Sakurai Rest
So…Steve in Smash Bros. Ultimate, huh? Great. I have no dog in this Smash Bros. fight—while I don’t hate that Steve was announced, I was personally hoping for Overwatch hero Tracer, especially after this cryptic tweet from the Overwatch League a few days ago. Whatever your thoughts are on Steve, what I truly hope is…
By Ash Parrish Published October 1, 2020 -
CultureApex Legends Is Getting Cross-Play On October 6
PS4, Xbox One and PC players of Apex Legends will soon be able to shoot and ping together, development studio Respawn Entertainment and publisher EA announced today. Cross-play will be offered starting October 6 and will be enabled by default on all platforms. Players will be able to opt-out of cross-play if they wish. Respawn…
By Zack Zwiezen Published October 1, 2020 -
Tips & GuidesEverything You Need To Know About Hades’ Endgame
Hades doesn’t really start until you beat it. In many roguelikes, you’re encouraged to play through the game ad infinitum. Hades is no different. Once you beat the final boss (well, for the first time), a new gameplay mechanic opens up, and the game fundamentally changes. After you take down Hades, you’re soon sent right…
By Ari Notis Published October 1, 2020 -
CultureSmash Bros. Ultimate‘s Next Fighters Are Steve And Alex From Minecraft
Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai announced today during a brief video that Steve from Minecraft will be joining the game’s roster. He’ll be joined by Alex, Zombie, and Enderman. Steve and co. will be able to use pickaxes, throw down blocks, and even have a crafting ability. Sakurai added that every stage currently in…
By Ethan Gach Published October 1, 2020 -
CultureStadia Doesn’t Even Work On Google’s New Chromecast
Google revealed its new Chromecast device yesterday and it does a lot more than the previous versions. One thing it doesn’t do, however, is stream Stadia games. Officially called ‘Chromecast with Google TV’, the new device comes with a remote and functions more like a standard streaming box, letting you watch stuff on Netflix or…
By Ethan Gach Published October 1, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicGoing Under’s Lo-Fi Soundtrack Makes Me Feel Like I’m Not Working At All
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today, we’re heading into the office in Going Under, a roguelite dungeon crawler where work is hell. Going Under (playlist / longplay) is a game about navigating the hellscape of working in America. In Going Under,…
By Ash Parrish Published October 1, 2020 -
Kotaku EastFans Think They Hear The Final Fantasy “Prelude” In Genshin Impact
While, yes, Genshin Impact is more than a Breath of the Wild clone, the free-to-play RPG’s background music is reminiscent of another iconic game’s theme song, say some fans. As reported on Japanese site Hachima, it’s been pointed out that the music during the menu screen below seems to apparently resemble the Final Fantasy “Prelude.”…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 1, 2020 -
CultureTrack: Akarui Mirai (Live) | Artist: Never Young Beach | Album: Hall Tour 2019
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 1, 2020 -
CultureArtist Animates Anime-Style Among Us Kills
Okay, hear me out. What if Among Us, but anime? Artist and content creator Landonardo recently shared a couple of great videos featuring his takes on what anime-style kill animations would look like in Among Us, the multiplayer deception game from 2018 that only recently went supernova on Twitch I’m crossing my fingers he hits…
By Ian Walker Published September 30, 2020 -
CultureReport: Warner Bros. Games President Says Transphobe J. K. Rowling Has “The Right To Hold Her Opinions”
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is a transphobe. Maybe someone could let Warner Bros. Games president David Haddad know that that should be called out and condemned. As Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reports, Haddad was asked in an internal Q&A today about the widespread criticism of Rowling over her public and toxic transphobic views, which have…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 30, 2020