My Language-Learning App Has A Leaderboard And It’s Ruining My Life

I tried to wean myself off my mobile games by learning a new language. Now, instead of being obsessed with tapping on mobile games, I’m obsessed with my language-learning app. Damn it. I’m a fidgety person. I touch my hair a lot, pick at my nails and scratch scabs. I’ve mostly curtailed these habits with…

The New Mario & Sonic Olympics Game Lets You Play As 2D Characters

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is kicking it old school. The latest installment of the all-star mascot competition, due out November 5 for the Switch, adds ten sprite-based 2D events to its normal selection of 3D fare. Look at pixel Mario’s tiny legs go! I’ve not played any of the games…

In this video released for Gamescom, Japanese Keanu and Pokémon Sword and Shield game director Shigeru Ohmori takes us on a tour of one of the game’s quaint little villages. It’s got a Pokémon Center, a clothing shop, and it’s conveniently located along the Galar region railway. Take your seat, the train will be arriving…

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3’s First Expansion Adds New Missions And Modes September 30

The first of three planned downloadable expansions for the Switch-exclusive Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Curse of the Vampire adds one and a half vampires to the game’s roster and an all-new rapid-fire co-op challenge called Gauntlet Mode on September 30. Detailed on Nintendo UK’s page for the Ultimate Alliance 3 expansion pass, Gauntlet Mode pits…

Unlike The Movie, The Blair Witch Game Doesn’t Seem So Scary

If you’re familiar with its source material, Blair Witch, the upcoming game for PC and Xbox, has a lot to live up to. It’s impossible to understate the influence of 1999’s The Blair Witch Project, a found footage film that blurred the line between fact and fiction and emphasized a slow-burn dread over outright scares.…

I Love Designing My Own Controllers

A couple of weeks ago, my go-to Xbox One controller got into an altercation with a 470-pound electric wheelchair and lost. After spending hours browsing online stores for the perfect pre-built replacement, I decided to return to Microsoft’s Xbox Design Lab and make my own. It’s blue, pink, and yellow and uniquely mine. I love…

The Internet Slang Meaning Of A Nintendo And GameFreak Proposed Trademark

Nintendo and GameFreak have filed a trademark application for the kanji character 草 (kusa or sou), meaning “grass.” It’s also Japanese internet slang for LOL. The application was filed on June 7 of this year and, as Yahoo! News Japan explains, there probably won’t be a decision until year’s end. While the trademark is related…

You Can Finally See Some Gameplay From The Avengers Video Game

Aside from a quickly-squashed leak, it hasn’t been possible to see the E3 2019 gameplay demo for Crystal Dynamics’ upcoming Marvels’ Avengers game. That would be the intro level that E3 attendees said was somewhat more encouraging than the game’s maligned E3 trailer. Today, because the marketing plan demanded it, we can finally all watch…

A Complicated-Looking Way To Hold PlayStation Controllers

Years back, Kotaku reported on an inventive way to hold a DualShock and play From Software’s mecha game Armored Core. Now in 2019, it’s back. In Japanese, this grip style is called densetsu no AC mochi (伝説のAC持ち) or “legendary Armored Core grip.” This grip style is so legendary in Japan that it’s even made a…

Manga Artist Goes Back And Redoes Old Illustrations

When a manga first starts, the artist is still usually finding how the characters look. With time, that changes, and over the course of the later issues, their appearance evolves. But what if an artist went back and redid those old illustrations? That’s exactly what Soichiro Yamamoto did. Creator of Teasing Master Takagi-san, Yamamoto went back…

Ion Fury Studio Apologizes For Developers’ ‘Sexist And Transphobic’ Comments, Will Patch Out Offensive Jokes

The developer of the acclaimed new retro shooter Ion Fury has apologized for what it referred to as “sexist and transphobic” comments made by two of its employees on Discord. It has also promised to patch out several “homophobic” jokes that were included in the game itself. Ion Fury, which was released on August 15,…

No Man’s Sky Player Builds Combination Lock

Thanks to the recent Beyond update, No Man’s Sky players are designing all kinds of new things. One player has figured out how to make combination locks. The Beyond update added new building tools to No Man’s Sky, including power inverters and automatic switches, as well as electrical wiring and batteries for generating power. One…