Smash 4‘s Top Player Is Taking A Break From Competition

The same day as he was revealed as the top ranked player in the Panda Global rankings, Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios announced he would no longer be competing in Super Smash Bros. For Wii U… for now. In a letter posted on Barrios’ Twitter, the number-one player in Smash 4 said he has lost his passion…

Splatoon 2‘s Next Update Could Finally Fix Some Issues With Its Warehouse Map 

Nintendo has been keeping up with Splatoon 2‘s development and as such the game’s new version, 2.2.0, is scheduled to go live on January 16 and address a number of existing problems, including imbalances on its Walleye Warehouse map. Following the game’s initial release in July of last year, Splatoon 2 has been getting substantial…

Guy Plays Retro Indie Game The Messenger Using Only His Feet 

You never know who’s going to want to come and demo your game at a convention like PAX South. The Messenger is a modern homage to Ninja Gaiden. As such, it’s a pretty challenging action platformer. But that didn’t stop a streamer who goes by the name Jrocthegod from trying to demo the game at…

Super Meat Boy Is The Latest Port To Sell Better Than Expected On The Nintendo Switch 

Super Meat Boy’s first day of sales on the Nintendo Switch were apparently “shockingly close” to how the game performed when it was originally released on Xbox 360 back in 2010 according to the game’s developer. The platformer debuted on the Switch last Thursday alongside lots of other games including Furi and Escapists 2. While…

Cosplayers at PAX South put a Nintendo spin on several different classic video game (and Star Wars) characters. Really, Wario with his own Cappy is shocking enough.

In the first Fave This podcast of 2018, Gita Jackson and I discuss the controversy around fans shipping Rey and Kylo Ren as a couple in Star Wars (31:08) what the No Man’s Sky community is up to, and where open world games go next. Listen below. Download the MP3 here.

The Weekend In Esports: Wrapping Up The Overwatch League’s First Week 

OWL got off to a cracking start last Wednesday and hasn’t slowed down since. In addition to introducing esports to a larger audience and sparking important conversations about diversity and team management, there were also a bunch of really great games. Hopefully the quality continues today as the league’s last three matches of the inaugeral…

This Week In The Business: Welcome To Flavor Country

QUOTE | “When you’re spending a lot of money, you have to justify your project by saying it’s going to appeal to a lot of people, which essentially means it cannot be a strong flavor. I think by definition you just have to be more mainstream.” – Alex Hutchinson (lead designer on the Sims 2…

This Weasel Is The Key To Hearthstone‘s Hottest New Deck

Every once in a while, a formerly crappy Hearthstone card finds its place in a deck and works so well that it starts to look like it might actually be good. A while back, that card was a Hungry Crab. Today, it’s a fedora-wearing rodent called Weasel Tunneler. If there’s one thing you should know…

Overwatch Player Uses Doomfist To Obliterate Pharah And Mercy From Orbit

Doomfist may not be able to fly, but he sure can fall with style. Even in the techno-magical cartoon world of Overwatch, what goes up must come down. Player wahw_ow, however, decided that the laws of gravity needed assistance in grounding a pesky Pharah/Mercy combo, and, in the heat of a gridlocked team fight on…

Lone Echo Lets Me Experience A Beautiful Zero-Gravity Friendship 

With an interesting deep space setting, a clever zero-gravity movement system and plenty of hands-on interaction, Ready At Dawn’s Oculus exclusive Lone Echo ticks all the technical boxes required to be an excellent virtual reality game. But its greatest feat is making me believe a woman could ever love an unfeeling robot like me. It’s…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for trying to find a bar in NYC showing Overwatch League. I think I found one but I have to call to confirm. I feel weird phoning a sports bar to ask about video games, but my colleagues’ writing about seeing it live is getting to me. Also, video games. I’m going…

My Hunt For The Mysterious Man Or Machine Controlling The Blizzard Arena’s Light-Up Halo

The Blizzard Arena stage has a massive light-up halo on the ceiling that serves as a progress bar for Overwatch objectives. As a team captures a point, the halo fills up with that team’s colors. It’s an impressive illustration of who’s winning. And it’s all manual. Or so I’ve been told. The other elements on…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: My Girlfriend’s Friends All Hate Me

Hello all you florescent death antelopes, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating advice column to win that coveted chicken dinner. This week, we’re tackling the drama that friends can bring to our relationships. What do you do you do when your relationship is amazing, but your girlfriend’s BFF’s hate you? How do…

Man Arrested For ‘Swatting’ Call That Led To Murder Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter

Twenty-five-year-old Tyler Barriss was charged today in Kansas for involuntary manslaughter and two other counts in the wake of a swatting call that led police to kill an unarmed 28-year-old at his home. The maximum sentence varies but if found guilty, Barriss could face a hefty fine and years in prison. Police say that Barriss…

Ten Things Call of Duty: WWII Players Want Fixed

As you might expect, the Call of Duty community is being very vocal about changes they want to see in WWII on social media outlets such as the WWII subreddit. And they have a point: Two months since the launch of the latest Call of Duty, there are still many improvements that could be made…

My First Night As A Philadelphia Fusion Fan

I’m too old for this. “This” is the official viewing party of the first match of the Philadelphia Fusion, the Overwatch League team owned by Comcast. I’m 34, and I’m at a college bar in West Philadelphia on a Thursday night. It’s crowded. I’m surrounded by cosplayers, cheerleaders, college kids and actual kids. I did…