Poll: The Most Beloved Action Games In Japan

Over the decades, there have been so many great action games. But which one do people in Japan like best? This poll might shed light on that question. In Japan, Weekly Famitsu has been asking readers about their favorite game in various genres. The results are in for the first of these polls, which was…

Square Enix Splits With Hitman Creators IO Interactive

In 2009, Square Enix took control of Hitman developers IO Interactive. Today, the two companies part ways. Square initially assumed ownership of IO when it bought Eidos Interactive, IO’s parent company. But in a statement released today, the Japanese publisher says “to maximize player satisfaction as well as market potential going forward”, they have “regrettably…

Replica Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Sword Even Glows

Of all the weapons in Breath of the Wild, the Guardian gear must be the hardest for a prop-maker to recreate properly. Yet here we are, with a replica Guardian Sword, blue glow and all. This full-scale replica built by Adafruit Industries, which is 34 inches long, was 3D printed and is full of tiny little…

Cosplayer Spotlight: Megan Coffey

Late last year, in the real world, Megan Coffey was getting ready to graduate from South Florida with a Masters in Biology. On the internet, however, she was fast becoming one of the most recognisable cosplayers on the planet. We talk a lot about cosplay here on this site, and about stuff around cosplay, but…

Look At This SNES-Themed Nintendo Switch

Here’s an unofficial SNES (well, Super Famicom) theme for the Nintendo Switch that looks incredible Made by Pop Skin, it covers everything. The base, the Joy-Cons, their backs, even the Switch itself. Because it’s a skin and not a paintjob, there are naturally going to be some rough edges, particularly at the points where there…

NBA Playgrounds Is Not The New NBA Jam

NBA Playgrounds’trailer—indeed, its entire existence—is a throwback to arcade sports games like NBA Jam and NBA Street. The kind of experiences where you don’t even need to be a fan of the sport in question to be able to jump on, learn a few moves and have a good time. Like those classics, there’s the…

Ex-WWE Announcer Emcees Video Game Wrestling League Finale

Wrestling fans might be used to hearing Justin Roberts introduce names like John Cena, Daniel Bryan or The Undertaker. But for the finale of the Video Game Championship Wrestling series, Roberts himself took to the mic to announce the entrance of rejected Street Fighter concept Zubaz and the dark lord of Hyrule himself, Ganondorf. The…

Overwatch Sky Fight Is Some Dragon Ball Z Shit

People might tell you that Overwatch revolves around pithy things like “team compositions” and “the payload,” but they’re wrong. Hideously wrong. Only one thing matters in Overwatch: airborne superiority. This clip is short, but I think I speak for everyone who’s spent their life with the cold shackles of gravity wrapped tight around their ankles…

Prey isn’t afraid to ask the big questions, like what happens if you fire a Nerf crossbow into the side of a space station in zero-g?

Musician Arranges Jazz Set For Pro Smash Matches

Music student Nicholas Caleb Goss sees melodies when he watches Super Smash Bros. Melee champion Jose “Mango” Marquez flit across a stage. “He likes to style,” Goss said, describing a fight against Marquez as “energetic, surprising.” To Goss, Marquez’s playstyle is jazz, which is exactly what he turned it into. This month, Goss composed a…

Overwatch Incest ‘Shipping Tests The Limits Of What’s Permissible In Fandom

While it’s possible to play Overwatch and not pay attention to its lore, there’s a part of that game’s fandom that loves it for its lore. These fans theorize about character backgrounds, make fan art, and often obsess over the possible romantic pairing in the game, known as “shipping.” They imagine former friends Reaper and…

Sources: BioWare Montreal Scaled Down, Mass Effect Put On Ice For Now

In the wake of BioWare’s polarizing Mass Effect: Andromeda, fans have wondered where the lauded sci-fi series will go next. The answer, according to people familiar with the studio, is nowhere—at least for the time being. BioWare has put Mass Effect on hiatus and turned Andromeda’s developer, BioWare Montreal, into a support studio, according to…

Prey Runs Remarkably Well On My Wimpy Microsoft Surface Tablet

The other day, my colleagues Kirk and Riley were having a discussion about how miraculously well Prey runs on their gaming PCs. “Good optimization?” I thought. “In a big-budget game with console versions? Obviously, I have to put this to the test.” I travel a lot, so what I wanted to know wasn’t whether Prey…

We Should Probably Talk About Edith Finch‘s Ending

The new PS4/PC game What Remains of Edith Finch tells the tale of a doomed family living in a mansion off the coast of Washington state. It’s a cool story, but what does it all mean? Let’s discuss. My colleague Gita Jackson and I decided to get together and chat about Giant Sparrow’s ambitious new…

Four Hours In, I’m Enjoying The Challenge Of Fire Emblem Echoes

I’ve just started up playing Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. It’s a remake of the Famicom exclusive Fire Emblem Gaiden. I’m making my way through the early hours of the campaign. It’s been a challenging game that I can’t put down. Fire Emblem Echoes tells the story of Alm, a simple peasant, and Celica,…

Square Enix’s Message After Nier: Automata Ending A Is Just Confusing

For the past couple of weeks I have been gradually playing through Nier: Automata, a video game about robot depression, and just a few nights ago I reached ending A. If I didn’t know any better—and if I took Square Enix’s message literally—I might just call it quits. See, Nier: Automata has 26 endings—one for…