Convention Circuit: Calling All Bronies

Another day, another pony twirling fire. There’s a lot going on during the July 4th weekend, but you might be busy with barbecues, fireworks, or trying to sleep through fireworks. If so, wait until next weekend and head to one of these cons. We’ve rounded up cons catering to fans of gaming, anime, cosplay, and…

It’s A Good Weekend To Watch People Play Pokémon

The 2016 U.S. Pokémon National Championships are going down this weekend, bringing the best Trading Card Game, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and Pokken Tournament players to Columbus, Ohio to determine which of the country’s best players will be heading to San Francisco in August for the big show. The Pokémon Company has set up…

This Week In The Business: Sounds About Right

QUOTE | “We’ve all gone online and had our asses kicked by obnoxious 12 year olds.” – EA chief competition officer Peter Moore talking about wanting to “make stars out of players” but that proper matchmaking is paramount. Elsewhere in the business of gaming this week… QUOTE | “[Xbox Scorpio and PS Neo are] an…

Overwatch‘s Competitive Mode Is At Odds With The Rest Of The Game

Overwatch’s competitive mode has been in the wild for a few days now, and well, let’s just say that Blizzard should maybe consider changing their name. Related: what do you call a snowstorm, except it’s made entirely of salt? I should preface this by saying that I don’t think Overwatch’s competitive mode is all that…

The New Berserk Anime Already Outshines The ’90s Original

Berserk’s first episode of its 2016 TV series premiered today. My jaw is still on the floor, where my tongue will need to be scraped off with a spatula. That’s some damn good anime WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD The dark medieval manga boasts 343 chapters of fantasy gore, which creator Kentaro Miura has been industriously producing…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

It’s July, a great time for fireworks, cowboys and Canadian power-pop supergroups. It’s also a long weekend, which means it’s a great time to play some games. I’ll do my games first: I’m kinda bummed out by The Division expansion, so I probably won’t play much more of that. I’ll almost certainly play more Overwatch,…

Street Fighter V’s new story DLC is really ridiculous and silly. You can watch me fumble and laugh through the first 30 minutes or so below. (Worth noting: it’s free!)

Kids Are Now Acting Out Imaginary YouTube Channels

As the holiday weekend approaches, before you set off the fireworks, make a few minutes for Worth Reading, our weekly roundup of the best games writing around. Hey, You Should Read These “BioShock 2 is the underrated human heart of the BioShock trilogy” by Richard Cobbett No one wanted BioShock 2 when it was announced—the…

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel: The Kotaku Review

Playing Trails of Cold Steel is like eating a hero sandwich that’s way too heavy on the bread. Often you’ll get nice big chunks of turkey and salami. But sometimes—more often than you’d like—you’ll realize that all you can taste is fluffy white filler. Cold Steel, which came out in December for PS3 and Vita,…

Overwatch Honors Fan Who Passed Away One Day Before The Game Came Out

Hongyu Wu was a 20 year-old university student who passed away the day before Overwatch, a game he was eagerly anticipating, came out. He was reportedly trying to catch a thief who stole his friend’s motorbike. As part of a recent Overwatch patch, Blizzard paid him tribute. On the Control Center portion of Lijang Tower,…

GameCube Emulation Is Now A Lot Better

For the first time in three years, the famous Dolphin emulator—which lets users play GameCube games on their PC—has had a proper big update. It’s now at v5.0, and a ton of changes and updates have been made. Some are specific fixes for games with quirks, while others are general improvements across the board. They’re…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: My Crush Keeps Betraying My Christian Values

Hello, you love swamis of the Internet. Welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the dating advice column that’s powered by Protoculture. This week, we’ll be talking about some of the more unusual questions that can crop up in your dating life. What do you do when you’ve fallen in love with someone you shouldn’t have fallen…

China’s Government Must Now Approve Every Mobile Game

As of today, July 1, all mobile games must be pre-approved by the Chinese government at least 20 days before they’re released. It’s part of sweeping new regulations to curb when, what, and how media is distributed in China. Though every game is impacted by this, it seems like it’ll touch story-based games even more:…

Seven Changes Nintendo Could Make To Splatoon Instead Of Killing Splatfest

Splatoon’s Splatfest, its eight-player inky turf war, is ending on July 24th, Nintendo announced yesterday. And it’s the ultimate battle: Callie vs. Marie, Splatoon’s two spunky mascots. Inklings are riled up over #waifuwars, as it’s being called, and already picking sides — or bemoaning Splatfest’s end: But fans across the globe are wondering: Now that…

Asemblance Player Discovers The Game’s Biggest Secret, Has An Adorable Meltdown

ImTheBlueRanger on YouTube has spent week or so obsessing over Asemblance, a puzzle thriller designed to screw with your head. It’s also full of secrets! And thanks to modern video capture devices, we get to watch what it’s like for a superfan to discover one in real-time. It’s awesome. Warning: There are spoilers for Asemblance…

Don’t Invade Russia, Boba Fett

Giorgio Baroni is an Italian artist who has worked in video games and tabletop/card games. You can see more of Baroni’s work at his personal site and ArtStation page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on the “expand” button…

Our Favorite Games From June

From big-budget hits to indie gems, we played some great games this month. Let’s look at some of our favorite games from June. Mirror’s Edge Catalyst Mirror’s Edge Catalyst brings back cyberpunk runner Faith and her dizzying parkour skills. A follow-up to 2008’s groundbreaking Mirror’s Edge, Catalyst meets and even exceeds its predecessor in many…

Tick Tock Bang Bang, A Slo-Mo Shooter That Does A Lot With A Little

The new PC game Tick Tock Bang Bang serves up some of the best slo-mo action out there. It’s a colorful thriller full of giant robots and insane stunts. In this critical look, I’ll show you how a very simple design choice leads to spectacular results! Transcript: I’m often blown away by how much games…

Capcom Finally Says Something About The Resident Evil 7 Demo’s Finger

Capcom has officially acknowledgedthe uselessness of the finger in the RE7 demo, according to a teaser sent to folks who signed up for the ambassador program. Does this mean that the demo will get an update of some sort? Here’s the full picture, for those of you interested: For those of you who are completely…