It’s Like Super Smash Bros., But With Archery

Hey, it’s a cool-looking Ouya game! This is Towerfall, a multiplayer fighting game inspired by the likes of Smash Bros. and Bushido Blade. It’ll be out for Ouya on June 25. Towerfall is developed by Matt Thorson, an indie designer responsible for tons of games including Jumper, a personal favorite (and the inspiration behind 2010’s…

Here’s that Maltese Joy Division Game You Asked For!

When I woke up this morning, you know what I said to myself? “Man, I sure would like a game loosely based on Joy Division’s song ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart‘ — preferably from the island nation of Malta.” Well it looks like I got my wish! Will Love Tear Us Apart?, which you can…

Gunpoint: The Kotaku Review

Good things often come in small packages. Gunpoint is just such a good thing, in just such a small package. Like the diminutive buildings you’ll spend the game circumnavigating and infiltrating, Gunpoint itself is an intricate array of interlocking circuits and gears, finely tuned and waiting for you to bend it to your will. You…

Remember Me: Beautiful or Pretentious? These Six Critics Can’t Decide

Whether they consider it the artistic achievement of the decade or just a boring, linear sci-fi brawler, one thing reviewers agree on is that Remember Me is rough around the edges. The question is how rough. While most considered the world of Dontnod’s futuristic action-adventure a joy to behold, the quality of the (English) voice…

The Best 2D Arcade Game Backgrounds

Classic 2D arcade platformers, brawlers and beat ’em ups can have amazing background art—with pixel perfect details and a wonderful color palette. Unlike the similarly awesome 2D fighter backgrounds, people don’t pay as much attention to these. Looking through 2D arcade game backgrounds, it’s funny to see how the artists were so into dodgy city…

Team Fortress 2 Gets Its Very Own TV Commercial

During Sunday’s episode of Venture Bros., Valve’s long-running multiplayer extravaganza Team Fortress 2 got its very own television spot. Not bad, for a nearly 6-year-old game! Watch it here: There are also some new Venture Brothers-themed items in the shop, and every Adult Swim item is on sale.

Why People Rage Quit Games

Last night, after a grueling episode of Game of Thrones, a good number of people swore they would never watch the show again. Take a look at the retweets on thisTwitter account, which chronicles the extreme reaction to the Rains of Castamere episode, to see what I mean.(Don’t visit the link if you’re trying to…

Looks Like The Next Walking Dead Game Features A Dude Named… Vince

Three (Fast) Facts You May Not Know About Xcom: Enemy Unknown

Did you know that while developing last year’s Game of the Year-winning Xcom: Enemy Unknown, the team at Firaxis played the original X-COM every week and made new hires complete the entire game? I did not know that. Here are three “fast facts” about XCOM from the people who do Lore in a Minute.

Peanut Butter Pop-Tarts: The Snacktaku Review

Stop — just stop. I know what you are going to say. “Fahey, you already reviewed Pop-Tarts. You even suggested a new slogan for Kellogg’s — I believe it was ‘Pop-Tarts: F*** Breakfast.'” That’s true, but these are not Pop-Tarts. These are new Pop-Tarts Gone Nutty Exclamation Point, and they are beautiful monsters for your…

Police Trainer Tells Cops to Quit Throwing Guns Like It’s a Video Game

Today’s cops are, apparently, throwing their guns all over the place, says a police training expert. One guy threw it behind cover before diving after it. Another guy ditched his weapon in a struggle for a rifle. These are poor decisions, says the expert, and he thinks he knows what’s behind them. Yup, video games.…

Gaming Contractors May Not Be Superstars, But We Don’t Need To Strike

There was recently an article published on this very site, written by Nathan Peters. It was a description of his experience as a contract employee in the video game industry; specifically in the QA department of Certain Affinity, a studio that worked on multiplayer aspects of Halo 4. The summary of the article is that…

One Author Breaks Down the Reality of Violent Games in the Media

The sober truth of the world is often a hard thing for the 24-hour TV news cycle to stomach. Blaming violent games is easy, so it’s refreshing to see someone break down the reality of the situation in one fell swoop. In the clip above, taken from C-SPAN 2’s Book TV, author Karen Sternheimer gives…

Massive Layoffs At Zynga

The company behind FarmVille just got a little smaller. Zynga, the troubled developer responsible for a number of social games, laid off 520 staff today—18% of the company’s employees. The goal: refocus on mobile gaming. “None of us ever expected to face a day like today, especially when so much of our culture has been…

What’s Defiance‘s Next Big TV Show Tie-In? Zombies.

What, you think just because SyFy and Trion Worlds’ cross-media project Defiance is set in the future it’s immune from rotting, shambling, flesh-hungry beasts? The game plague reaches the show in two weeks, unless the players can stop it! Well, that’s probably not true. I’m sure the June 17 episode of Defiance has already been…

The Moneysaver: Singularity, Fightsticks, Jurassic Park, SSD’s, IHOP

I just wrote this, and this is crazy, but these deals are awesome, save money maybe? We’ve got quite a post to start off June so let’s get right in to it. We’ve got a whole new of deals for the PS3 and 360, not only on games, but on arcade sticks, 3D glasses, and…

Artist Elizabeth Simins has completed the final chapter of her wonderful four-part series Manic Pixel Dream Girl, in which she takes a long look back at her life growing up as a girl who plays video games. I recommend reading the whole thing from the top, and you can read the final chapter on its…

Steam Greenlight Users React to “Gayest Game Ever Made”

What you’ll initially notice about My Ex-Boyfriend The Space Tyrant is one of two things: the “Approved for distribution by the Ministry of Homosexual Pornography” screen on the trailer, or the sometimes nearly naked hot men prancing about. This, I assume, is intentional—the recently-launched Steam Greenlight page boasts that My Ex-Boyfriend is the “gayest game…

The 3D remake of Final Fantasy IV is now available on Google Play for Android devices. For $15.99, I’d make damn sure your device can run it before purchasing.

One Year Later, Did Sony Keep Their E3 2012 Promises?

E3 is just around the corner and, for the fifth year in a row, we’re taking a look back at the big three’s big E3 promises. What came true, and what didn’t? First up is Sony, with Nintendo and Microsoft following suit tomorrow and Wednesday, respectively. E3 is fundamentally about video games. Thus, Sony tried…