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CultureTotal RecallNintendo Superfan Recreates Company’s 19th Century Office To Store His Collection [Update]
Fabrice Heilig, a Nintendo collector from France, has been amassing stuff for so long that his house was running out of space to store it all. So he decided to expand, and when he did, he had one hell of an idea. As this wonderful story on Before Mario explains, having built an enormous collection…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 2, 2021 -
CultureShop Contest‘Shop Contest: Lego Luigi, Winners!
Mario’s tall and cowardly brother is back, in Lego form. To celebrate the news, we took this new, blocky Luigi and took him on some new adventures. Our winning image this week comes from Sharpeofthe95th who created the ultimate weapon: The Luigi Cube. Resistance is-a futile! WAH-HOOOO! One of the best contests of 2021! The…
By Zack Zwiezen Published May 1, 2021 -
CultureSplitscreenThe Matrix Online Died 12 Years Ago, But Fans Are Still Keeping It Alive
Nothing lasts forever. Neither you nor I, and especially not video games. Despite the promise of digital immortality, recent games have suffered the slings and arrows of content being retired, servers getting sunsetted, and entire storefronts falling away into the sea. Oh, and who could forget the tragic death of Mario, who this year’s Oscar…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 30, 2021 -
Tips & GuidesHow To Not Die (As Much) In Returnal
The science-fiction action game Returnal, out today for PlayStation 5, drops you all by your lonesome on a haunting, uncharted exoplanet. It’s a gorgeous, fresh, fascinating game that’s well worth sticking with. It’s also quite difficult. As with any game built around a live-die-repeat structure, you will die—a whole, whole lot—on your escapades through Atropos.…
By Ari Notis Published April 30, 2021 -
CultureSuper Mario Party Finally Gets New Online Play In Free Update
After nearly two and a half years, Super Mario Party is getting new online play options in a free update When the game first launched in October 2018, it did have online—albeit in a rather limited form as only a small number of the mini-games could be enjoyed. With today’s update, Nintendo is beefing up…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 27, 2021 -
CultureShop Contest‘Shop Contest: Lego Luigi
After a few early leaks, Nintendo and Lego officially confirmed that Lego Luigi is coming to joining his Lego brother in block jumping adventures. Sounds like a fun Photoshop contest to me! Your challenge this week: Share Lego Luigi with the world! Sure, Lego Luigi doesn’t come out until August, but we can have fun…
By Zack Zwiezen Published April 25, 2021 -
ReviewsBacklogI Have Backlog Anxiety
We at Kotaku have designated April as Backlog Month, in which we, in light of a looming dearth of new video game releases, turn our attention toward the games that we have wanted to play but missed. But unlike my colleagues, I’m having a problem—I have no idea what to do for Backlog Month, and…
By Ash Parrish Published April 23, 2021 -
CultureTwitchProbably Shouldn’t Have Checked On Caramel
“Check on Caramel,” said somebody in popular Twitch comedian Jerma’s chat yesterday, referring to one of his first Sims in his ongoing Sims 1 playthrough. He should not have, as it turns out, checked on Caramel. Heeding his audience’s wishes, Jerma jumped from the household of his self-insert character—who had just completed his all-consuming quest…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 19, 2021 -
CultureLooks Like Lego Mario’s Getting His Lego Luigi
Following last week’s firmware update that has Lego’s Super Mario figure crying out for his brother when it wakes from sleep mode, a listing briefly popped up on Amazon China for Lego set 71387, Adventures with Luigi. Looks like the Lego Super Mario line’s got a new plumber on call. According to Lego news and…
By Mike Fahey Published April 19, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsSuper Mario 64 Plus Adds Very Cool Settings And Ideas To Nintendo’s Classic
Super Mario 64 Plus is a modified version of the PC port of Super Mario 64, which takes the original and adds loads of stuff like 60FPS, bug fixes, a ton of in-game options and, best of all, “The ability to continue the level after getting a star.” Don’t think of it as a completely…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 18, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsOh Dang, You Can Actually Dismount Bloopers In Super Mario Sunshine’s Cursed Surfing Level
Love it or hate it, Super Mario Sunshine has a handful of truly awful levels. But it turns out players discovered a way to make one of the game’s worst stages much, much simpler. The sixth episode in Sunshine’s Ricco Harbor area, “Red Coins on the Water,” tasks you with, well, collecting red coins. While…
By Ian Walker Published April 8, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanRecord Covid-19 Cases In Osaka As Universal Studios Japan Limits Visitors
Today, Osaka posted its highest daily number of covid-19 cases: 719. This is the eighth straight day that covid-19 cases have been increasing in the prefecture. The numbers are also climbing in the surrounding areas. Online in Japan, some commenters online are worried about covid-19’s spread in Osaka, especially in regards to Universal Studios Japan…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanReport: Tokyo Olympics Proposal Included Akira And Super Mario In The Opening Ceremony
The Tokyo Olympics, it seems, will hold the opening ceremonies this July. While the finalized plans have yet to be revealed, Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun has apparently acquired a 280-page scrapped proposal for the event. Included within it is an Akira-themed plan, and another that features Nintendo’s Mario. Shukan Bunshun is one of Japan’s most famous magazines…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 1, 2021 -
CultureToday Is Your Last Chance To Buy Super Mario 3D All-Stars, For No Damn Reason
It’s either one of the most elaborate April Fool’s brand-o-jokes of all time, or today marks the last day Nintendo will be selling Super Mario All-Stars, either in physical form or via the Switch’s electronic shop. From April 1, they still maintain it’s to be taken behind Miyamoto’s barn and shot. As the company made…
By John Walker Published March 31, 2021 -
CultureSplitscreenWhere Did Gamer Snacks Come From, Anyway?
There are snacks, and then there are snacks for gamers. Through chalky chemical combinations of dubious repute, they will somehow make you aim better in Fortnite. How did we reach the point where snacks for a hobby that takes place primarily on the couch are basically workout supplements? On this week’s food-focused episode of Splitscreen,…
By Nathan Grayson Published March 26, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanSuper Nintendo World Finally Opens In Japan
After not one but two delays, Super Nintendo World finally opened today. As Being Kansai reports, lines started forming by 6:30 AM, with a good crowd forming within an hour. Although Osaka lifted the state of emergency earlier this month (Tokyo is currently still under one), with people congregating, waiting inside, and eating in restaurants,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanTokyo Olympics Creative Boss Resigns For Derogatory Suggestion About Naomi Watanabe
Hiroshi Sasaki is resigning as creative director of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics after suggesting that comedian and fashion icon Naomi Watanabe should appear as a pig during the opening ceremony. Sasaki’s derogatory suggestion was apparently that the famed comedian and fashion model should appear as the “Olympig,” a wordplay on the word “Olympic.” “There…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2021 -
CultureHow A Halo Symbol Ended Up In The Snyder Cut
If you look closely, you might spot a random symbol from Halo in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. It appears on Deathstroke’s sword and seems to have been added accidentally. As spotted by PCGamesN, it really looks like a rune symbol from the Halo series has snuck its way into director Zack Snyder’s bigger and newer…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 15, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsMario Kart Speedrunners Are Racing To Blow Themselves Up With Blue Shells
Do you know you can hit yourself with a Blue Shell in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe? Speedrunners do, and they’re going all out to blow themselves up with the first place-targeting item as quickly as possible. Skilloz, the current world record-holder for the hilariously named “Blue Yourself” category, uploaded a video yesterday (h/t Polygon) showing…
By Ian Walker Published March 12, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryOddworld: New ‘N’ Tasty Guilted Me Into My First 100% Completion
I started playing Oddworld: New ‘N Tasty and oh god, I’m going to have to save all 299 of these Mudokons, aren’t I? In 2014’s Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty, you play as the Mudokon Abe, an overworked, underpaid alien wo’rking for a company that destroys the ecosystem and drives indigenous creatures extinct—so your typical Amazon…
By Ash Parrish Published March 11, 2021