Nintendo

The State Of The Nintendo Switch In 2017

For all the video game industry’s noisy hype about groundbreaking technology, it’s still rare that a device comes along and actually breaks new ground. In just nine months, the Nintendo Switch has done just that. The world of games feels different now than it did one year ago. In the summer of 2016, the Switch,…

Breath of the Wild‘s Champions’ Ballad DLC Hides A Ton of Secret Dialogue

In Breath of the Wild’s main game, you don’t get to see much of Mipha, Revali, Urbosa, or Daruk. If you play through the new DLC, The Champions’ Ballad, you do get some new cutscenes,though it still might not feel like enough. Turns out, you can challenge the Divine Beasts again in the DLC for…

An Infamous Creepypasta That Explored The Dark Side Of Pokémon Fandom

By now finding a “haunted” cartridge is a scary video game story cliche, but one series in sells the tale better than the rest. Pokémon’s piracy problem, coupled with fan’s’ hunger to see a mature monster-collecting game allowed “Pokémon Black” to become one of the most famous Pokémon creepypasta to ever dwell on the internet.…

The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild: The Champions’ Ballad: The Kotaku Review

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s second piece of downloadable content, The Champions’ Ballad, is a distillation of everything the game does well. Its collection of puzzle shrines holds some of the most inspired moments of the series, culminating in a wonderfully complex final dungeon. It is a strong end to the DLC…

Why Some Video Games Are In Danger of Disappearing Forever

Years of neglect are eroding gaming history. Cartridges rot in garages, companies hoard demos that they will never release, and obscure titles fade into the ether. Some games may even be lost forever. What is happening? The biggest threat to game preservation is the degradation of physical media. Over time, game data and features literally…

Splatoon 2’s Lobby Full of Fans Rallying Behind Banned ‘Bike Cuck’ Player

Splatoon 2’s lobby is a place to share art and shitposts. While many squid-kids are expressing their allegiance in the upcoming socks versus sweater Splatfest, others are rallying behind a player who says he was banned for the dubious username “Bike Cuck.” Spend a moment wandering Inkopolis Square today and it’s likely you’ll find posts…

The State Of The 3DS In 2017

The state of the Nintendo 3DS in 2017 is “still alive,” which often raises the question: When’s Nintendo going to kill this thing? While it fell far short of the dizzying heights achieved by the Nintendo DS, the 3DS had a pretty nice lifecycle. We had some good times, didn’t we? But it’s 2017, and…

Breath of the Wild‘s Best Shrine Is A Spike-Filled Death Maze

Breath of the Wild’s shrines are unconventional puzzle boxes where players must do everything from guide balls through motion-controlled mazes and complete complex electrical circuits. The Champions’ Ballad DLC introduces a dangerous gauntlet where a single misstep means death. At the start of The Champions’ Ballad, Link receives a “one-hit obliterator,” a weapon that allows…

Super Mario Odyssey Player Beats Game Without Jumping

Mario is synonymous with jumping, so the prospect of playing Odyssey without vaulting into the air probably sounds ludicrous. But, as it turns out, the game only considers very specific acts to be a “jump,” prompting one YouTuber to see if he could finish the game while keeping the jump counter at zero. Mario Odyssey,…

Hey, Nintendo Didn’t Delay Any Games This Year

When Nintendo unveiled its lineup of launch-year games for Switch back in January, most people had the same thought: Which of these is gonna get delayed? I mean, delaying games is what Nintendo does. So who could have suspected it would actually release everything this year? Nintendo’s 2017 sounded typically ambitious. Although Switch’s launch day…

Riding A Motorcycle In Breath of the Wild Is As Rad As It Sounds

Breath of the Wild’s Champions’ Ballad DLC has an amazing reward for anyone who bests its numerous trials. Prove yourself a champion and you’ll get to ride the Master Cycle Zero. Here’s how it looks in action. I’ve spent all day tackling The Champions’ Ballad and unlocking its secrets. After a ton of shrines and…

What To Expect From Breath of the Wild‘s Champions’ Ballad DLC

Breath of the Wild’s Champions’ Ballad DLC released last night. There’s a lot going on and it can be hard to know where to start. But once you dive in, you’ll find some of the game’s best challenges. When you first start up the DLC, you’ll get a handful of quests added to your journal.…

Live-Action Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Is Perfect

As far as live-action Animal Crossing parodies go, this one will be hard to top. YouTuber Merry Ude uploaded this one-minute long Pocket Camp send-up: *applause* Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am. 

All The Big Games And Announcements At The 2017 Game Awards

Tonight in Los Angeles, a bunch of game developers won well-deserved honors for the games they released in 2017. A bunch of other people showed off games that won’t be out until 2018 or later. If you want to read who won what, go here. If you want to get super hyped for games that…

Bayonetta 1 & 2 Are Coming To The Nintendo Switch

In addition to Bayonetta 3, the earlier Bayonetta games are also headed to the Nintendo Switch, with 1 & 2 out in February 2018. They’ll come in the same box; Bayonetta 2 will be on a cart, while there’ll be a download code for the first game included as well. The classic series, revered for…

Mario Deserves Better Than Knock-Off Lucky Charms

The most exciting thing about new Super Mario Cereal is the box. That’s just sad. Announced last week and showing up in stores starting December 11, Super Mario Cereal is essentially a generic Lucky Charms knock-off. It’s got star-shaped oat bits and three types of vaguely Mario-ish marshmallows. It’s not bad, it’s just not anything…

Nintendo Games Still Don’t Feel Right On Mobile

So far, Nintendo’s mobile offerings have been pretty good. They’re also frustrating. Nintendo resisted mobile games for a long time, but finally relented in 2016 when they released the app Miitomo. Though I deleted it long ago, I still have fond memories of it. You’d dress up a little Mii avatar, set a greeting, and…

Yesterday, Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth players got to play as Satoru Iwata The former head of Nintendo died in 2015. Every year since, he’s appeared in the game on December 6, his birthday. Afterbrith never made it to Wii U or 3DS, so was the first time the tribute was on a Nintendo platform.

My Splatoon 2 Match Became A Dance Party

Last night, during a match of Splatoon 2, everyone got fed up with our senseless land war. We all laid down our arms and came together for the one thing that matters most: having a kickass party. Last evening, I streamed Splatoon 2 on my personal Twitch channeland leapt into a turf war match on…

Danny DeVito Fans React To Detective Pikachu Announcement 

When it was originally announced that a Great Detective Pikachu movie got the greenlight, fans thought Danny DeVito would be the perfect choice for the character. Hollywood, however, had someone else in mind. See? DeVito is perfect! As just announced, Ryan Reynolds will play Detective Pikachu when production starts in London early next year. Some…