In 2015, you liked reading about Fallout 4 and The Witcher 3. You liked lists of top games. You mourned the passing of gaming icons. You craved scoops and post-release coverage (phew!), and you enjoyed getting excited about the Final Fantasy VII remake. You also liked reading about sex. Hey, nothing bad about that! What follows, via our data team, are the 100 most popular Kotaku stories of the year:
The Majora’s Mask 3DS Is Sold Out For Now [UPDATING]
We’re updating this post with all the latest information on the hot limited edition Majora’s Mask New 3DS XL. Updates will be listed in reverse chronological order, with the newest info we have on top.
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata Dies At 55
Nintendo has just issued a short statement announcing that president Satoru Iwata has passed away at the age of 55.
Guy Beats Fallout 4 Without Killing Anyone, Nearly Breaks The Game
Fallout 4 expects you to commit murder. While you can occasionally avoid killing others, the wasteland is ruthless and demands violence. That’s how Bethesda intended the game to be played, anyway—but clever players are finding ways around it.
Jared Leto’s Joker Shows Up in Suicide Squad Trailer
UPDATE (7/13, 4:06pm): Presumably realizing that the official version looks way better than that off-screen leak, Warner Bros. has uploaded the Suicide Squad trailer.
If You Die In This Game, You Can Never Play Again. Ever.
Some games have permadeath, where death causes you to lose a character forever. Upsilon Circuit, however, has perma-permadeath. If you lose, you can never play the game again.
The 12 Best Games on PC
PC gamers have got a pretty great thing going. Interesting, experimental indie games? Yup. The shiniest, most visually impressive versions of big-budget games? They get a lot of those, too.
The 12 Best Games on the 3DS
Ah, the Nintendo 3DS. The days when we weren’t sure about Nintendo’s handheld are long since behind us. Four years after the original 3DS launched, there’s a new version with better 3D, improved controls, and of course, a wealth of excellent games to play.
The 12 Best Games on the iPhone
You’ve got yourself an iPhone and you want to play some games on it. You might not want to just plunge into the App Store—it’s a jungle, full of deadly spiders, wild animals, and bad games. Here, let us help you.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Announced For PS4, Other Platforms
Eighteen years and three PlayStations later, Final Fantasy VII is getting a remake. A real one. For PlayStation 4, with other platforms to follow.
Tips For Playing Fallout Shelter
Being in charge of an entire vault is not easy: you have to manage your population, fend off attackers, and you have to take the time to explore the wasteland. It’s a lot to juggle! But I’m here to help.
One Image Shows Just How Talented The Simpsons’ Voice Actors Are
Over one hundred characters in The Simpsons are voiced by twelve very talented people—and here’s a breakdown of who does what. Click on the top left magnifying glass to enlarge.
Steam Goes Nuts, Offers Access To Other People’s Accounts
Steam faced something of a catastrophe this afternoon, giving players across the world access to some of the personal information in other people’s accounts. It’s not yet clear how this happened, but it’s a doozy. Call it the Steam Winter Fail.
Tips For Playing Fallout 4
It’s a harsh wasteland out there, fellow vault dwellers. Horrors can be found in every corner of the Commonwealth. Making it through Fallout 4 in one piece can be tough—especially at first. Thankfully, we’re here to help.
You Can Play Pac-Man On Google Maps Right Now
April Fool’s Day is imminent, which means that we’re about to see A) lots of unfunny people making awful attempts to prank everyone; and B) some people—often including big tech companies like Google and Blizzard—creating some brilliant things. Here’s one example of the latter.
Tips For Playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a great game filled with small choices. Which kind of sword do you use? Which king or emperor do you support? What do you say to that tempestuous sorceress?
League Of Legends Is Building Its Own Network To Kill Lag
Like any other game on Earth, League of Legends suffers from lag. Being the biggest game on the planet, though, means LoL can actually do something about it, and is launching an ambitious plan to build its own network.
New Pokémon Game Takes Place In The Real World
Today, the Pokémon Company unveiled its latest Pocket Monster experience. It’s called Pokemon Go.
The 12 Best Games For The PlayStation 4
You’re heading to the store to get a PS4 right now, and need to know which games to get. (Keep your eyes on the road, please!) Or you’re home, all set up, realizing you want more stuff to play. Or maybe you’re suiting up for a battle in the console war, applying your facepaint and trying to remember which games will best help you make the argument for Sony’s new console. We are here to help.
Rockstar Deals With GTA Cheaters In A Very GTA Way
Earlier this month, GTA players found an exploit that let them bring a rare single-player only car into GTA Online. Today, Rockstar patched the issue—but they did it in the most hilarious, unexpected way possible.
Every Sex Scene In The Witcher 3
At its core, The Witcher 3 is a game about two things: hunting monsters and looking sexy. Surely you’ve noticed that Geralt looks like the leading dude of a trashy romance novel, yeah? I can’t be the only one that pauses at Geralt’s obsession with slathering oil on stuff, right?
The Internet Reacts To The New Joker
Presenting...Jared Leto’s Joker.
Boy Opens Christmas PlayStation 4, Finds A Block Of Wood With A Dick On It
It’s bad enough that a Massachusetts family’s Target-purchased Christmas console wound up being a piece of wood in a PlayStation 4 box, but did whoever swapped it out have to draw a dick and balls on it?
The People Who Make Brutal Video Game Porn
Before you can understand one of the most popular Tomb Raider porn videos online, you need to know about a key scene in a recent Tomb Raider game.
Where To Find Fallout 4’s Best Power Armor
Missing Fallout 4’s most powerful armor is pretty easy, given that it’s inside of an unmarked building. Here’s how you can find it.
The Evolution Of Dragon Ball Characters
The folks over at Dragon Ball World compiled a cool infographic of the main characters from the youngest appearance—but not necessarily first—to their oldest.
The Return Of The World’s Greatest Family Guy Cosplayer
Real Life Peter Griffin, the world’s greatest Peter Griffin cosplayer and impersonator, hit the big time last year. Now he’s back, and we get to meet the man behind the man.
The 12 Best Games for the Wii U
Hail, ye Nintendo faithful! Loyal folk that you are, a Wii U now rests beneath your TV. The console’s now been around for a couple years, and there are more good games for it than ever. Enough good games, in fact, that we think the Wii U is worth owning.
Near-Impossible Super Mario World Glitch Done For First Time on SNES
It’s something that most players wouldn’t even think is possible: playing a game in a certain way that jumps you completely to the end, without beating its final battle. But there it is, just executed in Super Mario World.
The Messy, True Story Behind The Making Of Destiny
In the summer of 2013, months before they were supposed to ship their next video game, the game developers at Bungie went into panic mode.
10 Free Steam Games Worth Playing
While Steam gets a lot of hype for discounted prices, you don’t actually have to spend any money to enjoy some of the best games the service has to offer. Over the years, Steam has accumulated a number of great games that are free-to-play, and I’m here to tell you which ones you should check out.
The Fallout 4 Announcement Has Begun
UPDATE (10am): On Wednesday morning, Bethesda announced Fallout 4 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. You can watch the trailer right here.
Rooster Teeth Animator Monty Oum Dies At 33
Rooster Teeth animator Monty Oum has passed away, the production studio announced today. The 33-year-old was hospitalized over the weekend for “a severe allergic reaction during a simple medical procedure” that put him in a coma. When the news first hit, fans raised nearly $180,000 for him.
Thousands of People Have Watched Leaked Fallout 4 Footage On Pornhub
Last week, some lucky Gamescom attendees got a chance to see new Fallout 4 footage behind closed doors. Many gaming websites have reported on it; the new Fallout footage is not a mystery. Thing is, Bethesda hasn’t actually released this footage for the world to see...not that this has stopped fans from finding creative and sneaky ways of viewing it anyway.
Horror Game Uses Phones To Turn Your House Into A Complete Nightmare
A game like this booted up on a dark night when you’re completely alone seems like a sure-fire way to shit your pants.
The Best Character Recreations in Fallout 4
Kotaku already showed you a rogues gallery of Fallout freaks. Now, let’s take a look at the best character creations of the famous and the infamous.
For Two Years, This Kanye West Game Has Been Hiding a Disturbing Secret
Guys. I’m kind of freaked out right now.
Fallout 4 Has An Infinite Caps Glitch
Just because it’s a wasteland doesn’t mean you gotta run around with scraps.
Destiny’s Sleeper Simulant Quest Has Begun—And It’s Awesome
Turns out people didn’t have to solve some giant riddle to find Destiny’s most mysterious gun. Turns out they just had to... wait.
How To Get One Of Fallout 4’s Best Guns At The Start Of The Game
When you first leave the vault in Fallout 4, you’ll notice there’s a locked container at the end of the level. It has a gun; a really good gun, by the looks of it. One problem: there’s no way to actually open the container so early in the game. Unless, of course, you know of a loophole.
10 Messed-Up Vault Experiments You Can Try In Fallout Shelter
Nuclear bunkers are not meant to save people in the world of Fallout. Vaults are for experimentation, and even though Fallout Shelter gives you no built-in way to conduct experiments, creative players are still finding ways to do “research.”
The 12 Best Games For The PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita is something of an oddity—a pricy, powerful portable gaming console adrift in a sea of smartphones, touchscreen controls, and inexpensive app-store games. All the same, we have a fondness for Sony’s beefy handheld, and the many unusual games you can play on it.
The 12 Best Games on PSP
Sony’s first handheld gaming system has been replaced by a younger, shinier model. Maybe you’ve waited this whole time to get a PSP, or maybe you’ve inherited one from a friend who bought a new Vita. Either way, now you need some games to cement your relationship.
How To Get Really Good Armor In Fallout 4
Fallout 4’s armor situation is a bit confusing. I’m not talking about Power Armor here—I’m talking about the more everyday stuff your character can wear to keep him or her safe from the hazards of the wastes.
Five Must-Watch Anime for Spring 2015
This season there are 50 new anime on the air, so it can be more than a little difficult to know which ones to watch. But now that the season has reached its half-way point, we at Kotaku East come bearing our recommendations.
The 12 Best Games For The Xbox One
You’re heading to the store to get an Xbox One right now, and need to know which games to get. Or you’re at work or in school, daydreaming about what you want to play next. Or maybe you’re suiting up for a battle in the console war, cinching on your armor and trying to remember which games will best help you make the argument for Microsoft’s new console. We are here to help.
A Horror Game That May Be Hidden In The Darkest Corners Of The Internet
The internet is a vast, unknowable place. The parts you and I interact with on a daily basis are a very small sliver of what’s actually floating around out there. The web can go deep, and it can get dark.
The 12 Best Games for the iPad
Stop watching movies on your iPad. Stop browsing the web.
It’s Official: Silent Hills Is Canceled
Sorry, folks—the recently-announced (and much-anticipated) horror game Silent Hills is not happening.
Your Complete Summer 2015 Anime Guide
It’s summertime! And you know what that means? New anime—47 of them to be exact. But with so many anime, how do you know which ones to watch? Easy. Read on and see what piques your interest.
Your Complete Winter 2015 Anime Guide
It’s winter. It’s cold outside. So stay in and bundle up next to a cozy fire; there are 35 new anime airing this season to keep you company. But how do you know which ones to watch? Check out the trailers and brief blurbs below to see which of them catches your interest.
Hollywood Is Planning A Five Nights At Freddy’s Movie
Five Nights at Freddy’s? A major motion picture? Oh how far we’ve come.
Our First Look At The Attack on Titan Movie In Action
We’ve seen the cast of the live-action Attack on Titan movie already. Here is some actual footage of the movie—and man, it looks excellent.
Bethesda Actually Lets Fan Pay For Fallout 4 With 2,200 Bottlecaps
Well I’ll be. The scheme to get Fallout 4 using only bottlecaps actually worked!
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: The Kotaku Review
Looking back over my last 60 hours with The Witcher 3, I feel a bit like its wandering protagonist: A very attractive man standing alone on a hilltop, looking out over a vast kingdom, unsure where to begin.
Five Nights At Freddy’s 4: The Final Chapter Announced
Last week, people were freaking out about a blank image that they thought might be teasing a new Five Nights game. Everyone thought these people were crazy...but turns out, they were right!
The Sex Games That Steam Censors
If you’ve paid any attention to the “Popular New Releases” tab on Steam, you might have noticed that lately, there’s been a big influx of anime games on the distribution platform. Featuring 2D babes, these games often let you romance and seduce scantily-clad characters. Warning: this post contains graphic sexual images that are not safe for work.
VR Porn Has Made Some Progress With Breasts, At Least
It’s pretty difficult to find a game that actually nails the way breasts move. Curiously, though, it seems like the people making virtual reality porn are making some good strides in the realm of breast physics. NSFW content ahead, you’ve been warned!
Fallout 4 Review Embargo Gets Embargo
Fallout 4, like most major video games, has a review embargo. Unlike most major video games, however, Fallout 4 has an embargo for its review embargo.
Dragon Ball Is Getting Its First New TV Anime in 18 Years
It’s called Dragon Ball Super. And it’s the first new, original Dragon Ball television anime in nearly two decades.
Power Rangers Get a Mighty Gritty Reboot
Massive intergalactic warfare. Tons of cussin’. Lethal force up the wazoo. Threesomes. Yup, you’ve probably never seen Power Rangers look like this.
How Video Game Breasts Are Made (And Why They Can Go Wrong)
Breasts swing. They sag. They flop. They can move. Over the years, many games have tried to emulate the way breasts behave. There’s even a term for it: “Breast physics.”
A Horror Game That Disturbed Me In Less Than 10 Minutes
When I play horror games, I expect to get weirded out. It’s part of the fun! The Static Speaks My Name, however, was a total gut punch. I didn’t have any words when the experience was over.
Fallout 4 Announced For PS4, Xbox One, PC
Inadvertently leaked on the official website an hour ahead of its scheduled announcement, here’s Fallout 4, coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
E3 2015 Winners & Losers: Day Zero
It’s time. Time to look past the nuances of the video game industry, the malleability of the artform and the subjectiveness of fans. Time to pass imperious verdict on what sucked today and what didn’t suck.
Destiny Players Discover Secret Raid Room That Nobody Can Solve
Late Friday night, someone wrote on the Destiny subreddit that there may be a secret room in the game’s newest raid, King’s Fall. He said he’d seen someone post about it on a Facebook group he was in. He even shared a video.
How Snoopy Killed Peanuts
By the end of its run in 2000, Peanuts was an institution. It had become an omnipresent part of American culture, and that’s not a compliment.
Five Things I Didn’t Get About Making Video Games (Until I Did It)
Before I joined Gearbox Software, I worked at Destructoid as a features editor. I worked there from 2006 to 2010 and specialized in highlighting indie games and spewing vitriol at big-budget games I didn’t like. It turns out there were a shitload of things I didn’t know about games development.
Microsoft’s Holographic Minecraft Demo Is Stunning
Minecraft is a game we’ve seen countless times before. And yet! The virtual reality demo showcased by Microsoft today makes the game almost seem brand new.
GTA V’s San Andreas vs 2004’s San Andreas
We’ve seen charts, and galleries from the street, but it’s only when you see the size of the game world in both GTA titles laid bare that you start to appreciate a few things you might have otherwise missed.
League of Legends Pro Quits, Burns Every Bridge On His Way Out
Burnt out and tired of playing for a losing team, professional League of Legends player Austin “Link” Shin announced last night that he was leaving the game. He did so in a bombastic way: writing an 18-page screed that called out nearly all his former teammates, coaches, and ultimately the game itself.
A Price Of Games Journalism
For the past two years, Kotaku has been blacklisted by Bethesda, the publisher of the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series. For the past year, we have also been, to a lesser degree, ostracized by Ubisoft, publisher of Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and more.
One Of Metal Gear Solid V’s Most Important Story Scenes Was Cut
Rumors have suggested that Konami was unhappy with how much money Hideo Kojima spent on his most recent epic, which might explain why one of Metal Gear Solid V’s most pivotal story missions isn’t actually in the game.
The Final Fantasy VII Remake Is Looking Hot
Today at the PlayStation Experience we got our first real look at the Final Fantasy VII remake, which is currently slated for 2123 or so. It’s looking real good. Also: real-time combat?
Our First Real Look At Fallout 4
Bethesda closed their E3 presentation with a bang today: a demo of Fallout 4, which shows us a whole lotta gameplay footage.
Kylo Ren’s Fake Twitter Account Is The Best
If you haven’t seen Force Awakens yet, SPOILERS AHEAD.
I Can’t Stop Playing Fallout Shelter
Last night before hitting the sack I set two alarms. One so that I could wake up this morning and come to work, like I always do. Another, so I could wake up at 4am: that’s when my vault dweller was supposed to return home.
Xbox One Gets Backwards Compatibility; Microsoft Takes Shots At Sony
Xbox boss Phil Spencer just announced that the Xbox One is getting backwards compatibility with 360 games later this year, which is pretty damn cool.
Here Is A Good Way To Get Quiet In Metal Gear Solid V
When you’re stuck in a video game, sometimes the only way through is to get creative.
Live-Action Naruto Play Saved The Best Cast Pictures For Last
No live-action stage spectacle covering the first story arc of the Naruto manga series would be complete without the brave boys and girls of Team Kurenai and Team Asuma. Now where’s Akamaru?
The Best (And Worst) April Fools’ Day Jokes For 2015
Ah, April 1. It’s a day where loads of things on the internet will make you groan, cry and smack your face to your palm. Other things, though, might actually give you a chuckle. Let’s take a look at some of the best (and worst) of these extremes.
Five Must-Watch Anime for Summer 2015
Having reached the halfway point of the Summer anime season, most series currently airing have settled into their groove. For those out there for whom forty-seven new shows are a bit too much to stomach, we at Kotaku East are here to offer our recommendations for what we feel are the cream of the crop.
The Maker Of The Trollface Meme Is Counting His Money
You’re probably familiar with this image, the infamous “trollface” that’s circulated the Internet for years. Someone drew the original trollface, and it’s 24-year-old Carlos Ramirez.
Fallout 4 and Skyrim Might Be In The Same Universe
There’s a pretty great easter egg hidden in Fallout 4, and it has some juicy implications about two of Bethesda’s biggest series.
Giving Yourself Hacked Pokémon Just Got Way Easier
UPDATE 3/4: Unfortunately, this has now been patched out on the 3DS! You can still do it if you don’t update, but it means not being able to play online.
10 Ridiculous Things That Can Actually Happen In Fallout 4
Fallout 4 is a pretty absurd game, on the whole. One moment you might become a comic book hero, the next you might go on a quest for a long-lost drinking buddy robot. That’s just the stuff on the surface. Things can get even stranger, if you look in the right places.
Dragon Ball Super Looks Super Crappy
You are not looking are some fan drawn images. These are official images from Dragon Ball Super’s fifth episode. Fan drawn images probably look better!
The Order: 1886: The Kotaku Review
Do you like movies? Do you like video games? If you answered “yes” to either of those questions, you should probably skip The Order: 1886.
The Disturbing Puzzle Game That Nobody Can Solve
On July 10th, 2014, a small, mysterious game called “Do Not Believe His Lies” was uploaded to the iOS app store. Since then, over 40,000 people have downloaded the app. Nobody has beaten it. Hell, nobody quite knows what it is, either.
How People Actually Fought With Swords
From Gladiator to Braveheart, most historical fiction about fighting with swords is kinda wrong, influenced more by performance art than how people actually fought each other with blades. Back to the Source, a documentary about Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA), is looking to show people how it was actually done.
Loads Of Fallout 4 Gameplay Details Leak Early
Fallout 4 does not officially release until November 10th...but the internet is already crawling with new, never-before-seen images and footage of the game.
Guy Sneaks Into Game Studio, Finds Unannounced Game
Sometimes, game studios have strict security. Other times, they let random people sneak into their buildings, steal lunch, and find out about unannounced games.
The Face of Japan Is Changing, But Some Aren’t Ready
Change happens slowly in Japan, but it does happen. You wake up one day, and things that weren’t possible years ago are happening today. Nowhere is that more evident than in the woman who will represent Japan in the Miss Universe pageant—but that’s to the chagrin of some who wanted a more “Japanese” winner.
A Beginner’s Guide To The World Of The Witcher
Good news: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a really cool game. Bad news: It’s dense and complicated as hell, and requires you to keep track of a ridiculous number of people, places, and concepts. Don’t worry: I’m here to help.
10 PS4 Features You Might Not Know About
Even if you’ve been using the PS4 since launch day, chances are good that you don’t know about everything the console has to offer. Turns out, some neat tricks are kind of hidden! Fortunately, we’re here to tell you about them.
Steam Is Getting An Uncensored Sex Game
Kindred Spirits on the Roof is a game about two ghosts who are eternally bound to a school—and the only way they can finally rest in peace is if they get to bone each other. Really.
MMA Fighter Throws Hadouken At Opponent, Then Beats Him Up
There are so, so few opportunities to throw a hadouken unironically. “During an MMA fight” is one of the preciously rare moments to channel your inner Ryu and feel like a total badass—as long as you’re actually in the fight. Shane Campbell saw such a window during a recent bout with Derek Boyle.
Players Are Making The Best Dragon Ball Xenoverse Characters
Dragon Ball Xenoverse lets players create their own custom characters, which they can then insert into classic DBZ storylines. The character creator is pretty robust, too—which also means that players are having a lot of fun with the tool.
Bungie Is Erasing Peter Dinklage From Destiny
For a long time now, the world has laughed at Peter Dinklage’s voice acting in Destiny, a video game about the slow, inevitable progression of death. Soon, that voice acting is going to change. One might even say it’s going to become legend.
Player Walks Through Fallout 4 Map In An Attempt To Measure It
Want to get a sense of how big Fallout 4 is? At least one player is already trying to figure that out.
Fallout 4 Is Not The Fallout Fans Fell In Love With
Last night, while wandering in Fallout 4, I heard something strange in the distance. A man on a megaphone was enthusiastically commentating a race. I’d never heard something like it before, so I had to take a closer look. To my surprise, I didn’t find a horse race, I found a robot race. A robot race! People were cheering them on from the sidelines, possibly even laying down bets.
Thank you to each and every one of you for your support in 2015!