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Reduction in Stress When You Play Casual Games Casual games can get a bad rap, but research has consistently shown that they can dramatically reduce depression and relieve stress. Since 2008 researchers at East Carolina University have consistently demonstrated these effects. Their results have been pretty conclusive showing that casual games like Peggle can reduce…

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is finally making its way to consoles on November 5th, creator Edmund McMillen announced today. He’s been talking about a console-compatible remake of his famously difficult and emotionally disturbing game for a while now, so this is pretty exciting. The new(ish) game will be available on the PS4, PS Vita,…

​About GamerGate

Wikipedia would tell you that GamerGate is something to do with ants. Wikipedia, this week, is wrong. GamerGate, the latest name for an ongoing saga in and around the gaming community, is about a bunch of other things. Let’s discuss, shall we? The current drama goes back, however directly or indirectly, to an ex-boyfriend and…

Devil May Cry’s Story Was Nonsense, And That Was Fine

There are some video games that you love and hate at the same time. The Devil May Cry reboot is high up on that list. It was enormously fun, but also sort of a train-wreck. Let’s reflect on where such a good game jumped off the rails. YouTuber Dartigan, who previously broke down the nonsensical…

Groot’s Dancing Ain’t So Family Friendly In GTA

The joys of mods: they have the power to ruin, yet paradoxically improve the things you love. Here’s a GTA IV mod by indirivacua, played here by YouTuber taltigolt, which takes Guardians of the Galaxy’s Groot, and lets him loose on Liberty City. Groot goes on to terrorize GTA, and even takes a quick pitstop…

Last-Gen Destiny Comes With A Free Current-Gen Upgrade (For Now)

Destiny launches next week on a bunch of different consoles. Since developer Bungie has a ten-year plan for the game, it may outlast some of the devices its debuting on. But if you’re starting Destiny on the Xbox 360 or PS3, don’t worry: jumping to the next generation won’t cost you anything—for now. Activision and…

How To Make The Sims 4 More Difficult

Played on its own, The Sims 4 can be pretty aimless. That’s not a bad thing, but it does mean you can do stuff to spice things up and make the game more interesting. Enter challenges. Challenges come in all shapes and sizes, though most of them have been developed for previous Sims games. The…

The Final Fantasy XV Problem

On Sunday, when I asked Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi what he thinks of the current state of the franchise he built, his answer was short and blunt. “Final Fantasy XV is taking too long.” Is it? Well, when The Game Now Called Final Fantasy XV was first announced back in May 2006, the president…

The Game Release Calendar Update, Destiny Edition

We’ve dropped another big update into our Game Release Calendar, taking into account newly pinned down Fall Releases, delays into 2015, and lots more. Of course the highlight of next week, if not the year so far, is Destiny. We’ll be on our Twitter over the weekend and into post-release keeping an eye out for…

Number Of Different Teams Possible in Pokémon Pokémon is endlessly fascinating to me. It has layers of complexity that keep it that keep it both accessible to younger players and interesting for adults. While on a very long and boring plane ride this past week, I got to wondering just how many different Pokémon teams…

What I Learned Trying To Bang Pigeons

For a game that is about dating birds, Hatoful Boyfriend is surprisingly normal. And that is its greatest strength. The Japanese dating sim, originally released for PC in 2011 and now remastered in HD, puts you in the role of a lone human student at the all-bird high school of St. PigeoNation’s Institute, where you…

Star Trek Catan, The West Wing, Roccat, Astro, Groot [Deals]

Star. Trek. Catan. $34. Get these deals and more, and earlier on Deals.Kinja. Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook to never miss a deal, check out our Gaming and Movie/TV release calendars to plan your upcoming free time, and join us for Kinja Co-Op to vote on the best products. Got a deal we…

Sims 4 Cheat Leads To Giant Toilets

I know EA loves to say that there are many different ways to play The Sims 4. But are Godzilla-sized sanitation fixtures what they had in mind? I think we’re gonna need a bigger Sim, people. Images of gigantic appliances and furniture from The Sims 4 began to circulate online yesterday after people discovered an…

The Unusual Excellence Of Halo‘s Most Iconic Level

You’re playing a shooter. Some Marine stands in front of you, barking out commands. Whatever he’s saying doesn’t really matter—it translates to little more than “shoot the bad guys!” Eventually, he steps out of the way, you run forward, and you dash through narrow corridors, using a host of weapons that more or less function…

Here’s a New Take On Snake For You To Try

If you ever owned an old black and white Nokia phone, you probably sunk tons of hours into the game Snake. I did, which is why this hexagonal reimagining of the game by programmer Alex J Mundiñano is so engaging. You can play Hex Snake here. Once you get some momentum going, it’s hard to…

Nintendo, Why Must You Be So Cruel?

This is a plush Yoshi doll. It is very cute. Not just cute, it’s painfully adorable. This is the level of cuteness that makes me cringe with something that feels like genuine pain. So what’s the problem? It’s being released for Club Nintendo Europe. That means I am going to have to go to incredible…

This Excellent Roccat Gaming Mouse Is Just $40 Today

Roccat doesn’t have the mindshare of Razer or Logitech, but they make some truly great gaming peripherals, including this Roccat Kone Pure Optical Core Performance Gaming Mouse. With adjustable DPI up to 4000, 7 programmable buttons, on-board memory, and customizable lighting options, there’s a lot of gaming mouse in this $40 package. I can also…

Today’s selection of articles from Kotaku‘s reader-run community: Did Dark Souls already hint at the world of Bloodborne 2 years ago? • Under the Dog Has Been Successfully Funded • Street Fighter x Pokémon Day 4! M.Bison x ________! TAY Classic—TAY Open Forum—Beginner’s Guide To TAY Follow them here.

Seinfeld Meets The Sims 4

Everything looks really authentic—well, except maybe Jerry’s hair—in IanRoach‘s The Sims 4 version of the cast of Seinfeld and their places. It must have taken hours to recreate everything from the show perfectly, especially Elaine’s character. It’d be awesome to see more of them like this… Newman, George’s parents, Puddy or Uncle Leo. Who needs…

Paragon Level 300

And I still haven’t seen a single Wand of Woh drop. I know maining a wizard might not be the most efficent way to level up but it’s so much fun.