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The Evil Within 2‘s Open World Is What Makes It Terrifying

Last night, I played The Evil Within 2 on Kotaku’s Twitch channel. I expected a linear series of monsters and scares but instead found a loose, semi-open world structure that made me feel anxious and helpless. It’s a chaotic, freeform take on horror that make every encounter unique and scary. The Evil Within 2 follows…

The Final Fantasy VR Fishing Game Is Not At All What I Expected

When I think about fishing, I think about relaxation: chilling out somewhere beautiful in the sun, watching the shimmering water, waiting for fish to bite. Admittedly all of my real-life fishing experiences took place in the rain-drenched Highlands of Scotland and were absolutely horrendous, but video games are about escapism. I hadn’t read much about…

Demon’s Souls Servers Are Shutting Down, Removing Part Of What Made The Game Great

Today, Sony Entertainment and Atlus announced that the online servers for Demon’s Souls will shut down next year on February 28th. The game, which mixed online and single-player elements, will transform into something completely different. This asks the question: how do we preserve experiences tied to online features? FromSoftware initially entered into the fantasy RPG…

Getting A ‘Haircut’ In Splatoon 2 Seems Like It Would Hurt

One moment my Squid Girl is sporting the same side tentacle she’s been rocking since Splatoon 2 launched, the next her gorgeous glistening appendage is sliced, chopped and tied off into a pair of wriggling pigtails. Sounds painful, doesn’t it? At first I was excited about the four new hairstyles added to Splatoon 2 in…

As Destiny 2 Players Rage, Bungie Struggles To Respond

Throughout three years of Destiny and its sequel, several things have remained consistent. The shooting has always felt great. The aliens have always been fun to kill. And Bungie has always been unable to communicate with players in a way that doesn’t piss them off. On Friday, Bungie announced plans to change the game’s experience…

People Are Making Cults And Prisons In Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has a couple weird rules about furniture, and players are using those to make some really creepy camps. There’s a couple quirks to how furniture works in Pocket Camp. If you place a lamp down, villagers will stand in front of it and turn it on and off. If you put…

Ultra Sun and Moon Shouts Out The Time Iwata Helped Save Pokémon

Last week, fans discovered that the latest Pokémon games reference beloved Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, who died in 2015. The easter egg is touching, but it’s also kind of brief. Here’s the full story behind how Iwata saved Pokémon—and a closer look at why the man became so legendary. Joe Merrick, proprietor of Pokémon site Serebii,…

What Did Black Friday Make You Buy? 2017 Edition

Black Friday and its numerous extensions (Cyber Monday, Just Buy Our Damn Stuff Thursday) are a magical time in retail, when the veil between wallet and willpower is at its thinnest. Which games, gadgets and gear made it past your defenses this year? I’ll start. First up we have the special Poké Ball version of…

Our Reviews Of Fall 2017’s Biggest Games

It’s Thanksgiving time, which (hopefully) means a long weekend to play some games. If you’re not sure what to play or are wondering what you missed, here are Kotaku’s reviews of some of the fall’s biggest games, in no particular order. This piece originally appeared 11/22/17.

Why Japanese Actors Star In The Live-Action Fullmetal Alchemist Movie

The Fullmetal Alchemist movie was filmed in Italy. It stars two brothers named Edward and Alphonse. Yet, the cast is Japanese, and the characters speak Japanese. Director Fumihiko Sori recently explained why he thought the actors needed to be Japanese. On Twitter, Sori writes that while the location and the names were Western, the characters’…

It’s Late 2017 And Pokémon Go Can Still Draw Massive Crowds In Japan 

When Pokémon Go launched in Japan (and, well, everywhere), hordes of folks were playing it. The numbers of active players have dropped, but the game still has a dedicated following. Of course, Japan isn’t alone. The game is still played and enjoyed by people all around the globe. From November 24 to November 26, there…

The online service for Demon’s Souls is ending on February 28, 2018 in Japan. The official release doesn’t state whether this impacted the game’s online service worldwide. Demon’s Souls was originally released in 2009. 

Chrissy Teigen Reviews Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Supermodel Chrissy Teigen, who is excellent at Twitter, is playing Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and has some thoughts about it. They are: And this has been Chrissy Teigen’s review of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Yudanaka Onsen. Yamanouchi, Japan. By Thomas Rizza.  JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

New Warhammer 40K Game Looks A Lot Like Civilization

There are far too many Warhammer 40K games out there at the moment, most of them forgettable, but even through that fog of bore I’m still a little interestedin the upcoming Gladius – Relics of War, the franchise’s first attempt at a 4X game Developed by Proxy (Pandora) and published by Slitherine (Panzer Corps, Order…

14-Year Old Video Game Cheater Sued, Mom Says He’s A Scapegoat [Update]

Last month, Epic took the unusual step of not just banning two Fortnite players from the game for cheating, but taking them to court. It’s since been revealed that one of the accused is only 14 years old, and his mother is not happy. [Correction – 4:30pm, Nov. 30: The boy in question is yet…

Fan Redesigns Steam’s Terrible Mobile App

Steam’s desktop app has gotten better over the years, but its mobile app is pure trash. Which is why fans like Thano9, fed up with its ancient looks, go and imagine their own redesigns. For reference, here is Steam’s app as it appears today, in 2017: And here are more detailed shots ofThano9’s design mock-up,…

Heather is back and streaming The Evil Within 2 live on our Twitch channel It’s probably going to be scary.

Play A Lo-Fi, “Uncensored” Version Of Wolfenstein

As expected, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus wasmodified for the German market,with edits including the time-honored tradition of removing Hitler’s moustache. To counter this, a team have created their own low-budget version of the game called Wolfenstache It’s pitched at Germans frustrated at the censorship of the game locally, but it has actually been made…

Noctis Whacks People With His Sword In Latest Dissidia Final Fantasy Gameplay 

Tekken 7 isn’t the only fighting game Noctis is headed to these days. He’ll also be gracing Dissidia Final Fantasy with his presence. Square Enix showed off the young prince’s moves in a two year anniversary stream for the game earlier today. The game is currently out in arcades in Japan, but will also be…