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Kotaku
28  mars     21h32
Throwing A Snowball Can Crash Helldivers 2, Devs Suggest You Don’t
Zack Zwiezen    Helldivers is a very good third person online co op sci fi shooter. Like, really good. But, it’s not the most stable game, with many players myself included failing missions simply because the game has crashed. And now, players are learning that snowballs can lead to some of these far too...
    21h00
22 Years Ago, Kingdom Hearts Almost Got Me Grounded For Life
Alyssa Mercante    We could hear her flip flops slapping the concrete steps that led to the basement before we saw her. Shh we hissed at each other, both of us adopting casual, seated poses on the well worn couch to exude an air of relaxation, of calm. My sister’s breathing betrayed us, however her chest was...
    20h45
CDPR Says Cyberpunk 2077 Has Made 750 Million So Far
Levi Winslow    The redemption tour that Cyberpunk has been on since it was fixed up into a playable state has turned in some huge sales numbers. Developer CD Projekt Red recently revealed that the once maligned but now refined sci fi first person shooter has raked in over million since the game’s...
    20h15
Earthblade, The Next Game From Celeste Devs, Has Been Delayed
Willa Rowe    Earthblade, the next game from Celeste developer Extremely OK Games, will not be released in . The fantasy Metroidvania platformer was originally slated for release this year, but has been delayed without a new release window.Read more...
    20h00
Maniac Takes The Best Part Of GTA And Makes It A Roguelike
Zack Zwiezen    When I was younger, my friends and I would play Grand Theft Auto III differently than how the developers intended. Instead of completing missions and side activities, we would use cheat codes to give ourselves all the guns, a good car, and then save the game in that state. We would then each take...
    19h30
Pepper Grinder’s A Wonderfully Short Platformer Missing Its ’A-Ha’ Moment
Moises Taveras    When I first saw Pepper Grinder, I was struck by how brash it appeared to be. It was this loud, kinetic, almost volatile game that felt like it was tapping into a kind of chaos that other, more sanitized platformers rejected. Crucially, it accomplished this by handing the player a large drill and...
    18h00
FF7 Rebirth’s Platinum Trophy Is Currently Impossible To Get If You Bought It Digitally
Zack Zwiezen    Players trying to complete everything in Final Fantasy Rebirth are running into a roadblock at the very end of the game after the recent . patch broke one of the very last side quests. And until it’s patched by Square Enix, only those who own the game physically can complete the quest, get...
    17h45
X-Men 97’s Latest Episode Highlights The Show’s Biggest Flaw
Willa Rowe    The dual episode premiere of X Men , the Disney sequel to the classic animated series, put its best foot forward in winning over old and new fans. That’s thanks to the show’s beautiful animation, great voice acting, and an understanding of what makes these beloved characters so great. Episode...
    17h00
NCSoft Confirms Guild Wars 3 Is In Development
Kenneth Shepard    It’s been over a decade since ArenaNet’s fantasy MMO Guild Wars launched. In the years since its PC debut, the team has released several expansions and updates for it, with the latest being ’s Secrets of the Obscure. With two more expansions still in the works set to launch this year and...
    16h30
A New Mainline Spyro Game Is Reportedly In Development
Levi Winslow    Remember Spyro the Dragon, the lovable, purple colored flying lizard that collected gems and spat fire It’s been a minute since he’s had a brand new game of his own, huh Well, it seems that’s going to change, as developer Toys for Bob appears to be working on a new, mainline entry in the long...
    15h35
Joe Lieberman, Senator Who Crusaded Against Video-Game Violence, Dead At 82
Moises Taveras    Joe Lieberman, a former U.S. senator who crusaded against violence in video games, has passed away at . According to a statement from his family, he suffered complications from a fall. Read more...
    14h45
Microsoft’s All-Digital Xbox Series X Has Leaked
Levi Winslow    Microsoft seems poised for an all digital future, folks. The company is swapping the black coating on the Xbox Series X for white and pulling the disc drive for an all digital refresh of its most powerful Xbox ever, according to eXputer.Read more...
    14h32
Capcom Asks Players If They Want Dragon’s Dogma 2 DLC
Willa Rowe    Dragon’s Dogma has only been out for a week but Capcom is already considering the possibility of adding content to the game in the future. The action RPG has been met with widespread critical acclaim and, yes, no shortage of player grievances , and it looks like the game’s publisher may want to...
    13h51
Embracer Sells Borderlands Maker Gearbox For Less Than Half Of What It Paid [Updated]
Kenneth Shepard    Another company has escaped the gaping, acquisition hungry maw that is publisher Embracer Group, as Borderlands developer Gearbox Software has been sold to Take Two Interactive. This lines up with Kotaku’s previous reporting on the matter in February, in which sources told us Gearbox was nearing a...
    13h45
12 Cool Games We Saw At PAX East 2024
Kenneth Shepard and Moises Taveras    PAX East was in Boston this past week, and while there were some heavy hitters at the show like Baldur’s Gate developer Larian Studios and Square Enix showing off Final Fantasy XIV’s Dawntrail expansion, the show didn’t have a ton of big names.Read more...
    13h00
Visions of Mana Feels Like A Vintage RPG For Better And Worse
Moises Taveras    I’m filling in some gaps in my RPG history. I’ve been playing series like Final Fantasy since I was a kid, but there are countless other landmark RPGs I’ve rarely touched, including the fantasy RPG Mana series, which splintered off of Final Fantasy Adventure in . The only installment in the...
27  mars     21h30
Cheech And Chong Are Coming To Call Of Duty Because Everything Must Be Consumed
Zack Zwiezen    Cheech and Chong, the comedy pair famous for their albums and movies from the s and s, will be added to Call of Duty as part of the upcoming Season . Read more...
    21h15
What The Heck Does FF7 Rebirth’s Dynamic Difficulty Do?
Claire Jackson    Final Fantasy VII Rebirth features a lot of fighting. And while the game’s flexible materia system lets you customize your fighting style, you can also adjust the difficulty with three different options at the beginning, plus a fourth once you finish the game. Read more...
    20h45
Twitch Bans Using Intimate’ Body Parts As Green Screens
Levi Winslow    Amazon owned livestreaming platform Twitch has disciplined content creators again. Just as a new meta began dominating the site earlier this month, in which streamers started playing games like Fortnite on green screened boobs and butts, Twitch has updated its Terms of Service to strictly prohibit...
    20h33
New South Park Game Is About As Fun As Reading A Phone Book
Zack Zwiezen    About halfway through the first mission in South Park: Snow Day, I found myself pausing the game and checking my phone as I desperately looked for entertainment. That’s what we professional and very serious critics call: Not a good sign. Read more...
    20h02
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Makes You Take Your Time, And That’s Great
Willa Rowe    One of the first quests you undertake in Dragon’s Dogma, Capcom’s new action RPG, has you traveling from the town of Melve to the capital city of Vernworth. It’s a slow journey that starts and stops several times along the winding roads leading to your final destination. You need to dispatch...
    19h30
What Is Dragonsplague? Dragon’s Dogma 2’s Devastating Contagion Explained
Eric Schulkin    Read more...
    18h37
You Can Try Overwatch 2’s New Hero For A Limited Time This Week
Kenneth Shepard    The next Overwatch hero is getting a brief trial period for those who want to take them for a spin before launch, just like Blizzard did with tank hero Mauga before his launch. Venture, a non binary, drill using damage hero, is set to join the roster in season which kicks off on April ,...
    18h15
Dune MMO Dev Confirms No Dong Size Slider, Sorry Conan Exiles Fans
Zack Zwiezen    The upcoming survival MMO Dune Awakening seems neat and all, but if you know the history of its developers, Funcom, you might be wondering: Hey, does this open world online survival game with custom characters also include a penis size slider The answer is no, because apparently, Dune ain’t sexy ...
    17h30
Digital Game Sales Continue Killing Off GameStop, Analyst Says
Levi Winslow    Video game and nerd culture retailer GameStop appears to be floundering once more. According to a Reuters report, the company recently laid off an unspecified number of employees after reporting a decline in earnings in the fourth quarter as physical sales fall and digital purchases rise.Read more....
    17h15
How To Unlock (And Win) FF7 Rebirth’s Crunch-Off Mini-Game
Claire Jackson    Final Fantasy VII has been incorporating exercise mini games ever since the original release challenged Cloud to pull off some competitive squats. Those returned in ’s Final Fantasy VII Remake, with pull ups tossed in for good measure. Rebirth keeps things going by also introducing a new...
    17h00
Big Shakeup At Nintendo Testing Center Ahead Of Switch 2
Ethan Gach    Nintendo of America is restructuring the small army of contractors that helps test its games and hardware in its Washington state headquarters, the company confirmed to Kotaku. According to four current and former contractors, the result is a massive downsizing that comes amid layoffs across the...
    16h36
FF7 Rebirth’s Yuffie Actor Was Too Good At Fake Vomiting, Had To Tone It Down’
Zack Zwiezen    The actor who provided the English voice of Yuffie in Final Fantasy Rebirth says that while recording her lines, she was asked to pretend that she was puking from motion sickness. Apparently, her fake vomiting was too accurate and gross because Square Enix had to tell her to pull back. Read more....
    15h50
Marvel Unveils Its Overwatch-Style Hero Shooter, Marvel Rivals
Kenneth Shepard    After some teases and leaks, Marvel and NetEase Games have officially revealed Marvel Rivals. The game is a free to play, v hero shooter in the style of Overwatch, but it’s in third person and stars superheroes from across Marvel’s various comics. While we’ve only seen one trailer, it looks like...
    15h45
Stellar Blade Previews Say It’s More Sekiro Than Bayonetta
Levi Winslow    A free demo for Stellar Blade, developer Shift Up’s character action PS exclusive, will go live on March . Ahead of its imminent release, some gaming publications got early hands on time with roughly two hours of the game, which contains the first level and its respective boss. Based on...
    15h30
400,000 Worth Of Playdate Gaming Handhelds Have Gone Missing
Moises Taveras    Cabel Sasser, co founder of the company behind whimsical yellow gaming handheld the Playdate, was giving a talk on the crank sporting device at the Games Developer Conference when he provided a noteworthy factoid and anecdote. Apparently, , worth of Playdates curiously went missing at a...
    15h15
FF7 Rebirth: How To Learn Enemy Attacks With Enemy Skill Materia
Claire Jackson    Final Fantasy VII Rebirth pits you against countless enemies, many of which have abilities your characters can deploy against them and other enemies via the Enemy Skill materia. Found in the original FF release, Enemy Skill works a little differently in . You’ll need to complete a series...
    14h45
Nintendo Switch Online Adds Another GBA Classic This Week
Willa Rowe    Nintendo Switch Online, the subscription service that gives players access to a library of games for consoles and handhelds from the company’s past, will receive its latest Game Boy Advance title this week. F Zero: Maximum Velocity is dropping onto the service this Friday, March .Read more...
    14h15
Overwatch 2 Fans Have Already Embraced Its New, Non-Binary Hero
Kenneth Shepard    Overwatch ’s ninth season is nearly over, and when the tenth begins on April , the hero shooter is getting a few significant changes.All of its heroes will no longer be locked behind the battle pass and the game will get a new shop dedicated to Mythic Skins only. But Overwatch is also getting...
    13h15
Our Favorite Video Game Weapons Of All Time
Alyssa Mercante    In a video game, you’re only as good as your weapon. Try getting through Elden Ring’s hardest boss battle without a powerful sword, or a tough multiplayer match in Halo without nabbing the Needler and unloading on an incoming Ghost. Even the most elite level gamers among us owe some of their...
26  mars     21h10
Judas Previews Don’t Make The Game’s Lofty Promises Seem Any Closer To Reality
Willa Rowe    It’s been just over a decade since BioShock series creator Ken Levine closed down Irrational Games to form a smaller, more entrepreneurial endeavor that would become Ghost Story Games. The studio’s first project, Judas, has been in the works for ten years as well, and after a few trailers...
    20h45
Jack Black Can’t Believe There Isn’t Already A Red Dead Redemption Movie
Zack Zwiezen    If you played Red Dead Redemption or a recent Grand Theft Auto and wondered Hey, why hasn’t Hollywood made either of these open world blockbuster games into movies then you should know that you aren’t alone. In fact, you have some famous company, as Jack Black is wondering the same thing.Read...
    20h30
Fighting FF7’s Sephiroth Is Way Harder In Kingdom Hearts
Levi Winslow    I was out with friends recently and the age old topic of games that pushed us to the point where controllers were thrown came up during a conversation about Smash pro Riddles doing that very thing at a big tournament last year. The usual suspects were discussed over drinks: FromSoft games like Dark...
    18h38
Some Publishers Reportedly Not Sure Why They Should Keep Supporting Xbox
Zack Zwiezen    Reportedly, some third party video game publishers aren’t sure why they should keep making and supporting games for Xbox consoles due to poor sales in Europe. Read more...
    17h45
FF7 Rebirth: WTF Is The Stat-Swapping Materia Good For?
Claire Jackson    Most of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s magical orbs, known as materia, are rather self explanatory. Many give you access to a new attack spell, others heal or revive you, others buff your party, and many more debuff your opponents. But there’s a three materia orbs that might initially seem to be...
    16h55
GTA 6 Production Reportedly Falling Behind, Rockstar Urges Staff To Return To Office To Avoid Delay [Update]
Zack Zwiezen    Grand Theft Auto VI is likely one of the most anticipated games in history, with millions of players around the world waiting for any scrap of info or screenshot of the upcoming open world crime simulator. However, as remote workers struggle with an unwanted return to office mandate from Rockstar...
    16h45
PS5 Players Will Soon Be Able To Show Others How To Beat Games
Willa Rowe    Sony has announced an upcoming expansion to its existing Game Help experience for PlayStation . The feature, which allows developers to create hints for PS games that are accessible through the console’s control center, will be given an update in the form of Community Game Help. The new feature...
    16h30
The Family Guy AI Stream Became Unwatchable Due To All The Screaming
Zack Zwiezen    An automated YouTube stream that broadcasts AI generated Family Guy ldquo;episodes rdquo; based on user submitted pitches was recently broken and made unwatchable after someone realized they could make the characters scream gibberish endlessly using a few specific commands. Read more...
    15h00
The Last Of Us’ Pedro Pascal Is Reportedly Done With Season 2 Already
Levi Winslow    Season of HBO’s The Last of Us is currently filming in the Canadian province of British Columbia and Pedro Pascal, who plays post apocalypse dad Joel Miller, has reportedly finished all of his parts just one month after filming began. If you’ve played Naughty Dog’s TLOU Part II, then you probably...
    14h45
PC May Not Be The Last Stop For Final Fantasy XVI
Willa Rowe    As the one year anniversary of Final Fantasy XVI’s release approaches, the game seems to be approaching the end of support. The Rising Tide, the second and final piece of DLC for the game, releases in April, and the PC port is in the final stages of optimization. The assumption would be that after...
    13h15
This Unreleased Capcom Game Lives On In The Caves Of Dragon’s Dogma 2
Willa Rowe    I remember watching the February , , PlayStation announcement live stream, eager to learn what the new console would bring me. It was a lengthy affair and looking back I barely remember what was announced Except for one title that etched itself onto my mind: a Capcom dungeon crawler called...
25  mars     21h30
A 30-Year-Old Menu In Windows Was Meant To Be Temporary, Actually
Zack Zwiezen    It turns out that a small but useful menu inside your modern Windows PC was designed and built in one day in . It was meant to be a temporary stopgap until something better was created to replace it. That never happened, and now, years later, the guy behind that original menu has revealed...
    21h15
Here’s How To Easily Unlock Dragon’s Dogma 2’s Best Class
Levi Winslow    Most of Dragon’s Dogma ’s classes or vocations are carryovers from the series’ entry. However, since this is a sequel Capcom’s newly released high fantasy action RPG does feature some new vocations for you to unlock. One of them, the Darth Maul serving Mystic Spearhand, is a class that’s...
    21h00
FF7 Rebirth’s Best Materia For Debuffing Your Enemies
Claire Jackson    Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will throw a ton of enemies at you. Luckily, you’ll have a wide variety of healing spells, magic attacks, unique abilities, and weapon skills at your disposal. And while you can also buff your party, you can debuff your enemies too, making them more susceptible to your...
    19h15
FF7 Rebirth’s Best Materia To Give Your Characters New Abilities
Claire Jackson    Characters in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth have access to a ton of abilities, many of which come from learning unique weapon skills. Others come from materia, particularly the yellow orbs referred to as Command materia. Equip one of these, and bam You’ve got yourself anew ability.Read more...