Culture

Crusader Kings III Patches Are Already Works Of Art

Crusader Kings II had the best patches, so its sequel Crusader Kings III has a lot to live up to. It’s off to a good start though, with its first update today full of welcome changes both big and small. Here, for your pleasure, are some highlights: You can no longer attempt to find dead…

Hear Me Out: Pandorum Is The Dark Souls Of Movies

It was while rewatching 2009 space horror flick Pandorum over the weekend that I realized it’s essentially a Souls movie in disguise, released just a month before Demon’s Souls arrived in the United States. No, wait, don’t go! I can explain! In my mind, there are three key elements to a Dark Souls story: a…

37 Counter-Strike Coaches Banned For Cheating

As part of its attempts to crack down on cheating in Counter-Strike, and in particular one exploit that teams have been taking advantage of all year, the Esports Integrity Commission has just handed out bans for 37 coaches, some for just a few months, others for up to three years. That exploit is a bug…

What The Fuck, LA Comic Con Is Going Ahead

In December 2020, the organisers of the LA Comic Con want to open the doors of the Los Angeles Convention Center and allow thousands of people in for a nerd show. That’s in less than three months! What the hell! Despite every other major (and minor show) across the planet deciding to simply take the…

Today’s Xbox Series X Previews Revealed Mostly Good News

Over the past week or so, Xbox Series X preview units were made available to select members of the media. Microsoft did not send us one of these units. I’m not sad, but, earlier today, I was cutting onions and peppers while listening to Phoebe Bridgers, and then, without thinking, I rubbed my eyes. True…

I’m Trying To Kill Fewer Enemies In Spelunky 2

Spelunky 2 can be a violent experience. While searching for the main character’s parents is its ostensible goal, you sure do a lot of killing along the way. I’m doing my part to stem the tide of violence with a self-imposed goal: kill as few enemies as possible. Much like its predecessor, the world of…

Among Us, As Told By Steam Reviews

If you’ve ever harbored a quiet fear that all your friends are deceiving you, well, bad news: They are. Among Us, the sci-fi deception sensation that’s sweeping space stations across the nation, has definitively proven it. Steam users are loving it, even as they realize they can’t trust anyone—especially not Cyan. To call Among Us…

Playing Pokémon Go With My Son Is My New, Unpaid Part-Time Job

I have a new part-time job. The pay is terrible. I am the unpaid secretary and bookkeeper for my son’s game of Pokémon Go. I’m apparently a tutor for others, too. A month ago I wrote about my struggles learning to play Pokémon Go with my five-year-old son Toby. Despite over twenty years of working…

Launching on Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, PlayStation 4, and PC on November 10, Yakuza: Like a Dragon isn’t coming to PlayStation 5 until March 2, 2021. The good news is PS4 players with the digital version of the game will get a free upgrade to the PS5 version when it drops.

As 2020 Ends, So Does FarmVille

While it looks like most of the problems of the past year will follow us into the next, there is one comforting thought. Whatever 2021 brings, FarmVille is not coming with. The original super-annoying Facebook social game is closing its doors for good on December 31, 2020. Launched in 2009, FarmVille was the first big…

Earlier today, Nintendo announced it will be releasing information on upcoming DLC for Pokémon Sword/Shield. In June of this year, Nintendo released the Isle of Armor DLC as a part of it’s Expansion Pass, containing new gym trainers, updates to gameplay, and a new Pokémon, Kubfu. This announcement could possibly cover the second portion of the…

Hasbro’s Bringing Back Transformers: Beast Wars, Which Are The Best Wars

Rumored for what felt like years and officially revealed this weekend during the virtual Hascon event, the third stage of the Transformers’ War for Cybertron line is Kingdom, revisiting the glory of late ‘90s spin-off Beast Wars, in which robots transform into wild animals. The 1996 CG-animated series Transformers: Beast Wars and its accompanying toy…

The Week In Games: Lock S-Foils In Attack Position

It’s time to do some barrel rolls and other cool spaceship maneuvers while quoting Star Wars lines, because Star Wars Squadrons comes out later this week on PS4, Xbox One and PC. I’m very excited for Squadrons. It’s odd how, lately at least, Star Wars games have been mostly focused on people running around with…

Lunar: The Silver Star Was One Good Argument For The Sega CD

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today let’s give a listen to Lunar: The Silver Star, the marquee Sega CD RPG which kicked off the long-running series. The Sega CD gets a lot of criticism, and it’s mostly on point: Sega and…

The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Remakes Are Full Of New Graffiti

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 is a pretty damn good re-release, but not everything in the game is an authentic recreation of what came before. In the case of in-game graffiti, some new pieces were done specifically for the update, each of them paying tribute to the developers behind the release. Vicarious Visions,…

OJ Simpson Trivia And Driving Games Found Their Way Onto A 1000 Games For Windows CD From 2001

1000 Games for Windows is a shareware compilation disc once found in the bargain bins of the early 2000s. On the surface it appears to be a fairly standard disc filled with a variety of smaller games and programming experiments from around the world. There’s also an entire transcript of the infamous OJ Simpson trial…

$977 Designer Shoe Looks Like A Mario Kart Item

This shoe by Walter Van Beirendonck (teaming up with Japan’s Fools-Inc) is a new take on his existing, $815 “Cloud” sneaker. It is surely designed not to be worn on your feet, but to be thrown from a moving vehicle. Via Hypebeast, it’s stupid as hell, but in the best possible way. Outlandish fashion design…

Track: I Put A Spell On You | Artist: Screamin’ Jay Hawkins | Album: At Home with Screamin’ Jay Hawkins #SpookySongs

All Doom Demons, Ranked

Doom Eternal is coming to Xbox Game Pass on October 1 and that got me thinking about Doom. I like Doom a lot. I’ve written about it many times before onKotaku and it seems like it’s about time I sit down and rank all the demons who have appeared in Doom games throughout the years.…

‘Shop Contest: Mario Action Figure

You’ve seen Mario in LEGO form, you’ve of course seen him in video game form and you’ve probably seen him in his animated form. But now he’s a big toy that makes noises. On Friday, Nintendo posted a tweet advertising the Mario action figure. Apparently, this thing has been out for a few months? Well,…