Culture

I Adore Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s Dorky Eco-Terrorists

Final Fantasy VII Remake is my first time playing the game that made Final Fantasy a household name. Growing up, my house was a Nintendo house. I cut my teeth on Super Mario Bros. 3 and played through Kirby Super Star more times than I can remember. My only memory of Final Fantasy VII is…

NASCAR Driver Suspended For Saying N-Word On Stream [UPDATE]

Yesterday evening, professional NASCAR racer Kyle Larson used the n-word during an event hosted by prominent simulation esports league iRacing and broadcast on Twitch and eNASCAR.com. He’s since been suspended by NASCAR, as well as his racing team. With covid-19 forcing people across the world to pump the brakes on everything, professional racing organizations have…

ESRB Ratings Will Now Tell You If A Game Has Loot Boxes

Today the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) announced a new ratings description specifically for games with loot boxes. Currently, games that have microtransactions in them come with an ESRB description that states “In-Game Purchases.” The ESRB is now going to add the follow-up description “Includes Random Items” if there are items players can buy in…

How’s It Going?: Hanging Out Edition

It’s a very rainy Monday where I am, which seems appropriate for a Monday. Welcome back to our daily open thread. I had two virtual hangouts this weekend. I hung out with a friend and some of her friends on Zoom, and I (finally) watched Parasite with some folks over Discord. (That movie is crazy! I…

Track: Take Five | Artist: The Dave Brubeck Quartet | Album: Time Out

Spiritual Refreshment. Osaka, Japan. By Brian Ashcraft | Twitter 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 

The Week In Games: Fallout 76 Takes The Country Road To Steam

Fallout 76 is coming to Steam this week. And coming to all platforms is the big new update, Wastelanders, that adds human NPCs to irradiated West Virginia. Over the last six months or so I’ve tried to play Fallout 76, but even with a new video card and more RAM in my PC, the game…

Track: Alright Alright (Here’s My Fist Where’s The Fight?) | Artist: Sahara Hotnights | Album: Jennie Bomb

‘Shop Contest: Easter Sunday 2020

Happy Easter! Or if you are currently living mostly in Animal Crossing these days, happy Bunny Day! This Easter is a bit different than last year, what with the virus and all. So Agent 47 is being extra safe. He’s a murderer, not an idiot. Your challenge this week: Help video game characters celebrate Easter…

How’s It Going?: Patio Edition

Welcome back to another Sunday and Kotaku’s daily open thread. I want to take a moment to talk about patios. It’s weird to think about, but nearly every house and apartment I have lived in has had a small patio or porch. Even the shitty places still had a small slab of concrete or some…

Sunday Comics: Fresh Ideas

Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published April 9. Read more of Corpse Run Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published April 6. Read more of Awkward Zombie Clueless Hero by…

‘Shop Contest: Zipper T. Bunny, Winners!

Soon, Zipper T. Bunny and his damn eggs will be leaving Animal Crossing. But last week I asked you folks to send Zipper anywhere other than our islands and you all delivered. Our winning image this week comes from Board1288 who has punished Zipper and stuck his head on a large spike. I don’t think…

You Wanna Fight?

This week on Snapshots, a car on a basketball court, a creepy computer, a weird monster, a gorgeous field of flowers, an underwater tunnel and a tiny Star Wars creature with some attitude. “So you think you can take me! I will kick your Jedi ass up and down this ship.” Kotaku Snapshots is a…

Mountain Dew Frost Bite Is Fine, But That Shark Artwork Is Awesome

The world is a mess right now, but we do have a new Mountain Dew flavor to enjoy. And it comes with a cool ice shark on the bottle. If only the flavor of this new blue Dew was as good as that icy great white artwork. I first saw this new flavor of Dew…

Feebas Is So Ugly Everyone Ignores It

Every Pokemon is interesting and worth talking about. I don’t play a ton of Pokemon, but I do enjoy the universe and I love learning more about the creatures in it. So, Here’s Another Pokemon! It’s Feebas! Feebas Details Type: Water Average Height: 2′ 00″ Average Weight: 16.3 lbs First Added In Generation III Not…

How’s It Going?: Minecraft Edition

It’s Saturday. The weekend is here. And so too is Kotaku’s daily open thread. Minecraft may not be the hottest game in the world anymore. These days Fortnite seems to have overshadowed it. But it is still a hugely popular game and just like Fortnite, it has great crossplay support. So for the past couple…

The Cutest Little Arcade Cabinet

Hello! This week we check out the new Streets Of Rage trailer, learn how most games on Steam don’t make much money, watch a cat bring someone their slippers, check-in on Gears 5 and play a tiny arcade machine. Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week As someone who hates dealing with spiders in games…

Nintendo Says Stop Using Alcohol To Clean Your Joy-Cons

You might have heard there’s currently a global pandemic going on. As a result you might be using things like alcohol and disinfect wipes to clean off your stuff, including your Switch. Nintendo says don’t, at least if your priority is not damaging the system’s finish. For many, it probably isn’t. “Recently, customers have been…

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, As Told By Steam Reviews

Eight years after its announcement, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is finally out. Sorta: The long-awaited sequel to cult classic open-world lord sandbox Mount & Blade entered early access last week. For the most part, Steam users love it, despite some girthy warts that are hard to ignore. In his impressions, Kotaku’s Ethan Gach said…

Animal Crossing Speedrun Shows K.K. Slider Isn’t That Picky After All

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is about luxuriating by a fishing hole or meticulously planning out your town’s layout. That is, unless you’re a speedrunner. While some runners race to pay off their loans to Tom Nook, others are plotting the most efficient way to get K.K. Slider to come to their island and thereby kick…