Culture

Conventions Can Still Be Held, They’re Just Happening Online

One of the biggest casualties of the global Covid-19 lockdowns are events like comic and anime conventions, because huge arenas filled with tens of thousands of people crammed in, hugging and shaking hands are a massive health risk. But that’s OK! We can still have cons on the internet. And not just joke ones, like…

Playing Borderlands 3 Can Help Scientists With Actual Research

Ever felt guilty about playing video games while the world crumbles around you? Well, you’re in luck, because Borderlands 3 now includes a special mini-game that lets you contribute to real-world scientific research while earning in-game rewards. Borderlands Science can be found in the infirmary of Sanctuary III, the spaceship that acts as the game’s…

Everything Shown During Today’s Inside Xbox

Here’s a roundup of everything Microsoft shared during today’s Inside Xbox stream. An early version of Grounded, the upcoming survival adventure game from Obsidian Entertainment, will arrive on Xbox Game Preview on July 28. We learned that while Xbox Series X games can be stored on any external hard drives, they’ll need to be moved to…

PlayStation 5 DualSense Controller Revealed

While we’ve yet to get a glimpse of the PlayStation 5 itself, Sony has seen fit to tease us today with a first look at its controller. In a new post on the PlayStation Blog, Sony Interactive Entertainment senior vice president Hideaki Nishino unveiled the DualSense wireless controller, the company’s follow-up to the DualShock 4.…

Virtual Reality Is My Favorite Way To Leave The House Right Now

At this point, we’ve heard how good virtual reality can be for walking around imaginary environments and interacting with worlds up close. But what I never saw coming was how my frivolous, cool tech distraction would become my new favorite way to leave my apartment in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. As of this…

Riot’s New Game Valorant Has 1.6 Million Viewers On Twitch Right Now [UPDATE]

Valorant, a game that’s not out yet and that most people can’t play, currently has 1.6 million concurrent viewers on Twitch, putting it within spitting distance of the all-time record. The new game from League of Legends (and only League of Legends, until now) developer Riot Games mashes up Counter-Strike-style tactical shooting with hero powers…

No Man’s Sky Has Freaking Mechs Now

Hello Games continues its quest to add every cool science fiction thing possible to procedural space sim No Man’s Sky with free update 2.4, Exo Mech, which gives players access to giant effing pilotable mechs. Also other things, but mainly mechs. Mechs can jump. They’re immune to planetary hazards. They feature immersive cockpits for those…

How’s It Going?: Productivity Edition

Hello, it’sonly Tuesday, and it’s also time for our daily open thread. I’ve been having a lot of trouble getting things done lately, a struggle I’m sure I’m not alone in. Maybe you’ve seen the memes about Shakespeare writing King Lear while in quarantine, along with all the reminders that you don’t have to write…

Track: Wanted Man (Take 1) | Artist: Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash | Album: Travelin’ Thru, 1967 – 1969: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 15

UFC Getting Private Island, Is Now Basically A Fighting Game

Unlike most sports, which are just riding this whole covid-19 thing out, the UFC is out there trying to get back underway as quickly as possible. By taking what used to be a fairly conventional combat sport and turning it into the plot of a Dead Or Alive or Tekken game. UFC boss Dana White…

Hermione’s House Blend

Eloïse Girard is a freelance illustrator and graphic artist from France. You can see more of Eloïse’s stuffat her ArtStation page.

Super Mario 64‘s Glitchy Smoke Has Been Fixed After 24 Years

For all this time, over all these decades, we’ve all been playing Super Mario 64 with a visual glitch: The smoke that comes off Mario’s butt when you catch fire is broken. Yup, turns out the MS-Paint-lookin’ effect we’re so used to isn’t how the smoke is supposed to look. Rather, after some poking around…

NASCAR Driver Ragequits Virtual Race, Is Definitely Not Mad

The eNASCAR iRacing Pro invitational Series event, where NASCAR drivers are racing each other on the internet because they can’t currently do it in real life, is already giving us some spicy sports action. During Sunday’s race, which was televised, Bubba Wallace quit in the middle of a race after tangling with a rival in…

Playing Dark Souls 3 With A Ring Fit Adventure Controller Is Quite The Workout

What if Dark Souls 3 was as taxing physically as it is mentally? That’s the question YouTuber Super Louis 64 sought to answer with his latest project: modifying a Ring Fit Adventure controller to work with Dark Souls In his latest video, Super Louis 64 details his efforts to play Dark Souls 3 with a…

How’s It Going?: Neighbors Edition

It’s Monday! Welcome to another week, and welcome back to our daily open thread. Last week I was sitting on my fire escape, and I watched a dude in full knockoff Army regalia and a bright pink gas mask buy two trash bags full of horrifying, sort of zombified baby dolls from an older woman…

The Moment I Fell In Love With Aerith In The Final Fantasy VII Remake

In the original Final Fantasy VII, Aerith and Cloud’s escape from Shinra across the rooftops of the Sector 5 slums is a minute-long sequence with a few lines of dialogue and a bit of hopping. The Final Fantasy VII Remake turns that fleeting moment into so much more. As Jason Schreier says in his excellent…

The Week In Games: Cloud And His Big Sword

After years of fans waiting, being teased, seeing trailers and more waiting, Final Fantasy VII Remake is coming out later this week. I’ve never played FFVII, so I don’t have a huge emotional connection to this remake’s release. But I get a lot of folks are very excited to finally get this first part of…

Animal Crossing Update Dials Back The Damn Bunny Day Eggs

Animal Crossing: New Horizon’s Bunny Day event replaced a large percentage of the items players harvest to earn bells and craft cool items with stupid colored eggs. Today’s patch makes the egg drops much less frequent, at least until Easter Sunday. Since the Bunny Day celebration started last week, trying to collect fish or dig…

Track: Nightswimming | Artist: R.E.M. | Album: Automatic for the People 

7 Years Improving Some League Of Legends Cosplay

When a cosplayer spends weeks or even months on an outfit, it’s not always so they can wear it once then bin it. A lot of the time a costume can be kept for years after its first wearing, as it’s added to and improved upon. As an example of that, here’s cosplayer Alexandre, who…