DayZ’s developers say that the massively influential survival game is finally leaving early access “next year.” That’ll also mean a console version sometime next year, if all goes according to plan. Personally, I’m expecting it to add a battle royale mode shortly after, which, in DayZ time, means the year 2020.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp: The Kotaku Review

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, the new sequel of Nintendo’s cute neighborhood series for cellphones, is Animal Crossing but a bit more stressful. I love it and hate it at the same time. Pocket Camp takes elements from a few different Animal Crossing games and shoves them into a mobile app that’s surprisingly robust. It has…

I Love It When Games Let Me Collect Souvenirs

It was back when I was playing World of Warcraft in high school that I first realized I had a problem. My bags were always full, laden with old gear and miscellaneous baubles I just couldn’t bear to part with, even if that just meant putting them in storage for a bit. A random stone…

The latest Battlefront II update tweaked the post-game stats screen to now show players with top score, rather than granting specific honors. The change aims tofix the problem where a single player would sweep all the awards. You can read the full list of changes here.

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for regretting the fact that you made oatmeal raisin cookies the other night and instead making the superior cookie, chocolate chip. Also, video games. I am, at long last, back on my bullshit with The Witcher 3. I meant to power through the plot over the holiday, but one thing led to…

Dragon Heart Dumplings And Other Real Recipes From Battle Chef Brigade

When Victoria Rosenthal started replicating dishes from eat-what-you-kill game Battle Chef Brigade, she had a little difficulty finding dragon meat at the grocery store. To cook up the game’s BBQ Dragon Shank, she had to get creative. “[Dragon meat’s] art includes pieces of meat that appear to have a thick layer of fat followed by…

Dear Video Games: Please Stop Immediately Telling Me What To Do

The original Super Mario Bros., which was a pretty well-liked video game, didn’t tell players the button commands for climbing up vines. It certainly didn’t pause to tell them how to jump on the turtles or remind them that they could enter a big green pipe if they’d like to. I’ve been playing some of…

Final Fantasy XV’s Multiplayer Is Great Fun In Small Doses

To some, Final Fantasy XV’s multiplayer expansion pack is an entertaining (if mildly frustrating) way to experience Square Enix’s epic RPG with friends. For others, it’s a hell of a lot of work to find a decent dress shirt. I’m somewhere in between. Since the events that unfold in the Comrades expansion take place after…

The Superheroes Who Saved My Life

Superheroes saved my life. No, Batman didn’t swoop in on a cable, nor did Deadpool kneecap a crook on my behalf, but a few special women have nonetheless given me a second shot at living on my own terms. Without their wisdom, filtered through page and screen to a wide-eyed black girl in the Midwest,…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: How Do I Hit On Women Without Being A Jerk?

Hello all you leakey Twitternet pheromone squids, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating advice column that’s descended from Sir Francis Bacon. This week is all about the trials of modern dating. How do you approach someone you’re interested in without being the latest guy to join the douchebag conga line? And when…

Communication Is Hard

Say you’re in charge of a 750-person company that develops and manages a massive, complicated video game. Every day you’re making hundreds of decisions both big and small. How do you decide which ones to share with the rest of the team? How do you make sure you’re up to date on everyone else’s decisions?…

YouTube Show Anime Crimes Division Is Naruto Meets CSI

Tracking down a play-for-keeps underground Yu-Gi-Oh ring; rescuing a shipping container of helpless anime body pillows; mediating a gang war between the Subs and the Dubs—these are the anime crimes that Detective Joe Furaya (Vine star SungWon Cho) solves in Anime Crimes Division, the best anime YouTube series I’ve seen yet. The three-episode series debuted…

Bloodborne Fans Find Gnarly Unused Beasts and Bosses In The Game’s Files

Bloodborne’s Lovecraftian setting is full of creative enemies, from multi-eyed brain beasts to half flayed wolf demons. It’s exciting to think about what creatures may still be lurking in the game years later or lost on the cutting room floor. The game’s files recently ended up in the hands of dataminers, one of which decided…

Watch The Makers of Pokémon Play (And Flub) ‘Who’s That Pokemon’

Pokémon fans everywhere have probably played the “who’s that Pokémon” game thanks to the anime, but what happens when the actual developers try it? Turns out, there are some Pokémon that truly defy description. Kazumasa Iwao, director of Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, is joined by the game’s producer, Shigeru Ohmori, in this goofy…

Fallout 4 Looks Better On Xbox One X But Runs Slightly Smoother On PS4 Pro

The Xbox One X update for Fallout 4 arrived this week, and while Microsoft’s machine delivers the best-looking un-modded version of the game on a console, Digital Foundry’s in-depth comparison found the PlayStation 4 Pro’s version ran a tiny bit smoother. That’s the difference full 4K makes. The Xbox One X is a more powerful…

Smash Player Hopes To Go The Distance In Melee‘s Home Run Contest

Mike “Typo” Bassett, the devoted Super Smash Bros. Melee player who continues to shatter distance ceilings in the title’s Home Run Contest mini-game, recently surpassed another decade-old record, this time with Pokémon mainstay Jigglypuff. And now, with a massive goal within reach, he’s well on his way to becoming the mode’s undisputed champion. Typo knew…

Colorful and quirky PS4 puzzle box game Gnog is now available on iOS. The game works well on touchscreen devices, using taps and swipes to open hatches, flip switches and generally poke about in order to solve a series of clever mechanical puzzles. Check out our PS4 impressions for more on Ko-op Mode’s charming little…

Xenoblade Chronicles 2: The Kotaku Review

Inelegant and tedious, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the anti-Nintendo game. In a year full of triumphs for the spunky Switch, this massive role-playing game is a disappointment. I didn’t love the first Xenoblade Chronicles, a 2010 Wii game from veteran director Tetsuya Takahashi and his team at Monolith Soft. I hated the boring do-gooder Shulk…