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The Scary Theory That Totoro Is The God of Death
26.10.2021
My Neighbor Totoro is a family favorite. Kids and adults alike love the story of two sisters in the idyllic Japanese countryside with magical creatures. But for some viewers, there’s darkness seething underneath. Totoro is no cuddly critter. He is a killer. Read more
Metroid Dread Speedrunners Are Beating The Game In 90 Minutes Flat
26.10.2021
There comes a time in every game’s life-cycle when speedrunners crack the code, and a baseline time against which to compete reveals itself. Now that we’re a few weeks removed from the release of Metroid Dread, such a benchmark has crystallized: The game’s fastest players are racing from start...
Pokémon Unite Hides Score To Stop Players From Rage Quitting, Devs Say
25.10.2021
I can’t count the number of times I’ve been in the thick of a Pokémon Unite match, feeling good about my team’s chances of winning, only for the timer to countdown to zero and reveal that we actually got wrecked. According to makers TiMi Studio Group, that’s by design.Read more
Dark Souls 3 Streamer Blows Minds By Beating Game With Single Button
25.10.2021
Have you ever picked up a FromSoftware game, played it for a while, got your ass whooped repeatedly, and wondered how you’re ever supposed to beat the game? It’s probably a question every Dark Souls 3 player has asked at least once. However, you probably haven’t asked yourself how you’re supposed...
Minigame That Gave Kids 'Cuts, Blisters & Burns' Returns To Mario Party With A Warning
25.10.2021
The upcoming Mario Party Superstars on the Switch features 100 minigames drawn from the long-running history of the series. One of those, Tug o’ War, is making a somewhat surprising return after what happened last time the game was available to play with an analogue stick.Read more
The Week In Games: Groot And His Pals Are Ready To Save The Galaxy
25.10.2021
Guardians of the Galaxy is out later this week on all major platforms. I’m excited to play it if only because the soundtrack seems great and I’m in the mood for a nice, single-player-only sci-fi action game. (A reminder that the Switch edition of the game is actually a streaming, Stadia-like...
Flipnote Studio Creations Find New Life On Crank-y Playdate Handheld
23.10.2021
Although it won’t officially be in our hands until later this year (if you got in on the first wave of pre-orders, that is), Panic’s unique Playdate handheld is already being poked and prodded by folks lucky enough to score a dev unit. One such developer recently shared a neat little project that...
Final Fantasy XIV Has Many Mounts, But Only One Sneezes
23.10.2021
The hype for Endwalker’s impending launch recently pushed me back into the arms of Final Fantasy XIV. Instead of doing the smart thing and working my way through the massively multiplayer role-playing game’s litany of main story quests so I’d be caught up in time for the expansion’s November...
You’re Probably Not Actually Stuck In Metroid Dread
22.10.2021
Maybe you’ve been playing Metroid Dread since it hit Nintendo Switch on October 8, but put it down out of frustration from being stuck in the dang game. Or is that just me? Good news: you’re not actually stuck. It’s just easy to not realize what blocks are destroyable while you’re exploring.Read...
Square Enix Is Removing The Hated Denuvo DRM From A Bunch Of Games
22.10.2021
Square Enix patched the controversial digital rights management and anti-cheat software Denuvo out of Nier Replicant, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider earlier this week. Read more
What Happens When AI Tries To Review A Video Game
22.10.2021
It’s a comment I’ve seen hundreds of times, or variations of throughout my time here at Kotaku: internet complaints about the quality of reviews. “A bot can do better than this,” some would cry. So let’s put that to the test.Read more
Nintendo Delays Advance Wars Switch Remakes Until 2022
22.10.2021
The hottest Nintendo Switch game of the season is the latest to get hit with a delay. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp won’t be out until spring 2022, Nintendo revealed this morning, completely upending my holiday plans in the process.Read more
NetEase Games Acquires Goichi Suda's Grasshopper Manufacture
22.10.2021
Founded in 1998 by Goichi Suda, Grasshopper Manufacture is best known for games like Killer 7, Lollipop Chainsaw, and No More Heroes. Today, the studio announced it is being acquired by Chinese conglomerate NetEase Games. Read more
Here's What All Those Pumpkins Do In Pokémon Unite's Big Halloween Patch
21.10.2021
Pokémon Unite looks a lot spookier this week, but the Halloween update isn’t purely cosmetic. In addition to new skins and customization options, daily quests and challenges now dole out pumpkins. But the ultimate prize of the event might be a license for the Normal-type Pokémon Greedent.Read more
Masahiro Sakurai Explains How Sora Came To Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
21.10.2021
As announced earlier this month, Sora became Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s DLC character. But how did Sora, Keyblade and all, end up in Smash Bros.? In his latest Weekly Famitsu column, creator Masahiro Sakurai explains just that. Read more
I Was Wrong, Sora In Smash Bros. Is Kinda Cool To Play
20.10.2021
Sora joined Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on October 18, becoming the 89th (and, at long last, final) playable character on the roster, and wrapping up a two-year process of expanding the game’s pool of fighters. Though in a sense he is just another sword-wielding anime boy, I think I actually stand...
Mt. Gox trustee announces approval of rehabilitation plan, meaning creditors could soon receive billions
20.10.2021
Nobuaki Kobayashi said distribution of the Mt. Gox assets likely wouldn’t begin for at least a month, once the rehabilitation plan became "final and binding."
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Fans Are Already Saving Up For Kapp'n's Pricey Fares
20.10.2021
Nothing’s free in this world. So why would anything, let alone public transit, be free in an idyllic video game world designed for escapism? When Animal Crossing: New Horizons soon gets the option to ride a ferry, those rides won’t be free.Read more
Tipping In Japan? One Company Aims To Spread It Throughout The Country
20.10.2021
In Japan, tipping is basically not a thing. There are a few occasions where one does tip, such as at a ryokan, or a traditional Japanese inn. But generally, good service is expected minus tips. So if you go to a restaurant, the price on your bill is what you pay. One Japanese company is trying...
Pokémon Unite's Huge Patch: Drednaw Nerf, Rotom Buff, More
19.10.2021
Pokémon Unite is poised to get a substantial update on October 20, which will kick off the Halloween event on mobile devices and Nintendo Switch. Though TiMi Studio Group has yet to drop the official patch notes, what’s expected are wild changes, including nerfs to Blastoise and tweaks...