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Pepper Grinder's A Wonderfully Short Platformer Missing Its 'A-Ha' Moment

When I first saw Pepper Grinder, I was struck by how brash it appeared to be. It was this loud, kinetic, almost volatile game that felt like it was tapping into a kind of chaos that other, more sanitized platformers rejected. Crucially, it accomplished this by handing the player a large drill and urging them to fuck…

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FF7 Rebirth's Platinum Trophy Is Currently Impossible To Get If You Bought It Digitally

Players trying to complete everything in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth are running into a roadblock at the very end of the game after the recent 1.020 patch broke one of the very last side quests. And until it’s patched by Square Enix, only those who own the game physically can complete the quest, get the trophy associated…

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X-Men ‘97’s Latest Episode Highlights The Show’s Biggest Flaw

The dual-episode premiere of X-Men ‘97, the Disney+ sequel to the classic animated series, put its best foot forward in winning over old and new fans. That’s thanks to the show’s beautiful animation, great voice acting, and an understanding of what makes these beloved characters so great. Episode 3, which aired on…

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NCSoft Confirms Guild Wars 3 Is In Development

It’s been over a decade since ArenaNet’s fantasy MMO Guild Wars 2 launched. In the years since its 2021 PC debut, the team has released several expansions and updates for it, with the latest being 2023’s Secrets of the Obscure. With two more expansions still in the works set to launch this year and in 2025,…

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A New Mainline Spyro Game Is Reportedly In Development

Remember Spyro the Dragon, the lovable, purple-colored flying lizard that collected gems and spat fire? It’s been a minute since he’s had a brand-new game of his own, huh? Well, it seems that’s going to change, as developer Toys for Bob appears to be working on a new, mainline entry in the long-dormant platforming…

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Joe Lieberman, Senator Who Crusaded Against Video-Game Violence, Dead At 82

Joe Lieberman, a former U.S. senator who crusaded against violence in video games, has passed away at 82. According to a statement from his family, he suffered “complications from a fall.”

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Microsoft’s All-Digital Xbox Series X Has Leaked

Microsoft seems poised for an all-digital future, folks. The company is swapping the black coating on the Xbox Series X for white and pulling the disc-drive for an all-digital refresh of its “most powerful Xbox ever,” according to eXputer.

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Capcom Asks Players If They Want Dragon’s Dogma 2 DLC

Dragon’s Dogma 2 has only been out for a week but Capcom is already considering the possibility of adding content to the game in the future. The action-RPG has been met with widespread critical acclaim (and, yes, no shortage of player grievances), and it looks like the game’s publisher may want to keep the…

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Embracer Sells Borderlands Maker Gearbox For Less Than Half Of What It Paid

Another company has escaped the gaping, acquisition-hungry maw that is publisher Embracer Group, as Borderlands developer Gearbox Software has been sold to Take-Two Interactive. This lines up with Kotaku’s previous reporting on the matter in February, in which sources told us Gearbox was nearing a sale. Embracer is…

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12 Cool Games We Saw At PAX East 2024

PAX East was in Boston this past week, and while there were some heavy hitters at the show like Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios and Square Enix showing off Final Fantasy XIV’s Dawntrail expansion, the show didn’t have a ton of big names.

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Visions of Mana Feels Like A Vintage RPG—For Better And Worse

I’m filling in some gaps in my RPG history. I’ve been playing series like Final Fantasy since I was a kid, but there are countless other landmark RPGs I’ve rarely touched, including the fantasy RPG Mana series, which splintered off of Final Fantasy Adventure in 1991. The only installment in the long-running franchise…

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Cheech And Chong Are Coming To Call Of Duty Because Everything Must Be Consumed

Cheech and Chong, the comedy pair famous for their albums and movies from the 1970s and ‘80s, will be added to Call of Duty as part of the upcoming Season 3.

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What The Heck Does FF7 Rebirth’s Dynamic Difficulty Do?

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth features a lot of fighting. And while the game’s flexible materia system lets you customize your fighting style, you can also adjust the difficulty with three different options at the beginning, plus a fourth once you finish the game.

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Twitch Bans Using ‘Intimate’ Body Parts As Green Screens

Amazon-owned livestreaming platform Twitch has disciplined content creators again. Just as a new meta began dominating the site earlier this month, in which streamers started playing games like Fortnite on green-screened boobs and butts, Twitch has updated its Terms of Service to strictly prohibit this kind of risque…

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New South Park Game Is About As Fun As Reading A Phone Book

About halfway through the first mission in South Park: Snow Day, I found myself pausing the game and checking my phone as I desperately looked for entertainment. That’s what we professional and very serious critics call: Not a good sign.

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Dragon’s Dogma 2 Makes You Take Your Time, And That’s Great

One of the first quests you undertake in Dragon’s Dogma 2, Capcom’s new action RPG, has you traveling from the town of Melve to the capital city of Vernworth. It’s a slow journey that starts and stops several times along the winding roads leading to your final destination. You need to dispatch goblins making the road…

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What Is Dragonsplague? Dragon’s Dogma 2’s Devastating Contagion Explained

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You Can Try Overwatch 2’s New Hero For A Limited Time This Week

The next Overwatch 2 hero is getting a brief trial period for those who want to take them for a spin before launch, just like Blizzard did with tank hero Mauga before his launch. Venture, a non-binary, drill-using damage hero, is set to join the roster in season 10 (which kicks off on April 16), but Blizzard is giving…

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Dune MMO Dev Confirms No Dong Size Slider, Sorry Conan Exiles Fans

The upcoming survival MMO Dune Awakening seems neat and all, but if you know the history of its developers, Funcom, you might be wondering: Hey, does this open-world online survival game with custom characters also include a penis-size slider? The answer is no, because apparently, Dune ain’t “sexy” and “savage.”

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Digital Game Sales Continue Killing Off GameStop, Analyst Says

Video game and nerd culture retailer GameStop appears to be floundering once more. According to a Reuters report, the company recently laid off an unspecified number of employees after reporting a decline in earnings in the fourth quarter as physical sales fall and digital purchases rise.

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How To Unlock (And Win) FF7 Rebirth’s Crunch-Off Mini-Game

Final Fantasy VII has been incorporating exercise mini-games ever since the original 1997 release challenged Cloud to pull off some competitive squats. Those returned in 2020’s Final Fantasy VII Remake, with pull-ups tossed in for good measure. Rebirth keeps things going by also introducing a new exercise competition…

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Big Shakeup At Nintendo Testing Center Ahead Of Switch 2

Nintendo of America is restructuring the small army of contractors that helps test its games and hardware in its Washington state headquarters, the company confirmed to Kotaku. According to four current and former contractors, the result is a massive downsizing that comes amid layoffs across the rest of the video game…

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FF7 Rebirth’s Yuffie Actor Was Too Good At Fake Vomiting, Had To ‘Tone It Down’

The actor who provided the English voice of Yuffie in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth says that while recording her lines, she was asked to pretend that she was puking from motion sickness. Apparently, her fake vomiting was too accurate and gross because Square Enix had to tell her to pull back.

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Marvel Unveils Its Overwatch-Style Hero Shooter, Marvel Rivals

After some teases and leaks, Marvel and NetEase Games have officially revealed Marvel Rivals. The game is a free-to-play, 6v6 hero shooter in the style of Overwatch, but it’s in third-person and stars superheroes from across Marvel’s various comics. While we’ve only seen one trailer, it looks like it could give Overwat…

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Stellar Blade Previews Say It's More Sekiro Than Bayonetta

A free demo for Stellar Blade, developer Shift Up’s character-action PS5 exclusive, will go live on March 29. Ahead of its imminent release, some gaming publications got early hands-on time with roughly two hours of the game, which contains the first level and its respective boss. Based on everything that’s being said…

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$400,000 Worth Of Playdate Gaming Handhelds Have Gone Missing

Cabel Sasser, co-founder of the company behind whimsical yellow gaming handheld the Playdate, was giving a talk on the crank-sporting device at the Games Developer Conference when he provided a noteworthy factoid and anecdote. Apparently, $400,000 worth of Playdates curiously went missing at a shipping factory in Las…

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FF7 Rebirth: How To Learn Enemy Attacks With Enemy Skill Materia

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth pits you against countless enemies, many of which have abilities your characters can deploy against them and other enemies via the Enemy Skill materia. Found in the original 1997 FF7 release, Enemy Skill works a little differently in 2024. You’ll need to complete a series of battles in…

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Nintendo Switch Online Adds Another GBA Classic This Week

Nintendo Switch Online, the subscription service that gives players access to a library of games for consoles and handhelds from the company’s past, will receive its latest Game Boy Advance title this week. F-Zero: Maximum Velocity is dropping onto the service this Friday, March 29.

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Overwatch 2 Fans Have Already Embraced Its New, Non-Binary Hero

Overwatch 2’s ninth season is nearly over, and when the tenth begins on April 16, the hero shooter is getting a few significant changes.All of its heroes will no longer be locked behind the battle pass and the game will get a new shop dedicated to Mythic Skins only. But Overwatch 2 is also getting a new Damage hero in

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Our Favorite Video Game Weapons Of All Time

In a video game, you’re only as good as your weapon. Try getting through Elden Ring’s hardest boss battle without a powerful sword, or a tough multiplayer match in Halo 3 without nabbing the Needler and unloading on an incoming Ghost. Even the most elite-level gamers among us owe some of their talent to the quality of…

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