2024-01

When I was 13 years old, I struggled to beat Cynthia, the Pokemon League champion in Pokemon Platinum. U.S.-based 13-year-old Willis Gibson just beat an unbeatable Tetris game that players have been attempting to complete since its release on the NES in 1989.  On January 1, Gibson reached level 157 of Tetris, a feat previously thought impossible. New techniques, like the "hypertapping" one discovered in 2010 by Thor Aackerlund (thanks, BBC), and "rolling," discovered in 2021 according to IGN, allowed players to reach never before seen levels. Before that, getting past the thirties was all but impossible and now, Gibson has made it to level 157. As you can see in the video below, upon reaching that level, Tetris serves Gibson a kill screen – meaning it has crashed – ending his impossible run.  It took Gibson, who goes by Blue...

CD Projekt Red is one of the biggest developers in Europe, but the studio behind The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 has no interest in being acquired. That comes from a new interview with the studio’s CEO, Adam Kiciński, who discusses acquisition possibilities while providing small updates on the studio’s litany of upcoming projects. Speaking to the Polish outlet Parkiet, Kiciński was asked about rumors regarding the studio being a target of a takeover. He states via translation, “We are not interested in being included in any larger entity. We have worked our whole lives to get to the position we have now. And we believe that in a few years we will be even bigger and stronger. We have ambitious plans and we are passionate about what we do. We value independence.” In turn, Kiciński also states CD Projekt Red...

It’s a new year, and Xbox is kicking off January with its first batch of new Game Pass titles for 2024. This month is headlined by the additions of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and the remake of Resident Evil 2. As always, when new games enter a few must leave, and one big departure is Grand Theft Auto V in just a couple of days. Check out the full list below and check out the links to our reviews for applicable titles. What’s Coming Hell Let Loose (Xbox Series X/S, PC,Cloud) - January 4 Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Console, PC, Cloud) - January 9 | Our Review Figment (Console, PC, Cloud) - January 9 Super Mega Baseball 4 via EA Play (Console, PC, Cloud) - January 11 | Our Review We Happy Few (Console, PC, Cloud) - January 11 | Our Review Resident...

Jack Black has joined the cast of the in-development live-action Minecraft movie. Rumors about this casting popped up yesterday, January 2, with Deadline reporting that Black would play Steve (the Minecraft guy with the teal shirt and blue pants). Notably, Black starred as the villainous Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie last year, giving us the instant-classic "Peaches," too.  Following that report, other outlets, like Variety, further confirmed that Black would be starring in Minecraft alongside previously announced cast members like Jason Momoa (Aquaman, Game of Thrones), Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), and Emma Myers (Wednesday). Black himself even nodded to the news in an Instagram post that showed him reading a Minecraft Basics for Dummies book. However, neither he nor the film's various production companies, like Warner Bros. and Legendary, have confirmed Deadline's report that he's playing Steve.          View...

Dave the Diver has surpassed 3 million units sold, developer Mintrocket has revealed. The studio announced this achievement on X today, alongside some new art from the game to celebrate the milestone. Selling 3 million units is no small feat, especially considering Dave the Diver is Mintrocket's first game.  In Dave the Diver, players control Dave as he dives during the day to find treasure, fish, complete quests, and more. At night, Dave runs a sushi restaurant, and the game mixes its adventure gameplay with its simulation gameplay really well – read more about that in Game Informer's Dave the Diver review.  🌊3 million global sales of Dave the Diver!🤿 Thank you so much for the support and love!🐳 pic.twitter.com/YzfUSOrHxd — DAVE THE DIVER (@DaveDiverGame) January 3, 2024 Dave the Diver received great word-of-mouth at the time of its PC release in June, bolstered...

On January 1, Steamboat Willie, the cartoon that introduced the world to Mickey Mouse, entered the public domain, meaning the first version of Disney’s iconic mascot is (mostly) free to use by anyone. And just like when the film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey took advantage of that whimsical character entering the public domain, someone has already started making a twisted, horrifying version of Mickey. In this case, it’s a video game. It’s called Infestation: Origins, and it’s the debut title by Nightmare Forge Games. The game is an episodic four-player co-op survival adventure in which players control exterminators tasked with killing mutated vermin – and one of them happens to be the terrifying, person-sized monster modeled after Mickey. Similar to games like Phasmophobia and Lethal Company, you’ll rely on various tools and surveillance equipment to track the source...

Update: Earlier today, a Disney Parks blog pointed to Star Wars Outlaws releasing in late 2024, but the term "late" has now been removed from the post so that is now reads just 2024. Ubisoft also confirmed to Kotaku that, "the timing was incorrect and has since been amended." So, Star Wars Outlaws' release window has moved from late 2024 back to some general time this year. Original story: Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft's upcoming open-world Star Wars game, has enjoyed a vague 2024 release window since it was revealed at an Xbox Showcase last year. However, a recent post on Disney's official park blog has given the game a more specific window. According to the blog, Star Wars Outlaws is releasing late 2024. The blog post, which is a collection of 24 exciting Disney-things happening in 2024 reads, "And for...

Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft's upcoming open-world Star Wars game, has enjoyed a vague 2024 release window since it was revealed at an Xbox Showcase last year. However, a recent post on Disney's official park blog has given the game a more specific window. According to the blog, Star Wars Outlaws is releasing late 2024. The blog post, which is a collection of 24 exciting Disney-things happening in 2024 reads, "And for Star Wars fans – Star Wars Outlaws, the open-world Star Wars game is set to release late this year." Star Wars Outlaws follows an original Star Wars character named Kay Vess and seeks to explore a character archetype of the Star Wars universe we haven't spent much time with in video games: the Han Solo-inspired scoundrel. In the game, Vess (who has no Jedi abilities as far as we...