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CultureXbox Cloud Gaming Adds A Bunch Of Older Xbox Games
Starting today, you’ll be able to play more than a dozen Xbox and Xbox 360 games via cloud streaming, Microsoft announced in a blog post. As with other game streaming, the perk is only available to members of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Cloud streaming first became available last September with an initial launch slate of…
By Ari Notis -
CultureMorning MusicI Love When Mainstream Acts Make Music For Video Games
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s ongoing hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today, I bring you a treat: a bunch of games! All featuring killer tracks from mainstream musicians. Say what you will about Mirror’s Edge Catalyst (actually, please don’t, that game does not deserve the negativity), but…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesIf You Pre-Ordered Kingdom Hearts On PC, Make Sure You Received Your Discount
The PC release of Kingdom Hearts offers the latest hiccup in the insidious world of video game pre-orders. Four games in Square Enix’s long-running plot maze are officially out on PC today via the Epic Games Store where they’re currently marked down by 20 percent through April 6. But if you pre-ordered any of the…
By Ari Notis -
CultureSummer Games Done Quick Returns In July As Online-Only Event
Annual charity speedrunning festival Summer Games Done Quick will return as an online-only event, running from July 4 through 11. “With the health and safety of all in mind, #SGDQ2021 is now SGDQ 2021 Online!” the organizers wrote on Twitter today. “Expect the same weeklong charity speedrun event you know and love!” This year’s submission…
By Ari Notis -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryMonster Hunter Rise Is Tough To Get Into As A Newcomer
Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t get into Monster Hunter Rise. Fans of the kaiju-killing series are legion, and this latest entry, out last week for Nintendo Switch, is arguably the buzziest game in the world right now. But it sure doesn’t make things easy for newcomers. For all intents and purposes, I am…
By Ari Notis -
CultureA Decade-Long Affair: The Making Of Maquette
I need to tell you about Maquette No, really. It’s a need. I’ve played a lot of wonderful games while working at Kotaku, but none have resonated with me as much as Maquette, a first-person “recursive puzzle game” released this month for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. Were I to review the game, the…
By Ari Notis -
CultureFinally, A Video Game About The Boat
You’ve no doubt heard by now about (literally) the largest story in the world. Three days ago, the Ever Given, a 1,300-foot freight liner, grounded on both shores of the Suez Canal, blocking any passage for any other boats. Despite the best efforts of engineers, tugboats, and one very determined bulldozer. It’s still stuck. As…
By Ari Notis -
CultureNobody Saves The World Is A New Action-RPG From The Guacamelee! Devs
Drinkbox Studios, the makers of popular brawler Guacamelee!, have a new game on the way. It’s an action role-playing game called Nobody Saves the World In Nobody Saves the World, the world in question needs saving from a doomsday event called the Calamity. Though it shares a name and purpose (destroy everything) with the Calamity…
By Ari Notis -
CultureOdds and EndsHey, What The Hell?
Today, during the Future Games Show: Spring Showcase, we got a look at Of Bird and Cage, a playable metal album that forces you to make narrative choices at various points throughout what can only be described as a Mudvayne-themed lucid dream. One of the choices featured in the trailer certainly raised an eyebrow. What…
By Ari Notis -
CultureHades Wins Best Game At The 2021 BAFTA Game Awards
In addition to prestigious accolades like Best Indie Game at the 2020 Game Awards and Best Game Times 10 at the 2020 Ari Notis Awards, Hades just picked up top honors at today’s online-only BAFTA Games Awards. Hell yeah, Hades Here’s the full list of nominees, with winners in bold. Congrats to everyone involved. Best…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesHow To Sign Up For The ‘Xbox Insider’ Program
Yesterday, Microsoft announced that party chat, previously only available to members of Xbox Live Gold, will soon be free to all Xbox players. The company revealed the news in a tweet with phrases like “Alpha,” “Alpha Skip-Ahead,” and “flighting.” Meanwhile, an accompanying blog post featured a string of numbers: 2104-210323-0000. What the hell does all…
By Ari Notis -
CultureHitman 3 Is Getting DLC Based On The Seven Deadly Sins
Next week, Hitman 3 will receive downloadable content based on the seven deadly sins, developer IO Interactive announced in a blog post today. Just don’t expect it to be quite like the DLC from Hitman 2 Among all of the levels in the recent Hitman trilogy, two of the strongest were paid expansions for Hitman…
By Ari Notis -
CultureWatch Dogs: Legion Will Be Free To Play This Weekend
Watch Dogs: Legion, Ubisoft’s open-world hacker game, will be free-to-play on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC starting March 25, the developer announced today in a blog post. The trial will allow you full access to the game’s open world. While you can complete Legion’s critical path in less than 20 hours—plenty for one marathon of a…
By Ari Notis -
OpinionImpressionsThere’s A New Type Of Fall Guys Jackass
I would like to offer a sincere apology to my Fall Guys squad. I fell into the slime. I thought we were out. So I quit. I didn’t realize how much that screwed you (fall) guys! It won’t happen again, I promise. Yesterday, as part of the platformer royale’s season four update, Fall Guys received…
By Ari Notis -
CultureRIP, Xbox Live (2002-2021)
The name “Xbox Live” is dead. You’ll still be able to play Xbox games online, but the suite of Xbox’s online services will now be known as “Xbox network,” Microsoft confirmed today to The Verge This morning, many Xbox users noticed a small change on the the Xbox dashboard. While uploading a screenshot to Xbox…
By Ari Notis -
CultureWhat’s New In Fall Guys Season Four Today
Fall Guys neon-soaked season four is officially out today. The update introduces a number of changes to the platformer royale, including seven new levels: Basketfall: Yes, Fall Guys is getting another team-based ball-tossing mini-game. Didn’t we already learn this lesson with Egg Scramble? Skyline Stumble: Earlier this month, Mediatonic showed off Skyline Stumble as the…
By Ari Notis -
OpinionImpressionsHawkeye Can’t Save Marvel’s Avengers
Like a sexy civilian in a superhero movie, Marvel’s Avengers needs saving. Someone, or something, needs to swoop in with panache and 11th-hour heroics. And the hero up at bat is…Hawkeye? Really? Him? Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye, joined the Avengers roster yesterday as part of the action game’s biggest update yet. First, those long-awaited next-gen…
By Ari Notis -
CultureMorning MusicBravely Default II’s Grand Music Does Most Of Its Storytelling
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s ongoing hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today, let’s listen to some of the songs from the new Final Fan–, err, Bravely Default II’s instant-classic soundtrack. Bravely Default II (playlist / VGMdb / longplay / impressions) never ends. Good thing it has a…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesDon’t Delete PS4 Avengers Before Importing Your Saves To PS5
Following a delay last fall, Marvel’s Avengers is officially out today for next-gen consoles. But if you’re trying to boot up your PlayStation 4 save files on PlayStation 5, you might notice that your hard-grinded save data doesn’t automatically transfer over. Personally, I was aghast. My Iron-Man didn’t deserve to be stuck at level one!…
By Ari Notis -
CultureAssassin’s Creed Valhalla‘s First Expansion Out Next Month [Update: Delayed]
Update 4/14/2021: 1:05 p.m. ET: Wrath of the Druids will now come out on May 13, Ubisoft announced in a tweet. Original story follows. As if Assassin’s Creed Valhalla wasn’t already big enough, the game’s first major expansion, Wrath of the Druids, will be out on April 29, Ubisoft announced today in a blog post.…
By Ari Notis