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CultureScarlet Nexus Out June 25, Anime To Follow
Scarlet Nexus, the “brain punk” action role-playing game from Bandai Namco, will come out on June 25. It’ll be available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. First revealed during an Inside Xbox event last May, Scarlet Nexus features psionic powers, mutants, and graphics straight out of the Tales series,…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesThere’s A Lot More Bravely Default 2 After The Credits
Most games “end” when the credits roll, but not Bravely Default 2. After you defeat the ostensible final boss, sit through the ensuing melodrama, and get booted back to the main menu, there’s a lot more Bravely Default 2 waiting for you. Spoilers follow for the late-game of Bravely Default 2 Bravely Default 2 feels…
By Ari Notis -
CulturePSA: Next Week, You’ll Be Able To Claim A Bunch Of Free PlayStation Games
Earlier this month, Sony revived last year’s Play At Home initiative, a program designed to provide free games to PlayStation players in the hopes of promoting social distancing. Next week, Sony will expand the initiative by offering a whole bunch of games. Starting on March 25, you’ll be able to add the following PS4 games…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesSo, When Will You Be Able To Get A PS5?
Picture this: You pop into your neighborhood big box store, hoping to buy a PlayStation 5, and it’s just there. It’s on the shelf. You can pay for it, you can leave the store with it, and it’s yours. No need to sit at your desk refreshing browser tabs all day. Sounds pretty nice, right?…
By Ari Notis -
CultureDoom Eternal‘s Next DLC Comes Out Tomorrow
Hell yeah! Doom Eternal’s next and final expansion, The Ancient Gods – Part 2, will come out tomorrow, developer iD Software announced today. The expansion, which picks up after last fall’s first chapter—The Ancient Gods – Part 1—appears inspired far more by typical fantasy than by the science-fiction that characterizes the main game. Many of…
By Ari Notis -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI’m Having Some Trouble With Outriders’ Crossplay
Last month, a demo for Outriders dropped on most every platform but the Switch. Then, yesterday, Microsoft announced that this latest buzzy looter-shooter would join the Xbox Game Pass library on launch day, April 1. Presumably, whatever overlap exists between the 18 million people who subscribe to Game Pass and the however-many-millions-or-not-millions of people who…
By Ari Notis -
CultureHere’s Everything Coming To And Leaving Game Pass Soon
In case you got the wrong impression, Xbox Game Pass isn’t just a vehicle to play games that start with a Bethesda loading screen. Here’s everything coming to Xbox Game Pass in the next few weeks: March 16 Undertale (Cloud, Console, PC) March 18 Empire of Sin (Cloud, Console, PC) Nier: Automata (PC) Star Wars:…
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CultureGhost Of Tsushima Devs Didn’t Think Those Fast Load Speeds Were So Special
If you played Ghost of Tsushima, you were likely floored by how fast it loads. Despite taking place on an enormous open world, you can fast-travel from one end to the other in seconds, which might give you the impression that Sucker Punch, the game’s developer, employs literal wizards. That’s not the case. What’s more,…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesPSA: Game Pass Members, Cancel Your Outriders Pre-Order
It was true nine years ago and it’s true today: Stop pre-ordering games. The latest case in point comes by way of Outriders, the upcoming looter-shooter from developer People Can Fly. Earlier today, Microsoft confirmed that Outriders will be part of the Xbox Game Pass library when it releases next month for pretty much everything…
By Ari Notis -
CultureOutriders Is Officially Coming To Xbox Game Pass
It’s official: Outriders, the hotly anticipated looter-shooter from People Can Fly, is coming to Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft confirmed in a blog post today. It’ll be available starting April 1. Last week, the ever-so-cheeky Xbox Game Pass Twitter account posted another “leaked” email from “Melissa McGamepass,” hinting at the news. On Friday, a bunch of…
By Ari Notis -
CultureFall Guys Season 4 Kicks Off March 22
Not even time can erode the irrepressible cheer of face-planting beans. The futuristic fourth season of Fall Guys kicks off on March 22, developer Mediatonic announced today. Set in 4041—which totally explains the absence of humans—the new season will introduce seven new rounds to the platformer royale. One of them, Skyline Stumble, will have anti-gravity…
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Tips & GuidesSo, Which Bethesda Game Pass Game Should You Play First?
Starting today, you can play a bunch of Bethesda-published games on Game Pass, thanks to Microsoft and ZeniMax’s recent marriage. Some were previously available. Many are new. However you slice it, if you’re a member of Microsoft’s games-on-demand service, you now have 20 largely excellent games at your fingertips. You obviously cannot play all of…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesPSA: Surviving Mars and Metro 2033 Are Currently Free On PC
Each week, the Epic Games Store puts up a free game, which you can add to your library no strings attached. This week’s offering is Surviving Mars, the space-faring city-builder game about…surviving on Mars. It’ll be available until March 18. Surviving Mars, if you haven’t played it, is more or less exactly what you picture…
By Ari Notis -
OpinionEnough With The Social Hubs In Video Games
Here’s a radical idea: Turn every social space in a video game into a menu. Last month, Kotaku’s Zack Zweizen and I teamed up to power through the demo for Outriders, People Can Fly’s upcoming looter-shooter. Verdict: It rules. (Zack, if you’re reading this, yes, I’m speaking for you.) The shooting is airtight, some of…
By Ari Notis -
CultureMarvel’s Avengers Will (Finally) Allow You To Replay The Campaign
Fans of Marvel’s Avengers want just one thing, and it’s about to become a reality. No, it’s not a meaningful loot grind, nor a newfound surplus of engaging activities. Look, fine, maybe Avengers fans want more than one thing, but a big one is landing next week: You’ll finally be able to replay the campaign.…
By Ari Notis -
OpinionFall Guys’ Season Four Is A Reminder Of How Damn Long We’ve Been Doing This
Today, Mediatonic showed off one of the levels for Fall Guys’ upcoming fourth season. The new stage, “Skyline Stumble,” looks quite fun with its gravity-based hijinks and bean-sized pinball bumpers—but it instilled in me an invasive, immovable thought: Man, we’ve really been doing this for a while, huh? Last August, Fall Guys took the world…
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CultureOdds and EndsThis Totally Random Guy’s Hollow Knight Cover Is Pretty Good
When you think of terrific musical covers, you probably think of “All Along the Watchtower” or that one screamo cover of Britney’s “Toxic” you heard in high school. A tune that maybe doesn’t come to mind: “Greenpath,” from Hollow Knight’s original soundtrack. Guitarist, bassist, ukulelist, pianist, flautist, clarinetist, saxophonist, wine…glass…ist, drummer, vocalist, shaker player, percussionist,…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesHow To Get Around The PS5’s Screenshot Restrictions
Hitman 3 is a looker. But if you try to take a screenshot on PlayStation 5, you’ll run into an issue: Hitting the Create button causes Hitman 3 itself to pause, meaning you’ll only be able to get a screenshot of the game’s menu. It’s a lovely menu, for sure, but not exactly on par…
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Tips & GuidesYou Can Claim PlayStation Plus’ Monthly PS5 Games Before You Get A PS5
PS Plus continues to offer “free” games to subscribers, and, in recent months, has even started offering PlayStation 5 games. If you don’t have a still-impossible-to-find PS5, you’re not quite S.O.L.. You just have to claim those games through a web browser. For $10 a month (or $60 a year), PS Plus allows members to…
By Ari Notis -
CultureSix Months LaterMarvel’s Avengers, Six Months Later
Marvel’s Avengers was as plagued by buzz as it was inertia. Before the game released, it was defined by a chaotic din of muddy messaging, sky-high expectations, and that little thing called the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After launch, the conversation shifted: Would it become another success like Destiny, go the disappointing way of Anthem, or…
By Ari Notis