Ari Notis

The Avengers Grind Is About To Become More Of A Grind

On March 18, Marvel’s Avengers will receive some much-needed new content when Hawkeye joins the roster. But that’s not all. In that same update, the game’s XP system will receive a major overhaul, developer Crystal Dynamics announced today. As things currently stand, the leveling system in Avengers is structured so each character levels up in…

Maquette‘s Love Story Has Already Broken My Heart

Ever listen to a song so powerful you stop, drop, and roll to frantically figure out what it is? That’s what happened to me last night while playing Maquette, a puzzle game out this week for PC, PS4, and PS5. Yes, the game’s fantastic, which we’ll get to in a moment, but first: that song.…

PSA: The Witcher 3 Is Leaving Game Pass

The cycle of Game Pass continues unabated. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will depart Microsoft’s games-on-demand service on March 15. This is usually the point where I’d say something trite like, “If you haven’t played this tremendous open-world masterpiece, which many consider one of the best games of all time, be sure to check it…

How To Beat Bravely Default 2’s Brutal Boss Battles

Bravely Default 2, the new Nintendo Switch game about watching numbers go up, isn’t easy. The boss fights in particular are guaranteed to mess up your day. If you’ve been playing the game since it launched last week, you’ve likely found yourself banging your head against a wall on more than one occasion. Yes, in…

Don’t Miss Bravely Default 2’s Excellent Card Game

Like every massive RPG, Bravely Default 2 features a game within the game. It’s called Bind & Divide, or B&D (yes, yes, like the game). It’s a compelling card game you don’t want to miss, but you could easily roll the credits without ever playing a round. B&D is more or less Bravely Default by…

Happy 25th Birthday, Pokémon

Dear Pokémon, Ah, my beloved game series. Happy birthday! Man, 25, huh. That’s a big one. It seems like yesterday you were just a little Red and Green version, entertaining gamers of all ages with your signature mix of 151 adorable monsters and your compelling take on rock-paper-scissors. But look at you now—from 151 to…

Tips For Playing Bravely Default 2

Bravely Default 2, a game about grinding, finding crystals, and saving the world (but not about climate change), is out now for Nintendo Switch. And it’s no cakewalk. Yes, Bravely Default 2 is a whole lot of game, with a complex network of interweaving systems and methodical, relentless battles that will mess you up if…

How To Build An Unstoppable Party In Bravely Default 2

Bravely Default 2, out now for Nintendo Switch, is both a lot like and not at all like many other JRPGs you’ve played. For starters, combat is defined by the Brave/Default system, which allows you to shake up the turn order in battles for strategic gain. But the main big wrinkle is the job system.…

Destruction AllStars, Originally Planned As A $70 Game, Will Sell For $20

Destruction AllStars, the PlayStation 5-exclusive derby game, will soon sell for $20, developer Lucid Games announced today—a $50 price drop from the game’s original sticker price of $70. Last September, during a digital showcase, Sony announced that some PS5 games would cost $70, a notable increase over the long-standard price point of $60. One of…

Report: Hack Locked Cyberpunk 2077 Developers Out Of Their Computers For Two Weeks

Earlier this month, you may have read about a major cyber attack against Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red. According to a new report from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, that hack all but halted work at the Polish game studio for two weeks. Citing sources who wished to remain anonymous, Bloomberg’s report details how the hack…

Cyberpunk 2077‘s Next Big Patch Delayed Following Cyber Attack

The next major patch for Cyberpunk 2077 has been delayed to an unspecified date in March, CD Projekt Red announced in a tweet today, citing the recent cyber attack against the company as a reason for the delay. “While we dearly wanted to deliver Patch 1.2 for Cyberpunk 2077 in the timespan we detailed previously,…

On March 4, at 9:00 a.m. ET, Nintendo will reveal details, including a release date, about the new Super Smash Bros. fighters, Pyra and Mythra The stream will last about 35 minutes. No news about other fighters. Sorry, Waluigi fans!

I Hope Halo Infinite Sounds Half As Great As Ori And The Will Of The Wisps

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 the soundtrack for one of last year’s best games: Ori and the Will of the Wisps, the ethereal platformer from Moon Studios. Plenty of games have terrific music. (See: Exhibits A through…

Hitman 3‘s Latest Patch Fixes Incorrect Arabic Text

IO Interactive released the first major patch for Hitman 3 today, bringing with it a raft of changes to the assassination game, including some much-needed updates to the environment. The patch also corrected some Arabic text in the game’s opening level, which was written incorrectly. Shortly after Hitman 3 was released last month, players spotted…

PlayStation’s ‘Play At Home’ Program Returns, Ratchet & Clank Free Next Month

Last year, Sony kickstarted the Play At Home initiative, a program that provided free games to PlayStation players in the hopes of promoting social distancing. Next month, Sony will bring the program back. Play At Home is fueled by a simple logic. The most surefire way to prevent the spread of covid-19 is to keep…

Google’s Facing A Class-Action Suit Over Stadia’s Lack Of True 4K Gaming

There’s another gaming-focused class action lawsuit in the works, this one against Google Stadia over whether or not Stadia can run games at 4K resolution. The suit was originally filed in October, but had a development earlier this month when lawyers for co-defendants id Software filed a notice of removal with federal court. As noted…

Watch Dogs: Legion Gets Co-Op On March 9

Watch Dogs: Legion is about to become legion. The multiplayer mode for Ubisoft’s open-world hacking game comes out March 9. The multiplayer mode was initially planned to launch on December 3, 2020, but was delayed to a broad 2021 release in order to allow developers time and space to patch out the game’s many bugs…

PSA: Go Sit At The Campfire In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla [Updated]

Last night, former MTV News staffer Stephen Totilo sent me a text about Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: “Go sit at the campfire.” We’d been talking on and off about the game, and he suggested that I check something out. Apparently, even though I’d sunk 90 hours into last year’s biggest game—even though I’d completed all of…

Streamer Beats Hades With A Literal Pomegranate

In Hades, the pomegranate is a key item, one that grants you very real power by buffing your abilities. The pomegranate also grants unimaginable power in the real world, at least if you’re the streamer Dylan “Rudeism” Beck. He harnessed the power of ancient fruit to beat the game’s final boss not with a controller…

Project Triangle Strategy Just Became One Of My Most Anticipated Games

Think back to the last argument you had. Did you sway the other person to your side? How much effort did that take? That tug-of-war—the fraught nature of persuasion, and the notion that you don’t initially know if you’ve pulled it off—is the unexpected crux of Project Triangle Strategy, an upcoming tactical game from Square…