Ari Notis

Kirby Fighters 2 Is Like A Carnival Game Version Of Super Smash Bros.

On Tuesday, a listing for a new game, Kirby Fighters 2, mysteriously showed up on the Nintendo eShop. Almost as soon as it appeared, it disappeared. Then, last night, without the faintest splash of fanfare, Nintendo released the game into the world. Kirby Fighters 2 is a 2D fighting game with platforming elements. You and…

Shark-themed power fantasy Maneater is coming to next-gen consoles at launch. Owners of the PS4 and Xbox One versions will get a free upgrade, including 4K resolution at 60 frames per second.

Hades’ Godly Soundtrack Is A Natural Evolution For Supergiant’s Darren Korb

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool sounds they make. Today’s cuts are from a game that has much of Kotaku’s editorial staff in a vice grip: Hades, the story-driven roguelike from Supergiant Games, set in the underworld of ancient Greece. Wouldn’t you know it, the…

Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Six Months Later

Six months ago, life as we knew it changed. The covid-19 pandemic rippled through every corner of society. Millions were infected. Thousands died. Municipalities across the globe issued shelter-in-place orders. Overnight, social distancing turned from a polite suggestion into a mandatory directive. On March 20, Nintendo released Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It wasn’t a panacea,…

Following Microsoft’s suggestion that the Xbox Series S can double the frame rate of some Xbox One games, we’ve updated our explainer of everything we know about Microsoft’s next-gen consoles. Read more here.

Gears Tactics Will Have Cross-Saves, Except On Steam

Gears Tactics is making its console launch on November 10, alongside the release of the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X. But only some cross-platform players will be able to continue where they left off. According to a Microsoft spokesperson, cross-saves will only be available between the Windows store and Xbox consoles. First released…

Hades Is A Little Easier If You Swap The Switch’s Buttons

After nearly two years, Hades, the story-driven roguelike from Supergiant Games, officially exited early access yesterday. It also received a surprise release on the Switch. No matter your platform, Hades is good—like, stay-up-til-5-a.m. good. But, if you’re playing on Switch, you might find that some of the default controls are a little awkward. So it’s…

Everything Nintendo Announced In Today’s Partner Showcase

Today, Nintendo dropped a 16-minute Direct Mini, focused on third-party games. While not as earth-shattering as juicy new next-gen console details, we finally got confirmation of some long-anticipated titles. (What’s up, Monster Hunter?) Here’s everything that was announced: A new Monster Hunter is coming to Switch. It’s called Monster Hunter: Rise and, like previous games,…

Here’s The PlayStation 5’s Launch Lineup

Today, in a 40-minute showcase, Sony finally pulled back the curtain on the price and release date for the PlayStation 5. The base edition will cost $500, the all-digital $400, and both will be available stateside on November 12. While terrific to finally get some confirmed info after seventeen years of waiting—or three months in…

Watch The PlayStation 5 Showcase Here

At 4:00 p.m. ET today, Sony is kicking off a 40-minute PlayStation 5 showcase. Watch the English-language stream above, or tune into PlayStation’s YouTube channel for streams in other languages, including Spanish and French. Back in June, Sony officially pulled back the curtain on the PS5. We learned that it’s more powerful than the PlayStation…

Fall Guys Introduces Remixed Stages In Mid-Season Update

If you memorized the stages in Fall Guys like you would the freckles of an ex, you might’ve done yourself a disservice. Today the latest patch for the game went live, and it introduced significant tweaks to some of the stages in this bubblegum-colored platformer royale. Even seasoned players might get grabbed by surprise. For…

Othercide Is A Goth Tactical RPG That Embraces Death

Most tactical games condition you to avoid failure. In XCOM, once a character dies, they’re gone. Same for Fire Emblem (at least in Classic mode) and others of its ilk. Othercide isn’t like that. Playing Othercide means rewiring your brain to tolerate and even seek out failure. Death comes quickly and brutally and recurs ad…

Microsoft is retiring the introductory price of Xbox Game Pass for PC. Starting September 17, it’ll jump from $5 a month to $10. If you’re already signed up, you’ll keep your old rate for one more billing cycle.

I Keep Discovering Great Indie Games In Xbox Game Pass

Throughout my time with Undermine—which has been in early access on PC since 2019 but received a full release last month for PC and Xbox, where it’s part of the Game Pass library—I’ve seen a lot of good soldier-miners die. Bryeb got trampled by a bobo, a large primate that indiscriminately charges at anything in…

Hades Won’t Have Switch-PC Cross-Saves At Launch

Hades is coming to Switch, but folks who’ve been playing the early access version on PC won’t be able to carry over their save files—at least not from day one. Developer Supergiant Games announced in a tweet today that, while cross-save functionality between the two platforms is still planned, it won’t be available at launch.…

Marvel’s Avengers Has An Age Of Ultron Easter Egg

Crystal Dynamics swears that Marvel’s Avengers isn’t a reinterpretation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As game director Shaun Escayg told CNET, following last year’s initial reveal of the game, “We wanted to clearly show that this was our spin on the Avengers.” You can determine for yourself whether or not Marvel’s Avengers successfully differentiated itself,…

How To Start The Outer Worlds’ Peril On Gorgon DLC

Accessing this wayward asteroid—and its plunder of quests and gear—isn’t as obvious as you’d think.

Avengers’ Exotic Loot Is Dropping (Mostly) As Intended

If you’ve been screwed over by loot in Avengers’ endgame, you’re not alone. Some players are running the game’s most punishing missions and getting diddly-squat for their efforts. Now, developer Crystal Dynamics says the issue both is and isn’t a bug, depending on what missions you’re running. As noted by Forbes’ Paul Tassi, this issue…

How Much Every Sony, Nintendo, And Microsoft Console Cost At Launch

It took months of anticipation and a long game of chicken with Sony, but Microsoft finally pulled back the curtain on next-gen price points this week. The Xbox Series X, with its 12 teraflops and fridge-in-a-supervillain-lair design, will retail for $499. Meanwhile, the disc-less, all-digital Xbox Series S—which was first reported last year but only…

How To Make The Most Of Avengers’ Endgame

Marvel’s Avengers becomes a different game once you wrap up the campaign. Though the fundamentals—punch evil robots while on a never-ending quest for better gear—are unchanged, the game shifts from narrative-driven, third-person action game into a never-ending feedback loop: find better gear to level up enough to find better gear so you can level up…