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ReviewsMultiplatformPersona 5 Strikers: The Kotaku Review
It’s now or it’s never, and I’ve got to Make my decision This time it could be my moment Is this a mirage or a chance to fulfill my mission? Between Persona 5 and its Royal variant, I’ve sunk over 200 hours into the Atlus role-playing game series that pits Japanese teenagers against malevolent, would-be…
By Ash Parrish Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryWe Gotta Talk About This Main Story Quest In A Realm Reborn
My journey through Final Fantasy XIV continues apace. My bard and black mage are now at level 46, and I’m currently questing through the icy Coerthas, which seems oddly French with all the names ending in -x and -eau. When I first started playing, my circle of FF14-playing friends all told me to be patient.…
By Ash Parrish Published February 22, 2021 -
CultureThe Overwatch 2 Panel Was Cool But Please, Give Us The Damn Sojourn Reveal
Judging from its complete absence from BlizzConline’s opening keynote, you’d never guess Overwatch 2 was part of the Blizzard family of games, much less in the works. Thankfully, watching the “Behind the Scenes of Overwatch 2” panel put to rest any fears that the game might’ve been forgotten. Led by lead designer Jeff Kaplan, the…
By Ash Parrish Published February 19, 2021 -
CultureWorld Of Warcraft Leak Includes Showdown With Sylvanas, Burning Crusade Classic [UPDATE: Confirmed]
[Update 5:20 p.m. February 19: During Blizzconline’s opening ceremony, Blizzard debuted the newest story trailer for Shadowlands and a trailer for Burning Crusade Classic confirming some of the information leaked a day prior. Original story follows.] A leak surfacing the day before Blizzconline’s opening ceremonies revealed possible details of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands’s first major…
By Ash Parrish Published February 19, 2021 -
CultureStrixhaven, Magic: The Gathering’s Newest Set, Is Hogwarts Without The Terf
Do you still love the Harry Potter franchise but absolutely cannot abide supporting its terfy author? If so, Magic: The Gathering’s latest card set, Strixhaven: School of Mages, might be for you. More than being a simple card game played to demoralize your friends, Magic: The Gathering has its own story, with each new card…
By Ash Parrish Published February 19, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsIn Bugsnax, Grumpuses Used To Be Frogs With Thicc Butts
Bugsnax developer Young Horses shared some early design concepts for its what-if-we-ate-the-Pokémon-instead, body-horror game, and they are as out there as you’re probably hoping. Starting on the more mild but technically ambitious front, the developers original experimented with making the Grumpus’ relationships more dynamic and fungible: Procedurally generated relationships between Grumpuses could’ve been interesting! It…
By Ash Parrish Published February 18, 2021 -
CultureMorning MusicSay Whatcha Wanna About Final Fantasy XIII, You Can’t Deny Its Amazing Soundtrack
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s ongoing hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today we’re continuing to indulge my terminal case of Final Fantasy brain with a deep dive into Final Fantasy XIII’s mold-breaking soundtrack. I’m not here to discuss the merits of Final Fantasy XIII (playlist / longplay / VGMdb) itself,…
By Ash Parrish Published February 17, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryFriendship Ended with Azeroth, Now Final Fantasy XIV Is My Best Friend
I’ve done it. I’ve finally begun my journey with Final Fantasy XIV, after six years of aborted attempts I made it through the still strangely unfriendly onboarding process and am now roaming free in the world of Eorzea. This was a long time coming. This previously glaring omission in my Final Fantasy record lead to…
By Ash Parrish Published February 16, 2021 -
CultureThere’s A Nintendo Direct Tomorrow, Finally
Earlier today, Nintendo announced their first Nintendo Direct of 2021 will take place tomorrow at 5 p.m. ET. According to Nintendo, the showcase will run a beefy 50 minutes and feature news on already available games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as well as new games coming to the Switch in the first half of…
By Ash Parrish Published February 16, 2021 -
CultureA Pokémon And Post Malone Concert Is–Wait, Why Are You Laughing?
Pokémon and Post Malone sounds like the follow-up album to Post Malone’s 2018 Beerbongs & Bentleys, but it is a real thing that is actually happening because 2020 isn’t done fucking with us I guess. The “Circles” rapper is teaming up with The Pokémon Company to put on a concert this month in celebration of…
By Ash Parrish Published February 11, 2021 -
CultureEpic’s MetaHuman Creator Helps Devs Pump Out Fancy ‘Digital Humans’
Today, Epic Games launched a sneak peek at its newest Unreal Engine creation tool that promises to drastically cut down on the time needed to create realistic-looking digital humans. “Creating one high-quality digital human is difficult and time-consuming,” the announcement post says. “Scaling that effort to create many diverse digital humans of the quality required…
By Ash Parrish Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureThe Blizzconline 2021 Schedule Is Available And God, I’m Going To Miss The Overwatch World Cup
Blizzconline 2021, Blizzard Entertainment’s digital answer to their yearly in-person Blizzcon event, posted its schedule today. In addition to offering updates on the development progress for Diablo IV and Overwatch 2, Blizzconline also boasts a number of community events. Viewers can choose from Hearthstone streamer matches, arts and crafts tutorials, and an Overwatch League exhibition…
By Ash Parrish Published February 10, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game Diary17 Years Later And I Still Can’t Beat Hannibal In Age Of Empires
Xbox Game Pass has once again proven its worth by allowing me to confront a bully of my past: the Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca. Yes, I’m serious. Every night for the last two weeks, when normal people would wind down for bed with a nice hot mug of tea and their favorite background noise show,…
By Ash Parrish Published February 9, 2021 -
CultureIn Mass Effect Legendary Edition, BioWare Bounces Bootylicious Butt Shots
With the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, the team at BioWare is working on updating graphics and textures and showing a little more love to the first game’s Female Shepard model, to bring her image in line with the rest of the trilogy. The team is also tweaking some camera angles to make things a little…
By Ash Parrish Published February 5, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsA Traveler’s Guide To The Best Final Fantasy Worlds To Live In
I’m a few days past my Final Fantasy XV blitz and I’m still enmeshed in a quagmire of feelings and emotions. Since finishing the game, I watched Kingsglaive the prequel movie, I’ve considered re-watching the prequel anime, and I’m one retail therapy session away from buying the novel. I’ve already raided Etsy looking for cute…
By Ash Parrish Published February 3, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsDo Not Touch The Mako!
The Mass Effect Legendary Edition will be out May 14th, and amid the myriad of emotions I am feeling right now, one tidbit of information gives me pause. According to reports on Eurogamer and VentureBeat, in addition to all the fancy graphical bells and whistles BioWare is adding to the eldest of the trilogy, the…
By Ash Parrish Published February 2, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsFinal Fantasy XV Could Have Had A Much Better Villain
There are a lot of things I love about Final Fantasy XV. Its tale of brotherhood is bar none and representative of some of the best “it’s the little things” storytelling I’ve ever experienced in a video game. But there are, of course, elements I don’t like. In particular, the game’s villain. Final Fantasy XV’s…
By Ash Parrish Published February 1, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryToo Fast Too Fantasy XV, Finale: I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
Last night, after just over a week of daily playing, I finished Final Fantasy XV. And I realize now why I stopped so near the end during my first run some five years ago. It was a defense mechanism, my body’s way of protecting itself from the emotions that are going to utterly ravage me…
By Ash Parrish Published January 29, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryToo Fast Too Fantasy XV: Dawn Of The Final Day
Noctis drains his fifth elixir in as many minutes, rising to his feet as Prompto, Gladio, and Ignis groan on the ground. The aramusha lurks silently, waiting. When Noctis stands, the monster makes ready, body crouched, bony hand on the hilt of its egregiously long sword. “Can’t take much more of this.” Noctis thinks to…
By Ash Parrish Published January 28, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Threw $1,000 Into That Stonks Game Because Why Not
My partner and I spent $1000 on a game yesterday. We didn’t spend it on Pokémon cards, or Fortnite V-bucks, or decide to become whales in Genshin Impact. But, at my insistence, we combined some funds, downloaded the Robinhood trading app, and bought some stock. I mean, why the hell not right? We’ve seen the…
By Ash Parrish Published January 28, 2021
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