Gita Jackson

Pokémon‘s Creators Tell Us What Kind Of Pokemon Gym They’d Run

I’ve always fantasized about what kind of gym leader I’d be in the world of Pokémon. The series’ producer Junichi Masuda’s and Pokémon Sword and Shield director Shigeru Ohmori’s hypothetical gyms both sound like places I’d want to visit. In Pokémon games, every gym leader specializes in a certain Pokémon type. Misty from Red and…

Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines‘s Weird Dancing Is Back For The Sequel

There’s a lot to love in Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2, but the team brought something special back for the fans: dancing. One of the first locations you become really aware of in Bloodlines 2, which is coming to Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC in 2020, is the local club, Atrium. It has a…

Final Fantasy XV‘s Lead Designer’s New Game Is A Love Letter To Live Music

No Straight Roads is a rhythm game inspired by the strong visual storytelling of Psychonauts. Playing it feels like rocking out in front of a surreal, vibrant crowd. At E3 last week, I was able to play a short demo that included the first boss fight, and as someone who also loves live music, I…

In Planet Zoo, You Can Only Get Good By Learning Facts About Animals

Planet Zoo is the latest simulator from Frontier Developments, the creators of Roller Coaster Tycoon and the recent Planet Coaster. In this one, you’re building a zoo and making sure all the animals are well cared for, which comes with unexpected challengers for players used to making theme parks. Modern zoos have a strong focus…

Pokémon Sword And Shield Director Says It’s About ‘Growing And Evolving’—For The Trainer, Too

For Pokémon producer Junichi Masuda and Pokémon Sword and Shield director Shigeru Ohmori, the spirit of Pokémon is all about metamorphosis. I have played Pokémon since I was around 8 years old, and every time a new game comes out, I wonder what it is about Pokémon that has kept me coming back for two…

The Genesis Mini Is A Beautiful, Tiny Time Machine

Putting your hands on the controller for the Sega Genesis Mini is like traveling back in time, mushy D-pad and all. The Sega Genesis that I had growing up was actually my older brother’s. He wouldn’t let me touch it unless he wanted to play Sonic 2 or NBA Jam in our shared bedroom in…

Empire Of Sin Is The Gangster Game Brenda Romero Always Wanted To Make

Empire of Sin, a complex tactics game about running a mob empire in Prohibition-era Chicago, is the game Brenda Romero always wanted to make. When you talk to John Romero, the renowned creator of Doom and now part of the husband-and-wife team Romero Games, he gushes about Empire of Sin. It’s a complex web of…

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Is Definitely Going To Make Me Cry For My Precious Children

You’re not going to be able to play Fire Emblem: Three Houses without going through some kind of emotional pain. In many ways, emotional pain is what Fire Emblem games are all about. Traditionally, they’re tough tactics games with permadeath, meaning that once your favorite characters are gone, they’re gone forever. Thought the newer games…

In order to promote Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games 2020, Nintendo brought an entire climbing wall to E3. I haven’t been on it yet, for fear that a shoeless Sonic will join me.

Pokémon Sword And Shield‘s Giant Pokémon Changed Up My Battle Strategy

If you were worried about Pokémon Sword and Shield’s new Dynamaxing mechanic, which makes your Pokémon super big and super powerful for a limited amount of time, being an empty gimmick, you can calm down. I played a 20-minute demo at E3 yesterday, and it actually adds to the game’s complexity. Being an adult fan…

Walking Around Minecraft Earth Feels Amazing

I’ve been a casual player of both Minecraft and of the augmented reality game Pokémon Go, so when Minecraft Earth was announced as an augmented reality version of Minecraft, I was curious. There’s a lot to Minecraft, so I was skeptical that the entire game could be scaled to a touchscreen experience on your phone.…

Ghost Recon: Breakpoint‘s Survival Elements Keep The Game Tense

I was playing Ghost Recon: Breakpoint as the assault class, Fixit. I had been doing my best to act as a tank for my teammates by getting out front and shooting people with my assault rifle. But my injuries started to add up: First I got nicked in the arm, then the leg. I didn’t…

Romero Games’ mystery project with Paradox is called Empire of Sin, a mafia strategy game, and it’s coming in 2020. I’ll be seeing it later at E3, so stay tuned for my impressions!

A new No More Heroes is coming in 2020. Travis Touchdown is back to save the world once again, and to talk directly at the screen while doing it.

Ubisoft’s Roller Champions Is Surprisingly Fun

Roller Champions is a 3v3 roller derby game with a futuristic flair. You can play a demo right now. Roller Champions takes place in a future in which, somehow, roller derby has become the dominant sport. You play in teams of three, trying to score five points to end the game. In roller derby, and…

Doom Eternal Comes Out In November–Here’s A New Look

Bethesda revealed the sequel to the 2016 Doom at last year’s E3. Doom Eternal got more stage time this year, and a release date: November 22, 2019. 2016’s Doom was a revelation. It’s blunt humor, bombastic gunplay, ripping and tearing captured my attention for an entire summer. Doom Eternal, the sequel, takes place on a…

The Internet Reacts To Keanu Reeves In Cyberpunk 2077

Keanu Reeves is out here living his best life and the internet is living for it. The most unexpected part of this Microsoft’s E3 presser was Keanu Reeves. Not only did the star of John Wick show up to tell everyone Cyberpunk 2077‘s release date—he’s in the freaking game! I couldn’t handle it during our…

Fallout 76 Players May Finally Get Their Damn Collector’s Bags

After a seven-month wait underscored by security issues and cheap nylon, Fallout 76 players may be able to get the collector’s edition bags they were promised. Gather round, children, and let me tell you the saga of the collector’s edition Fallout 76 bags. The fancy-pants $200 Power Armor edition of Fallout 76 was supposed to…

A Sparse Game About Pushing People Into Holes

Indie game Kids is about pushing, pulling, and squeezing bodies into holes and tubes. Developed by artist Michael Frei and programmer Mario von Rickenbach, Kids is a series of physics mini-games about tiny little people. You can push them into holes, squeeze them through fleshy tubes and guide them as they swim through a dark…

The Black Mirror Fighting Game Episode Was Out Of Control

Kotaku Editor Natalie Degraffinreid and I watched the second episode of the new season of Black Mirror, which is about two old friends that reconnect through a video game. If that sounds both tame and normal, we would both like to assure you that it is neither. It was so out of control that we…