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ReviewsSwitchPokémon Let’s Go! Eevee and Pikachu: The Kotaku Review
Pokémon Let’s Go! Pikachu and Eevee are going to be divisive. The games seem meant to introduce a new generation of players to Pokémon, especially players who started with Pokémon Go. The changes made to gameplay may frustrate longtime fans, including me; I started playing in the late ‘90s and kept up with the franchise…
By Gita Jackson -
Getting Famous In The Sims 4: A Short Story
When I moved to Del Sol Valley, I was so sure that it was going to be my ticket to fame. Instead, I’m in round after round of auditions for bit parts and commercial spots. Meanwhile, my two weird, nerdy roommates are streaming themselves to superstardom. “Skyler,” you might ask me, “how can you get…
By Gita Jackson -
Culture
A Young Man’s Ego Doomed A Much-Hyped Jurassic Park Game
Do you remember what you were like at age 25? It was only four years ago for me, and I already think I was pretty much the worst back then. Seamus Blackley also doesn’t have a stellar opinion of the man he used to be at 25. At the time, he was executive producer on…
By Gita Jackson -
The Latest Sims Expansion Lets You Get Famous (By Streaming, Of Course)
When Electronic Arts producer David Miotke showed me the new Sims 4 expansion Get Famous last week, he wanted to make sure I saw a new animation they’d created for it: the money phone. “Every Soundcloud rapper has to talk on the money phone in their first video,” he said. He directed a rich Sim…
By Gita Jackson -
The Long-Awaited Sims 4 Terrain Tools Helped Me Build A Better Roof
Not to sound like the guy who sold you weed in high school, but did you ever think about roofs? What the fuck are those, man! Thanks to the latest Sims 4 update, I finally understand what makes a roof a roof. It’s been a long time coming. Every single time I’ve tried to build…
By Gita Jackson -
Hands-On With Sims 4‘s Long-Awaited Terrain Tools
Alongside the Get Famous expansions pack, The Sims 4 is finally getting terrain manipulation tools in a free update. I got an hour-long advanced look at the new update and expansion, including about 15 minutes to play with the terrain tools, and , they look like they’re going to be worth the wait. The Sims…
By Gita Jackson -
CultureThe Internet Reacts To Piranha Plant In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
So, Piranha Plant is coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Ready yourself for a barrage of jokes. I’ve already been told I’m on the wrong side of history for not really getting Piranha Plant as a character in Smash, and you know what? It’s fine. Go enjoy your plant, weirdos. I cried literal, real tears…
By Gita Jackson -
Adding Clutter To The Sims Gives The Game A Human Touch
If you want to mod The Sims 4, you can add drugs, make a pregnant teen, or even roast babies on a barbecue. One of the most popular kinds of mods, though, is something less fantastical: clutter. The Sims is like a huge dollhouse you can tell stories in. Those stories can range from setting…
By Gita Jackson -
Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s First Post-Launch Fighter Will Be, Uh, Piranha Plant
There’s one more fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: the Mario series’s Piranha Plant, which will be free if you buy the game before the end of January. I’m sure someone, somewhere, is very happy about this. Piranha Plant can spit poison, fire spiky balls, and turns into the massive Petey Piranha for its Final…
By Gita Jackson -
CultureThe Internet Reacts To The First Look At Henry Cavill As Geralt Of Rivia
In my opinion, Henry Cavill is out here looking like a straight up snack in the first peek as him as The Witcher’s Geralt of Rivia. Other people on the internet do not agree. Fans have been eager for a look at anything from Netflix’s upcoming The Witcher series since it was announced, especially given…
By Gita Jackson -
No Man’s Sky Underwater Update Opens Up New Worlds
With each update, No Man’s Sky finds new ways to make me obsessed with it. The latest update, the undersea-focused The Abyss, is no different. The Abyss’s patch notes basically sum up to “makes oceans better.” It diversifies the flora and fauna, makes the underwater areas more bountiful in general, and introduces some new missions.…
By Gita Jackson -
Transistor Sings On The Switch
I loved Transistor when I first played it on PC, but I struggled with some aspects of the game. The combat system, while interesting and creative, was sometimes tedious to control. On the Switch, the game feels more cohesive. In Transistor, you play as Red, a singer who has lost her voice. Plus, her boyfriend…
By Gita Jackson -
I Like Baseball Now Because It’s Just Like Dwarf Fortress
Last Saturday night, I watched a game of baseball, a sport I’ve always disliked. As the game unfolded and I found myself enjoying it, I realized how much it has in common with the stressful video games I love to play. One of my friends is a native Angeleno and a huge Dodgers fan, so…
By Gita Jackson -
CultureKotaku Game Diary
Until Dawn Is Much Different When You Play With Friends
Neither of my roommates play games, but they’re both fans of Halloween. To help get us in the spirit I introduced them to Until Dawn, a horror game with lots of branching narrative paths depending on what you choose. One of my roommates isn’t that into spooky stuff but is definitely down to watch scary…
By Gita Jackson -
No Man’s Sky’s Latest Update Will Be Underwater
The upcoming No Man’s Sky update, The Abyss, is all about what lurks under the sea No Man’s Sky’s last named update, Next, completely revitalized the game, not only overhauling the visuals, but changing fundamental systems and adding the long awaited multiplayer. The Abyss isn’t quite as huge, but adding undersea missions and vehicles will…
By Gita Jackson -
In Defense Of Blocking People On Twitter
Due to the way Twitter works, blocking people is the only way to guarantee that you won’t see tweets from someone you don’t like. Everyone should do it more. Twitter’s safety measures are notoriously lackluster, but if someone’s in your mentions when you don’t want them to be, you have a couple of immediate options:…
By Gita Jackson -
Excited Kids Are Baffling Adults With Their Fortnite Halloween Fervor
The Spirit Halloween store closest to Kotaku’s office is in a brightly lit basement. The walls are cement, and the interior of the store is a loose collection of temporary shelves. Every part of this store is crammed with costumes, either individual parts like wigs or facepaint, or entire outfits in a plastic container. As…
By Gita Jackson -
CultureKotaku Game Diary
My Quest To Be Gay In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey‘s Ancient Greece
Ever since it was revealed that you could have same sex romances in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, I’ve been chomping at the bit to be gay in ancient Greece. It’s turned out to be harder than I thought. In the fifth grade, my school went whole hog on ancient Greece. In our overstuffed school, we called…
By Gita Jackson -
Rimworld, As Told By Steam Reviews
Rimworld was officially released last week after being in early access for five years. All these years, players on Steam have been sharing their wild stories in their Steam reviews. I love games like Dwarf Fortress, so Rimworld has already stolen a lot of my time. It’s management sim where you build a base on…
By Gita Jackson -
Early Versions Of Animal Crossing Included ‘Dog Policeman’
While Animal Crossing made its debut in the States with the eponymous game on the GameCube in 2002, the series started out a year earlier in Japan, first on the Nintendo 64 and then the Gamecube in 2001. While there are only a few differences between the two games, looking at early English language press…
By Gita Jackson
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