Heather Alexandra

To infinity and then the infinity beyond the infinity. I am streaming Outer Wilds with my astro-pal Paul Tamayo. Come join chat to talk about our existential dread, cute aliens, and Space

I spoke at GDC 2019 and gave a short talk at the Animation Microtalks alongside talented animators from studios like Blizzard and BioWare. Our talks, including my own on the beauty of idle animations, are now live and free to see on YouTube. Give it a watch!

The Intro To Judgment, The Yakuza Team’s Latest Game, Is Perfect For Its Detective Soap Opera Vibe

Judgment, out tomorrow for Playstation 4, is the latest game from the makers of Yakuza, and it thrusts players into the shoes of a stylish private detective trying to solve a violent murder. One of Judgment’s greatest strengths is how much it leans into its television influences in order to craft a mood worthy of…

Neon-Soaked Shooter Amid Evil Really Hits The Spot

Sometimes, you just wanna play a damn shooter. You want some gnarly weapons, some mazes to wander in, and no particular justification for blowing up whatever demons cross your path. Amid Evil, a throwback shooter now released out of early access, channels the spirit of Heretic and Hexen for a frantic, first-person burst of blood…

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, Niantic’s latest augmented reality games is available now on iOS and Android apps stores one day earlier than expected. Download it and yer a wizard, Kotaku!

Someone Turned Mario Into A Battle Royale, And It’s The Best Thing

Battle royale is one of the most dominant gameplay forms of the last few years, and Tetris 99 showed that you could apply the battle royale concept to anything. Mario Royale turns the classic NES game into a 75-person death race that’s some of the most fun I’ve had all year. Mario Royale, which can…

Cult Classic Alpha Protocol Removed From Sale On Steam

Obsidian Entertainment’s 2010 spy-thriller Alpha Protocol has been removed from sale on Steam at the “request of the publisher.” According to a Sega representative, rights to publish the cult-classic RPG have expired. While players who previously bought a copy can still access and download the game, it’s unclear when or if it will go back…

What is a man?! We’re gonna find out as I play some of Koji Igarashi’s new Castlevania successor, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night right now on Twitch. Come join chat to talk subweapons and wine.

Preparing For Final Fantasy XIV’s Upcoming Expansion Has Killed Me

Final Fantasy XIV’s next expansion, Shadowbringers, is available for early access next Friday. In the short time left from now to then, I’ve been furiously sprinting to level characters and blaze through story content so that I can have everything perfectly in place for the launch. It’s a process that’s pushed me to my limits,…

We Went To Bandai Namco’s E3 Booth And Gushed About Goku

Tim Rogers is, according to Tim Rogers, a man who “lives to be correct in as weird a fashion as possible.” He checked out Bandai-Namco’s E3 booth to peep at Code Vein, survive a power outage, and give you the cold hard facts about Goku. Check out the whole booth in the video above. Check…

Cadence of Hyrule: The Kotaku Review

Cadence of Hyrule feels like a french fry dunked into a milkshake. There’s two distinct flavors at play—the deep exploration of a Zelda game with the bouncy pace of a rhythm game—and they mix together into something greater than the initial pitch. In combining two addictive yet contrasting gameplay styles, Cadence of Hyrule crafts a…

Hi-yaaah! I’m exploring dungeons and keeping to the beat in Cadence of Hyrule right now on Twitch Come join chat for some musical Zelda action!

Cyberpunk 2077 Artist Says Controversial In-Game Image Is Commentary on Corporations

A screenshot from Cyberpunk 2077 featuring a hypersexualized advertisement depicting a trans woman drew skepticism today on social media. The artist responsible has spoken up claiming no offense was meant and that the art is a commentary on corporate marketing. The image in question comes from an in-game advertisement for a product called Chromanticure, which…

Switching From Healer To Tank Was Terrifying

If there’s one thing I love doing in Final Fantasy XIV, it’s healing. Saving teammates from huge attacks and making sure we survive to the end of the fight feels good. After playing some of the classes from the upcoming expansion Shadowbringers, I’ve opted for a change of pace. Now, I’m tanking and leading the…

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey‘s Story Creator Is Simple But Fun

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey released a story creator this week, allowing players to cobble together their own questlines and share them with others. The website for constructing handmade stories is easy to use and fun to tinker with, even in the final results of that tinkering can be a little awkward. To create your own stories,…

Resident Evil 5 and 6 are coming to the Nintendo Switch ensuring, as Wesker would say: complete global saturation. They release this Fall, for anyone dying (and maybe reanimating) to play some Resident Evil on the go.

One Dude Was Really Into Bethesda’s Press Conference Last Night

Last night’s Bethesda press conference was full of cool announcements like Doom Eternal details and Arkane’s rad looking new game Deathloop. It was also much rowdier than past conferences. That’s mostly good: fans had stuff to be excited about. At least one dude was absolutely loving it. To quote him: “YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAH!” Part of the fun…

It’s Official: Elden Ring Is A Collaboration Between George R.R. Martin And The Developers Of Dark Souls

Game of Thrones and Dark Souls are colliding. A trailer for a new From Software game called Elden Ring was shown at E3 2019’s Microsoft press conference today. The catch: it’s set in a fictional world designed by Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki and best-selling author George R.R. Martin. Elden Ring’s announcement isn’t a complete…

Phantasy Star Online 2 Is Actually Coming To The West Next Year

Rejoice, Dreamcast lovers. Phantasy Star Online 2 is coming to the West. The popular MMORPG has been frustratingly absent but will come to the Xbox One in a free-to-play package in Spring 2020. In a press release, Sega states that “there will be no limitations on game experiences such as Class Level cap or direct…

There’s Going To Be A Blair Witch Video Game

Back in 1999, we all thought that the Blair Witch Project was real and we definitely didn’t think about video game tie-ins. But that’s what we have. Blair Witch was announced today at the 2019 E3 press conference. There’s a missing kid and a loyal dog, and hopefully plenty of scares. The trailer featured a…