Heather Alexandra

Shenmue‘s World Is Full Of Wonderful Junk

Shenmue I and II’s HD remasters released on Steam today and I’ve been playing all morning. Yu Suzuki’s 1999 adventure game helped set a standard for open world exploration. Its secret is simple: lots of and lots of “pointless” but satisfying interactions. One of Shenmue’s key features was an explorable open world with NPCs to…

Yo, Kiryu-chan! Heather and Seung are streaming Yakuza Kiwami 2 right now on Twitch Coin join the chat for an afternoon of fistfights and arcade games.

Yakuza’s Arcades Are A Sly Way To Preserve Old Games

I played Yakuza Kiwami 2 this weekend and loved every second of it. Arcades are a big part of Yakuza’s gorgeous cityscapes, and their changing roster of old Sega game shows a different way of preserving classic games. The Yakuza games take place in Kamurocho, a fictional version of Tokyo’s Kabukichō entertainment district. It’s a…

Dying Light’s battle royale mode ‘Bad Blood’ enters into early access next month on Steam There’s way too many battle royales out there but I admit I’m interested in badass parkour fights. Registration is currently closed but keep a look out here for a chance to join.

The truck have started to move! Heather’s playing through the original Metal Gear right now on Twitch. Try to sneak into the chat if you can.

Monster Hunter: World Could Be Weirder

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate comes to the Switch on the 28th. Yesterday, Paul and I streamed the demoand faced off against a massive Valstrax. It’s a sort of laser-shooting dragon that darts around like a fighter jet. As I wait for the full release, it occurs to me that Monster Hunter: World could learn a…

PUBG‘s Throwback Mode Is A Reminder Of What Made It Great

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds keeps on expanding, adding new guns and maps that change the game’s pace into something faster than before. The game now has new rules for armor loot drops and tweaks to the dreaded blue zone. PUBG’s latest event mode, ‘Early Access Memories,’ brings back many of the game’s rough edges. Playing it reminded…

Graveyard Keeper Feels Like A Job

If you ever thought that Stardew Valley needed more corpses, Graveyard Keeper is the highly specific game for you. Managing a graveyard, performing autopsies, and keeping the Church happy is a humble and rewarding existence. It’s also hard work; after my first day playing Graveyard Keeper, I was legitimately exhausted. My grandfather worked for years…

Heather and Paul are playing the Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate demo right now on Twitch If you’re new to the series, it’s a great chance to see some fresh monsters and cool weapon arts. Come join the chat!

Max Payne Still Holds Up

Last night, I started playing through Max Payne on Kotaku’s Twitch channel. Returning to the 2001 game after so many years reveals a smart and surprisingly funny game full of experimentation. And, of course, kickass bullet-time gunfights. I first played Max Payne in junior high when my friend Dan brought the CD-ROMs over to my…

A shot rang out. It was time to start a playthrough of Max Payne live on our Twitch channel (I did stupid amounts of troubleshooting to make it happen so please watch!)

A Relaxing Game Where You Serve Coffee To Orcs

It’s a late night shift and things are quiet. That nosy journalist who always says she’s working on a book took her espresso and sat down in the corner. A dapper looking elf wanders in with his literal succubus of a girlfriend. It’s gonna be a slow night in Coffee Talk, but that’s fine. Coffee…

Monster Hunter: World‘s New Behemoth Fight Requires A Different Mindset

I was recently on vacation and away from Monster Hunter: World while I enjoyed the wonders of California, and now that I’m home, I’m catching up on new quests. The largest and, to me, the most exciting of the game’s recent developments is the addition of Final Fantasy XIV’s Behemoth. While the fight can be…

What It Means To Buy A Video Game

Video games are an expensive hobby, often demanding a great deal of trust whenever you buy a new one. Buying a game winds up being a number of things. A purchase is a gamble. It’s an encouragement. It’s a participation in exploitation. And it’s a conversation with the many people who brought you the game.…

Paul and I are making poor decisions in the first episode of The Walking Dead: the Final Season right now on Twitch Come join the chat and help us protect Clementine. 

I’m back from vacation and hunting critters in Monster Hunter: World right now on Twitch. We’re going to take on the Final Fantasy “Behemoth.” Join me on PS4 with the session ID 44vvne48KPeB!

We’re going live with Sonic Mania Plus right now on Twitch. How long can Ray the Flying Squirrel fly? Does Knuckles really not chuckle? Tune in to find out.

The Walking Dead‘s Final Season Starts On A More Intimate Note

Fans of Telltale’s The Walking Dead have watched protagonist Clementine grow from a small child into a confident teenager. The final installment in the series, The Final Season, thrusts Clem into new responsibilities and focuses on building a small community in the midst of the zombie apocalypse. The Final Season’s first episode, “Done Running,” takes…

The Overwatch League is getting two new teams in 2019 Teams representing Atlanta, Georgia and Guangzhou, China will join the roster next season. Snacktaku expert and proud Georgian Mike Fahey was quoted as saying “Wooo.”

Salt And Sanctuary Is Better When You Can Put It Down

I’m flying across the country tomorrow and need help keeping calm while I travel. Luckily, the Nintendo Switch has added dozens of exploration-focused titles to distract me, including the 2D Soulslike Salt and Sanctuary. Like Hollow Knight, it’s a game that fares much better on a portable console. Salt and Sanctuary originally released in 2016…