Heather Alexandra

Final Fantasy XIV Seemingly Nerfs Item That Gives Players 2B’s Butt

Final Fantasy XIV’s latest raid event, which pits 24 players against dangerous bosses, is a Nier-themed crossover complete with stylish gear to collect. A special set of armor mimicking Nier Automata protagonist 2B’s look is among one of the most coveted, partially because wearing it will “enhance” your character’s ass. Now, changes to that piece…

Heather Alexandra’s Top 10 Games Of 2019

2019 might be the strangest year of my life so far. It felt more like a full decade compressed into 365 days. But there was, as always, video games. So many video games. Many of them were fantastic. My previous years at Kotaku were defined by a voracious consumption of any and all games, but…

Outer Worlds Developer Finds Bug That Caused Companions To Climb Infinite Ladders Until They Died

Obsidian Entertainment’s games can tend to be glitchy. The Outer Worlds mostly bucks that trend, but at least one bug proved to be incredibly frustrating: a strange glitch stating that your companions were dead when they were, in actual fact, alive. This could lock players out of completing quests. Figuring out what was causing the…

Sekiro Wins Game Of The Year At The 2019 Game Awards

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the 2019 Game Awards’ Game of the Year, winning over games like Death Stranding and Resident Evil 2. It’s a surprise award that snuck ninja-like over the finish. It also won best Action/Adventure game. The Game Awards dazzled audience members and viewers worldwide with a variety of trailers and announcements…

A Big Final Fantasy XIV Update Finally Makes Playing As Blue Mages Better

Final Fantasy XIV’s Blue Mage class was silly but ultimately limited in what it could do. Fans wanted an entire new job class that could fit into established groups. Instead, they got a bite-sized blast of goofy magic that could only team up with other Blue Mages. It was neat but ultimately a disappointment. Thankfully,…

I’m Not Sure If Binging Life Is Strange 2 Is The Right Move

Working at Kotaku usually means that whenever a new game releases, you’re checking it out. It’s a constant churn with little downtime; you’re always rushing to see the next thing. I’ve made one exception this year for Life Is Strange 2. For some, it’s slipped under the radar. For me, I was waiting for the…

Ninja Is A Regular Human Being Who Definitely Knows How To Make A Sandwich

Richard Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is a fully grown 28-year-old adult best known for playing Fortnite and making more money in a day than any of us will make in our lifetimes. He has, at some point in his life, eaten a sandwich. I’m not sure if he’s ever made one for himself, however. Blevins recently…

The Most Underrated Games Of The Decade

The decade has come and gone, with the passage of time once again showing that we live in a meaningless universe where we ultimately die. But hey! There were some cool video games along the way. Caught in that catalogue were countless games that were woefully misunderstood, never getting the limelight they deserved. This is…

Breaking Down The Intense World Of Castlevania Speedrunning

Castlevania is a punishing game. Getting hit at the wrong time might mean plummeting to a frustrating death. It’s a classic that requires precision to finish. Speedrunners have been challenging it for years, and a new video breaks it down from the early days until now. Summoning Salt, who makes videos detailing the speedrunning history…

I Miss Cheesy Video Game Voice Acting

The decade is coming to a close, year and years of forward progress in design and production having transformed games as we know them. Professional actors fill video game casts and look so realistic that they might as well be right there. It’s a remarkable change, but I’ve gotta say, I miss the hammy voice…

Alien: Isolation Is Too Frustrating On The Switch’s Small Screen

It’s a meme at this point to say that any given game is better on the Nintendo Switch. It’s often true: Having great games on the go means players can enjoy cult classics and new releases wherever they want. Alien: Isolation is a fantastic horror game, frightening and atmospheric—but it’s an exception to this rule.…

Death Stranding Update Will Let Players Delete Marooned Cars

Death Stranding requires players to build massive systems of roads and drive bouncy, buckling cars in order to make deliveries and rebuild America. Bridges and some structures can be deleted, but if a car gets stuck in rocky terrains or if a player leaves it in the middle of a path (either by accident or…

Star Wars: Battlefront II has tons of updates coming in time for The Rise of Skywalker. A blog post today outlined the addition of two new classes, new appearance for heroes and (I kid you not) turning BB-8 into a tough, playable hero character.

Majora’s Mask Glitch Warps Players Into Developer Test Room

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is having something of a glitch renaissance. One particular glitch that allows player to re-write memory values has allowed speedrunners to achieve a Holy Grail trick and warp to the moon. But where else can it go? Well, if done properly, you can even warp behind the scenes. The method…

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is adding a new and terrifying challenge. A developer diary today revealed that a tempered (read: hard mode) version of the already difficult Ruiner Nergigante will be coming to the game. Prepare to get knocked out when it arrives. A lot.

Shenmue 3: The Kotaku Review

Shenmue has always straddled the line between the epic and the everyday. Yu Suzuki’s ambitious adventure game series is a story of globe-trotting vengeance and magical relics. It is also a story about helping an old lady around town, or wasting a day at the arcade. Shenmue III feels exactly like the classic that started…

Valve Finally Ran Out Of Steam Controllers

Valve’s Steam Controller, once useful for allowing players to enjoy their favorite games on televisions around the house, is pretty much dead. Following the Autumn Steam sale that drastically reduced prices, Valve is giving refunds as stock runs out. As reported by PC Gamer, the stock of Steam Controllers is drying up. The controller’s original…

Resident Evil 3‘s Nemesis Is Still Terrifying

Resident Evil is the zombie horror game, but its shambling corpses are slow and easy to avoid. To reinvigorate the series, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis created an unpredictable nightmare man who attacked unpredictably with terrifying speed. It robbed players of their sense of control, and in doing so created one of gaming’s scariest monsters. This…

Sure, Let Cows Use VR

Half Life: Alyx is on the way, and it’s maybe time to accept that virtual reality will be a part of how we approach games going forward. But VR isn’t just useful for fighting Combine soldiers; it can be very relaxing. Which is exactly why a Russian farm strapped VR headsets to its cows. According…

Death Stranding‘s Nominations At The Game Awards Can’t Help But Raise Questions

The Games Awards is the largest video games awards ceremony of the year in large part because it’s full of new game announcements, but the industry takes the awards seriously as well. This year, with Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding nominated for a number of awards including Game of the Year, viewers are openly wondering whether…