Heather Alexandra

I’m Not A Top-Tier MMO Raider But I Love Watching Them Stream

2019 is the year of the online RPG, at least for me. Whether that’s the countless hours I’ve spent in Final Fantasy XIV or my curious wandering through WoW Classic, digital worlds have offered me grand adventures and dear friends. But a few experiences are still out of my reach: the toughest challenges, meant for…

Death Stranding Has An Oddly Adorable Birthday Easter Egg

At the start of Death Stranding, players are asked to input their birthday. It supposedly affects a condition called DOOMS, which grants characters special powers. In practice, the date hardly matters in-game and doesn’t affect how your character plays. It does, however, unlock a fourth wall breaking birthday message for players. The Metal Gear series…

Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold releases on the Nintendo Switch on Feb. 14, 2020. The colorful action RPG is made by Level-5, makers of Dark Cloud and the Ni no Kuni games. It is an expanded port of the previously Japanese only 3DS game The Snack World: Treasurers.

Shenmue 3 Feels Like A 90s Throwback, For Better And For Worse

Clumsy, awkward, and stiff. Those are some words you can use to describe Shenmue 3. Rustic, charming, and cozy. Those are also words to describe Shenmue 3. The long-awaited third entry in Yu Suzuki’s adventure epic has all the quirks of the 1999 original, good and bad. You will either love it or be left…

How about a game of Lucky Hit? Chris and I are streaming the (actually real game) Shenmue 3 right now on Twitch. Come and join chat!

Hearthstone‘s New Battlegrounds Mode Isn’t Meant To Be Competitive, Designers Say

 Hearthstone’s always had a sense of playfulness; Tavern Brawls and wacky solo adventures change the rules and add bizarre new baddies. The game’s new auto-battler mode Battlegrounds follows in that vein, offering chaos and complexity that should appeal to both newbies and hardcore players. Battlegrounds, which was announced at Blizzcon earlier this month, adds a…

Death Stranding Chapter Four Is So Freaking Cool

Death Stranding is, in its early hours, a slow but beautiful game about exploring an open world and delivering packages. You’d be forgiven for thinking that’s all the game had to offer, but pushing forward reveals more dangerous situations. The first and perhaps most shocking is Chapter Four, where things finally take off at a…

New Game From The Makers Of Life Is Strange Features A Transgender Hero

Dontnod Entertainment, the studio behind Life is Strange and Vampyr, are making a new game. Tell Me Why is a mystery adventure game about unraveling a troubled past starring a pair of twins, one of whom is transgender. In Tell Me Why, players follow the story of Tyler and Alyson Ronan, exploring both of their…

Players Find Holy Grail Of Majora’s Mask Speedrunning

Every game has the one trick that speedrunners are searching for, the one trick that completely changes the game. Famously, Wind Waker speedruns were blown open once players found a way to break through an impassable barrier. For Majora’s Mask, the Holy Grail has always been warping directly to the final dungeon on the moon.…

A Beginner’s Guide To The World Of Death Stranding

Death Stranding isn’t that weird of a game, but it does love to toss out lore and terminology without explaining much. Some answers are hidden away in codex entries, but others are left for players to sort out. If that seems daunting, don’t worry. Here’s a breakdown of Death Stranding’s world and the most important…

Amazing game designer “Strangethink” has announced that all of their games are being removed from itchio, since the platform’s client app apparently does a horrible job helping players find the “pay what you want” option. These are good gamesand I recommend getting them before they are gone for good.

Final Fantasy XIV’s New Community Crafting Event Is Surprisingly Hype

When folks think of Final Fantasy XIV, they probably think of hardcore raiding groups or a stellar story mode. Crafting is important but not quite as heroic. A new activity to rebuild a war-torn city, though, brings tons of experience points and excitement. The Ishgard Restoration launched yesterday during a new patch, allowing players to…

PSA: Get To Death Stranding Chapter 3 As Quickly As Possible

I’ve already laid out some Death Stranding tips alongside my coworker Tim Rogers. Travel light; build structures in smart places; have an extra pair of shoes. One tip stands above them all, though: Do not get sidetracked at the start of the game. Death Stranding drops players into a large world to complete tons of…

How To Cover Video Game News When Everything’s A Mess

Last weekend, I immersed myself in the sights and sounds of a busy convention floor at BlizzCon in Anaheim, California. It was work—interviews, hands-on gameplay, meeting with contacts. It was also a chance to see friends. Through it all, I felt guilty. As controversies mounted, I was forced to navigate my guilt in the middle…

Tips For Playing Death Stranding

Death Stranding is a big and strange game full of ghost battling and bridge building. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you’re alone in the wasteland, but fret not! I have some fantastic tips to help you survive the haunted hellscapes and protect your tube baby. Play On Normal Difficulty I give this tip for…

Hearthstone’s auto-battler mode ‘Battlegrounds’ is in early access for select players. A public starts next week on the Tuesday the 12th. We’ll have more coverage down the line, but here’s an archive of a stream I did if you’re curious.

Kine‘s Musical Puzzle Solving Will Melt Your Heart And Bend Your Brain

I’m not a puzzle game person. It takes a pretty special combination of visual flair and brain-teasing to get me hooked. Kine, a new puzzle game by solo developer Gwen Frey, has both the challenge and heart that I’m looking for. It’s difficult, funny, and has jazzy flair. In Kine, players take control of a…

Chinese player Xiaomeng “VKLiooon” Li has won the Hearthstone Global Finals at Blizzcon 2019. She is the first female grand finals winner ever and the first woman to win a major Hearthstone tournament

Hands-On With Diablo IV: Dungeon Delving With An Open-World Twist

Diablo IV’s announcement at Blizzcon yesterday was packed with gruesome death The long-awaited sequel’s tone is dark, and that carries over into the gameplay. My hands-on time with a demo build was exciting. Diablo IV eagerly ramps up the gore and dark magic for an experience that feels old-school but adds a few modern twists.…

Death Stranding: The Kotaku Review

There is no elevator pitch for Death Stranding. Every inch of Death Stranding teems with meaning or implication. Even the stupidest and most pretentious developments build to create a multi-layered game, one with numerous potential points of attack to analyze. It is a story about fatherhood. It is a broad dig at the gig economy.…