-
CultureYakuza: Like A Dragon Is Really Into Peking Duck
Yakuza: Like A Dragon is many things: a satire, a melodrama, a business/real estate simulator, and a dungeon-based RPG. It is also a 60-hour public service announcement for Peking duck. Growing up in New York as a second-generation Cantonese-American, I rarely ate Peking duck. Instead, I ate Cantonese roasted duck, which is filled with a…
By Kevin Wong -
OpinionImpressionsDualSense Feedback Makes Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered Feel Legit Next-Gen
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered is a definitive polish of a beloved game. The visuals in this game are a marked improvement. But it’s the feel of the game—the sensory tickles from the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller—that made me appreciate and enjoy it in a new way. I remember first reading about vibrating controllers in Nintendo Power…
By Kevin Wong -
OpinionMarvel’s Avengers Is Fantastic Once You’re Fully Powered Up
When I first played Marvel’s Avengers, I thoughtit had a fun campaign and some great moments of escapism, but was hobbled by a repetitive, slow-paced endgame. Since then, I’ve put many additional hours into the game and changed my mind. Once your superhero is fully powered up—with the best Gear and all of his or…
By Kevin Wong -
OpinionI Love The Bamboo Strike Mini-Game In Ghost of Tsushima
I’ve been taking my time with Ghost of Tsushima. A highlight of my completionist playthrough has been the “Bamboo Strike” mini-game, which asks you to slice through multiple bamboo shafts with your sword. There are 16 Bamboo Strike locations scattered throughout Tsushima Island, which is the perfect amount—rare enough that finding a location is a…
By Kevin Wong -
CultureThe Last Of Us Part 2‘s Stuntwoman Spent Several Days Pretending To Die
The first time stuntwoman Amy Johnston worked with Naughty Dog, she performed motion capture for Nadine Ross in Uncharted 4 and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Her task—to portray a mercenary who could kick Nathan Drake’s ass—was suited to her skill set. The daughter of a kickboxing world champion and a third-degree black belt martial artist…
By Kevin Wong -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Love Cracking Safes In The Last Of Us Part 2
The Last of Us Part 2 has 14 locked safes scattered throughout its world. In contrast to the rest of the game, where resources are limited and ammo is scarce, these safes are loaded with supplies. In a game where visceral fun isin short supply, cracking these safes is a pleasurable experience that forces you…
By Kevin Wong -
Overpowering My Way Through Fire Emblem: Three Houses Is Just What I Need Right Now
I’ve had a difficult two months. I don’t know when I’m teaching again. I’m concerned for my family’s safety. But I’ve gotten some respite by playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses, sometimes late into the night. I have a backlog of games to play, but I can’t put Fire Emblem down, in large part because I’ve…
By Kevin Wong -
Super Mario Bros. 3‘s Angry Sun Gave Me Anxiety
I’ve been playing Super Mario Bros. 3 on my Nintendo Switch lately. It’s been reminding me how the Angry Sun, an enemy that appears in the fifth level of the game’s Desert Land, provoked terror in me when I was young. Its implementation is a lesson in narrative level design and accomplishing less with more.…
By Kevin Wong -
CultureDisney’s Haunted Mansion Is A Terrific Mess
The Haunted Mansion is one of Disney’s greatest creations. It’s also an unfixable, thematic mess, which is part of its appeal. Disney has allowed it to remain imperfect for the past half century, a wise exception to the company’s notorious perfectionism. This piece was first published on April 27, 2016. We’re bumping it today to…
By Kevin Wong -
Every Punch-Out!! Opponent, Ranked
I’ll make a deal with you, Nintendo: I will promise to buy any console that you release, if you will promise to release a new Punch-Out!! game on it. This post originally appeared 1/4/16. We’re bumping it today for the game’s release on the Nintendo Switch From a critical standpoint, there are games far superior…
By Kevin Wong -
What Made Super Mario Bros. Level 8-3 So Good
In World 8-3 — the penultimate level of Super Mario Bros. for the NES — Mario makes his final push towards Bowser’s castle. This level is a mini-masterpiece in a classic game and tells a small but important story through its gameplay. There are eight worlds in Super Mario Bros., each composed of four levels.…
By Kevin Wong -
Culture
How Peanuts Used Lucy and Schroeder To Explore Dysfunctional Relationships
Lucy’s relationship to Schroeder was unfulfilling. She craved emotional validation from the one character who was least equipped to provide it. It was both humorous and sad—a contradictory message that Charles Schulz’s Peanuts conveyed so well. This piece originally appeared 5/2/18. Lucy debuted as a toddler in 1952. Schulz declined to reprint these early strips…
By Kevin Wong
Kevin Wong
Kevin Wong's posts
