Kirk Hamilton

The 12 Types Of Video Game Sequel

We live in an age of sequels, but not all sequels are created equal. Are you playing a true sequel, or are you peeking a prequel? A reboot, expandalone, or maybe a threequel? Don’t get piqued, people. Our sequel technique will sort everything out. This post originally appeared 9/27/18. Here, in no particular order, are…

Why Everybody Loves Final Fantasy Tactics

Boy, do people love Final Fantasy Tactics. They love it so much they’d marry it, if human-video-game marriage were legal. It’s a desert-island game for approximately 70% of the video gaming population; it’s been replayed more often than The White Album This piece was first published on January 7, 2013. We’re bumping it today for…

Something Ends, Something Begins

I guess everyone eventually writes one of these posts, and today it’s my turn. At the end of December, I’m leaving Kotaku. I’ll continue co-hosting the Splitscreen podcast, but that’s gonna be it. Starting next year, I’m getting back to my first great passion: competitive hot-dog eating. Kidding! It’s music. I actually never meant to…

Kirk Hamilton’s Top 10 Games Of 2018

There were loads of good video games in 2018, and I sure played a lot of them. I usually write these lists with a tinge of regret; regret over the no-doubt good games that I didn’t make time for, and regret that my list won’t include games I would’ve added had I made the time.…

How To Beat A Tough Video Game Boss

Over the last few years, I’ve started playing more difficult video games. Unfortunately, tough video games tend to include tough boss fights, and I don’t really like tough boss fights. This piece originally appeared 6/27/18. From the blood-starved beast in Bloodborne, to the Valkyrie queen in God of War, to Diablos in Monster Hunter: World…

Hitman 2016 Taught Me A Better Way To Play Hitman 2

Usually when I play a single-player game, I go through it from start to finish. I play each new level after the last one, until I stop playing or get to the end. That’s not how I played 2016’s excellent episodic Hitman, however, and it’s not how I’m playing its fantastic new sequel. I’ve played…

The next big Assassin’s Creed Odyssey patch is live. This one increases the level cap and adds a new Lost Tale of Greece, among many other changes. It also adds visual armor customization, which means my Kassandra can finally dress like Wonder Woman without sacrificing her stealth armor bonuses.

Thunderlord Is Back In Destiny, And It Owns

This week, Destiny 2 got a big machine gun that chews through aliens while summoning lightning from the sky. It’s easy to get, and it rules. The gun in question is called “Thunderlord,” and is the latest in a long line of exotic gear from the first Destiny to make its way over to Destiny…

Diablo III on Switch just got updated with a way better home screen icon. It doesn’t make the actual game better or anything, but on the other hand, maybe it also kind of does?

Stan Lee’s recent cameo in Marvel’s Spider-Man was more of a direct fourth-wall break than some of his other appearances. It was also pretty lovely, I thought. Rest in peace, Mr. Lee.

Tips For Playing Red Dead Redemption 2 [Updated Again!]

Red Dead Redemption 2 is an absurdly big game, full of secrets, systems, and hidden surprises. It’s possible to just learn how it all works by playing, but its first few hours can be overwhelming and a little confusing. I’m here to help. I’ve learned a lot about how Red Dead 2 works over the…

Bungie has detailed the many changes in today’s big Destiny 2 patch. Gambit Sleeper ammo nerf! Breakthrough tweaks! Enhancement Cores! Reduced exotic duplicates (allegedly)! Read all the changes at the Bungie blog

Red Dead Redemption 2 Defiantly Bucks Open-World Trends

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Red Dead Redemption 2 are both big open-world games, and they both came out in October of 2018. Both involve a hero on a horse riding around and murdering lots of people. The similarities end there. AC Odyssey is very much of its time. It’s an embodiment of the open-world game…

Red Dead Redemption 2: The Kotaku Review

From tip to tail, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a profound, glorious downer. It is the rare blockbuster video game that seeks to move players not through empowering gameplay and jubilant heroics, but by relentlessly forcing them to confront decay and despair. It has no heroes, only flawed men and women fighting viciously to survive…

The latest Destiny 2 update tweaks and fixes a bunch of stuff, from supers to class abilities to weapon balance. Read the full patch notes for everything, though Bungie has actually made a few small changes and additions (Lost Sectors on maps, three-pursuit tracking) that aren’t in the patch notes.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Smartly Refines The Origins Skill Tree

Of the many differences between last year’s Assassin’s Creed Origins and this year’s Odyssey, the changes to upgradable abilities have the most dramatic effect on gameplay. Origins’ skill trees were a convoluted mess even at the time, and Odyssey’s refinements bring that messiness into sharper relief. The majority of Assassin’s Creed games haven’t included action…

Did you know there’s a storage box aboard your ship in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey? Because there totally is, right behind where you normally stand. Goodbye, crappy Ubisoft Club items that I can’t dismantle. (Thanks, Redditor Tirnirnog86, for pointing this out.)

Bungie has shared details on Destiny 2‘s upcoming Festival of the Lost, which starts October 16. Among other things, there’ll be a new timed mode in Mercury’s Infinite Forest that sounds like it could be cool. We’ll also get a quest to avenge the death of Master Ives, a character I’m sure you totally remember…

How To Play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Like An Actual Assassin

One could be forgiven for thinking Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was an action-packed mix of 300 and Wonder Woman, all swinging battle axes and dudes getting kicked off cliffs. But the word “Assassin” is right there in the title, and it is more than possible to play as a stealthy killer. In fact, it’s really fun.…

Bungie has detailed a bunch more changes coming to Destiny 2: Forsaken in October. Among other things: an increase to the Malfeasance quest drop rate, reduced Sleeper ammo in Gambit, a Scout rifle PvE damage buff, map names for discovered Lost Sectors, tracking for up to three pursuits, and no prestige Last Wish raid.