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A Minor PC Gaming Miracle
Building and maintaining your own gaming PC is the best. It’s also occasionally the worst. This week I upgraded my PC, fully expecting it to be a pain in the ass. Instead, something magical happened. Windows 10 actually came through. I spent the past six months or so in a constant state of doubt about…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 30, 2017 -
ReviewsA Nintendo Switch Case For The Sophisticated User
Say you recently dropped a chunk of cash on a new Nintendo Switch. You might leave it in the dock most of the time, but at some point you’re gonna want to pick it up and take it with you. Before you do that, you should probably get a case. There are already a ton…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 28, 2017 -
The Sweet Taste Of Zelda Revenge
Well, would you look who it is. Remember me, motherfucker? I’m that kid you callously wasted back when I had three hearts, a pair of pants, and a stick for a weapon. Hey, check this out. Was that fun for you? It was fun for me. Now to grab these spare parts out of the…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 23, 2017 -
The Worst Mission In The Legend Of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
After dozens of wonderful hours playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I finally came across a bad mission. It’s bad enough to serve as a point of reference for just how good the rest of the game is. It sticks out like a sore thumb on an otherwise beautifully manicured hand. I’m…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 22, 2017 -
A Beginner’s Guide To The World Of Mass Effect
Hey, there’s a new Mass Effect game out this week! How about that. While Mass Effect: Andromeda tells a story independent of the original trilogy, there’s enough existing lore, jargon and backstory that you probably want to brush up before you dive in. I’m here to help. I’ve played a dozen or so hours of…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 21, 2017 -
If You’re Playing Zelda, Try Fast Traveling Less
So you’ve been playing Breath of the Wild for more than a week. You’ve made some decent progress. You’ve finished some of the story and unlocked most of the map. It’s only natural that you’d start fast traveling. A few days ago I noticed that this was how I was playing, at least. After several…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 15, 2017 -
A Short List Of Things That Have Killed Me In Horizon Zero Dawn
I don’t know why I’m surprised, really. They’re huge metal dinosaurs. They’re dangerous. All the same, I wasn’t expecting to die quite this much in Horizon Zero Dawn I’m around a dozen hours into Guerrilla Games’ post-apocalyptic dino hunting game and I keep on getting my ass kicked. I had been expecting the initial difficulty…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 14, 2017 -
Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Is Full Of Amazing Little Details
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild manages to be both massive and unusually detailed. The sprawl of Hyrule will take weeks or even months for most of us to explore, not just because of its square mileage but because of how much there is to see and do in a given field or…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 10, 2017 -
The Nintendo Switch Really Needs More Music
Unlike its predecessors, the new Nintendo Switch has a boring operating system. Not only does it lack Nintendo’s characteristic oddball playfulness, it’s also nearly silent. There’s no music. It’s a shame. The 3DS and the Wii U, Nintendo’s two most recent gaming systems, both had incredible menu music. If you’ve been using a Switch for…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 8, 2017 -
Horizon Zero Dawn‘s Little Details Are Polished And Well-Styled
The new PS4 game Horizon Zero Dawndoes a lot of big stuff well. Literal big stuff, like robots the size of buildings. It also nails a lot of small things.Amazing leg animations, sure, but also things that more directly affect how it feels to play the game. Given that I sometimeshighlight games thatscrew up their…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 7, 2017 -
CultureSplitscreen
Podcast: The Good And Bad Of Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is out today. On the latest episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, Jason and I chat about what we like and don’t like about Nintendo’s new console, which we’ve both been using for a little over a week. You can listen on iTunes or Google Play, or directly in the embed below. As always,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 3, 2017 -
If You’re Playing Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, Turn Off The Minimap
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a fantastic game, as fun to pick apart as it is to master. One tip for those of you who are playing this weekend: Turn off the minimap. Breath of the Wild’s options menu is more limited than your average big-budget open world game. You can…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 3, 2017 -
ReviewsNintendo Switch: The Kotaku Review
The Nintendo Switch is a fascinating new game console built around a novel and well-executed central idea. It also has plenty of problems that will doubtless be improved upon in a future version. Nintendo is yet again trying something new, and here we are to take the plunge alongside them. Note: This review is largely…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 3, 2017 -
CultureSplitscreen
Podcast: Day Three Of GDC, With Special Guests
We’re back with our third and final Kotaku Splitscreen special episode from the Game Developers Conference in sunny San Francisco. To close out our Great GDC Trifecta, we’ve got Frank Cifaldi, founder of the new Video Game History Foundation, Kim Swift, design director at EA Motive, and Tim Schafer, some guy who likes drawing pictures…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 2, 2017 -
CultureSplitscreen
Podcast: People Who Write (And Program) Video Games
We’re back for another Kotaku Splitscreen special from the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Today we’re joined by storied RPG writer Chris Avellone, Double Fine senior gameplay programmer Anna Kipnis, and 80 Days writer Meg Jayanth. Jason and I talk with each guest about the games they’ve worked on, with conversation focusing on Alpha…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 1, 2017 -
CultureSplitscreen
Podcast: We’re At The Game Developers Conference
This week on Kotaku Splitscreen, we’re doing a series of episodes form the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Today Jason and I are joined by some familiar voices—frequent guest Matthew Burns comes on to talk about what GDC is all about, former-Kotaku editor Tina Amini drops in to talk about leaving the world of…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 28, 2017 -
CultureSplitscreen
Podcast: Hunting Robot Dinosaurs In Horizon: Zero Dawn
This week on Kotaku Splitscreen we’re talking about robot velociraptors, bows and arrows, and a bunch of other things related to the upcoming PS4 game Horizon: Zero Dawn First Jason and I discuss the news of the week, then we’re joined by our colleague Patricia Hernandez to talk about Horizon, which she reviewed and all…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2017 -
Secret Hitler, A Fascist Party Game That Hits Awfully Close To Home
Your ability to enjoy the tabletop game Secret Hitler will likely depend on your ability to laugh as an increasingly impotent progressive coalition fails to halt the rise of fascism. No but seriously, it’s a fun party game. Secret Hitler is brought to us by a number of designers including Cards Against Humanity’s Max Temkin.…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 22, 2017 -
I’m Just Saying, Look At How Horizon‘s Protagonist Turns Around On Horseback
I like a lot of things about Horizon: Zero Dawn, but for now let me just say holy shit, look how they animated her legs when you spin the camera while on horseback. Here’s a longer clip: I’m no animation expert, but based on how she’s moving I believe that this is an example of…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 21, 2017
Kirk Hamilton
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