Kirk Hamilton

Should You Buy A PS4 Pro?

Short version: The new PS4 Pro is a more powerful version of an already good console.We like the PS4 a lot, and the Pro doesn’t do anything to diminish that. However, it’s going to be a while before we know just what that added horsepower will be used for. Sony’s new console is out this…

Dishonored 2 Is Having Trouble On PC

Here’s an unexpected disappointment to cap off an otherwise lovely and completely not-disappointing week: Dishonored 2 is rougher than expected on PC. The first Dishonored has always been an incredibly smooth game for me on PC, so I was expecting no less when I installed the sequel last night. Everything seemed fine at first, but…

Hitman Season One: The Kotaku Review

It’s the middle of the day, and I’ve spent the last couple of hours trying to figure out how to kill this stupid cameraman. You’d think it would be easy, but I have to make it look like an accident and I can’t harm the newswoman he’s working with. Much harder than it sounds. I’m…

Podcast: Skyrim Is Still Great

This week on Kotaku Splitscreen, we’ve got more games than we can even handle. Titanfall 2! Skyrim Special Edition! Final Fantasy XV! House of the Dying Sun! Mafia 3! And on, and on. Jason and I cover all those games and also answer some reader mail about Final Fantasy XIV and Destiny You can listen to…

House Of The Dying Sun: The Kotaku Review

House of the Dying Sun rushes ahead with furious focus and great urgency, and it’s hard not to get caught up in its dark current. It sweeps aside the space-opera trappings of modern sci-fi in favor of something more resolute and grim: You’re the bad guy. There are the good guys. Go make an example…

Every now and then I give this a shot, just to see what’ll happen. So far, no dice. But one day…

Standalone Gwent Makes Some Big Changes To The Witcher 3 Version

My Gwent awakening has taken place entirely within the last couple of months. In that time I went from never playing, to becoming mildly obsessed with the Witcher 3 minigame version, to playing and enjoying the beta of the standalone game. It’s been a lot to digest. The closed beta for Gwent: The Witcher Card…

I Can’t Stop Watching This Destiny Player Wreck Trials All By Himself

Each weekend, Destiny’s Trials of Osiris gives competitive players a chance to team up with two friends and take on the toughest PvP competition out there. Or, if you’re extremely good at Destiny, you can skip the teaming up part and play solo. I chatted some with Destiny streamer/YouTuber SirDimetrious last week for a story…

In Memory Of The Guy Who Gets Beheaded At The Beginning Of Skyrim

Patience is a virtue, people. At the start of Skyrim, your character is being carted to execution alongside a few criminals and some members of the Stormcloak rebellion. A dude gives you some exposition on the way into town, then everyone gathers in the square as Imperial General Saul Tigh berates the leader of the…

I Want To Know More About Westworld’s VR Porn Tanks

HBO’s new Red Dead Redemption LARP Westworld has been teasing us with mysteries for weeks. Among them: why doesn’t everyone who pays all this money to visit Westworld just play video games instead? Warning: this post contains a gif with a lady’s nipple in it. It stands to reason that if technology has become advanced…

Podcast: We’re Psyched For Nintendo Switch

This week on Kotaku Splitscreen, Jason and I tackle the biggest gaming question of the next five months: What happened to that dude’s dog in the Nintendo Switch commercial? We also theorize about the Switch more generally, answer some reader mail, and talk Civilization VI, Battlefield 1, Mafia 3, and the worrying learning capabilities of…

Destiny Clan Does An Absurdly Elaborate Michael Jackson Tribute

It’s Halloween in Destiny, a game about traveling the solar system destroying evil aliens and green engrams. Halloween brings with it goofy masks, novelty items, and if we’re lucky, dance routines. Enter the tenacious terpsichoreans from Husky Raid, who are back with their most elaborate dance routine yet. They’ve tackled Gwen Stefani, Backstreet Boys, and…

Destiny’s Festival Of The Lost Returns With Some Goofy Secrets

Destiny’s Festival of the Lost is underway once more, bringing with it a heaping helping of masks, mirth, and microtransactions. Also, you can ride a broomstick. As with last year’s festival, you can get started by visiting Eva Levante in the tower or, this year, Tyra Karn in the Iron Temple. Eva’s quest is the…

Dark Souls 3: Ashes of Ariandel Is Fun, If A Little Unsatisfying

Dark Souls speaks its own distinct language. The more you play, the easier that language is to understand. Dark Souls 3’s new Ashes of Ariandel DLC doesn’t really teach us many new words, but it’s still nice to have a new chapter. I’m no Dark Souls expert, but I do speak the language well enough.…

Destiny’s Festival of the Lost will return next Tuesday, October 25. It’ll run through November 8. Hope you’ve kept space in your vault for a whole shitload of masks! I want the eyeball one.

Podcast: The Legacy Of Fallout 4

This week on Kotaku Splitscreen, I’m joined by deputy editor Patricia Hernandez to talk about Pokémon, Fallout, and Red Dead Redemption 2 We also discuss what it’s like being deputy editor at Kotaku, the various challenges and opportunities covering fan games and gaming culture, Gears of War 4, and why I haven’t used my roomba…

Long Live The Mouse And Keyboard, A Great Way To Control Video Games

For years, I only played PC games with a mouse and keyboard. For years after that, I played almost entirely with a controller. Now I’m back with the mouse and keyboard, and it’s been an illuminating homecoming. My relationship with the ol’ point-n-click-n-clack, arguably the best way to control PC games, has been complicated. I…

Overwatch Animation Perfectly Captures Pre-Game Ridiculousness

In Overwatch, a bunch of elite superheroes team up to absolutely kick the shit out of arcade cabinets around the world. This animated short comes from Brian Calland, aka Wronchi, an animator whose workwe’ve featured before. It’s about as spot-on as Overwatch humor gets, from the sneaky tag warfare to the unfortunate Hanzo-ness of it…

Podcast: Hunting Easter Eggs In Westworld

Jason’s back on Kotaku Splitscreen this week, which means it’s time to talk about video games! And a TV show. Mostly video games. This week he and I cover a bunch of games we’ve been playing including Dragon Quest Builders, Shadow Warrior 2, Mafia 3, Thumper, and some assorted PSVR games. We also have an…

Shadow Warrior 2 Is Ridiculous In A Lot Of Good Ways

If a game tells me I’m going to carve up demons with a chainsaw called the “Warrrsaw,” it puts my expectations in check. This game is going to be violent. It’s going to be ridiculous. It’s (hopefully?) going to be fun. Shadow Warrior 2 is all of those things. I’ve played about seven hours of…