Kirk Hamilton

Weekend Listening: I went on Kat Bailey’s US Gamer podcast to talk about The Witcher 3 and Destiny, AKA the only two games I ever seem to play these days. We had a good time; you can listen to the whole thing here.

15 Little Things I Love About The Witcher 3

There are a lot of big things that I like about The Witcher 3. But this game is full of charming moments and cool little details, too. As I’ve been playing through for a second time, I’ve been paying closer attention to the smaller things. I thought I’d share some of my favorites. 1. Geralt’s…

Every Now And Then Something Lovely Happens In Destiny

And now for a short Destiny story. Last night, I was teamed up with two friends, playing through Destiny’s new Prison of Elders challenge mode. It was me, my colleague Jason Schreier, and Mashable’s Adam Rosenberg. The three of us regularly play together. We were taking on the Prison on level 32, which is a…

The Witcher 3 Is Even Bigger Than You Think

The Witcher 3 is a really big game. This is known. Still, I’m not sure everyone grasps just how massive it is. I sure didn’t. I’ve already “finished” the game; I played through to the conclusion for my review. But as I said at the time, I had to blow past a bunch of sidequests…

This Week, Destiny Got A Hell Of A Lot Better

Everyone loves a redemption story. On Tuesday, Destiny’s second major expansion, House of Wolves, went live. I’ve been playing all week and, good news: Not only is House of Wolves superior to its preceding expansion The Dark Below, it feels like the wholesale upgrade that Destiny desperately needed. The story so far: In September of…

The Witcher 3 Downgrade Controversy Sucks

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve seen growing fan anger around the hotly anticipated video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Turns out, the finished game doesn’t look as good as the early versions shown off in trailers. It’s not the first game to leave gamers feeling misled, and it won’t be the last.…

Tips For Playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a great game filled with small choices. Which kind of sword do you use? Which king or emperor do you support? What do you say to that tempestuous sorceress? I’m here for you, friends. I’ve played all the way through the game and am in the midst of a…

The Many Things We Loved About Mad Max: Fury Road

Guess what? Mad Max: Fury Road is an awesome movie. So awesome, in fact, that a bunch of us Kotaku staffers decided to get together and talk about why we loved it. Yesterday, I got together with Patricia Hernandez, Evan Narcisse, and Chris Person to talk it all out. Our lightly-edited conversation follows. Spoilers ahoy!…

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: The Kotaku Review

Looking back over my last 60 hours with The Witcher 3, I feel a bit like its wandering protagonist: A very attractive man standing alone on a hilltop, looking out over a vast kingdom, unsure where to begin. Just kidding; I look like garbage right now. I’ve spent the last week and a half mostly…

Remember kids, don’t drink to excess. Nice to see that The Witcher 3 on PC lets you import the most crucial decision from The Witcher 2

A Beginner’s Guide To The World Of The Witcher

Good news: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a really cool game. Bad news: It’s dense and complicated as hell, and requires you to keep track of a ridiculous number of people, places, and concepts. Don’t worry: I’m here to help. Wild Hunt is likely going to attract a bunch of new people to the…

How To Get The Most Out Of Destiny’s Cool New Bounties

If you played Destiny anytime in the last 24 hours, you found a surprise waiting for you in the Tower. The Queen’s Wrath is back! (Okay, it probably wasn’t a total surprise, given that you had to download a big update first. And the game greeted you with a huge announcement pop-up informing you about…

Divinity: Original Sin Is Coming To PS4 And Xbox One

Well, this is cool: The excellent PC role-playing game Divinity: Original Sin is getting a new “Enhanced Edition” later this year, and it’ll be coming to PS4 and Xbox One. The Enhanced Edition sounds like a substantial upgrade. Happily, anyone who already owns the game on PC/Mac/Linux will get the new version, “as a complete…

My Crackpot Theory About A Tease In The Witcher 3

Partway through The Witcher 3, two characters had a conversation that got my head spinning. Heads up! Some plot spoilers for The Witcher 3 follow. Nothing too major, but if you want to experience the game totally fresh, better to steer clear. Everyone still here? Okay. Here we go. After the lengthy first act of…

A Gripping, Lusty Excerpt From My Witcher 2 Novel

The afternoon sun cascaded over the Flotsam town square as Geralt of Rivia blinked off his hangover. He grunted, stretched his Witcher legs, and cracked his Witcher back. He slowly scratched an itch on his Witcher chin and took in the scene before him. The gallows at the center of the square remained untouched, preserving…

One More For The Books

(Context: All The Ways Activision Is Avoiding Saying What Destiny Actually Sold)

What Are You Playing This May?

Holy hell, it’s already May. How did that happen? We may be nearing the halfway mark on 2015. It may be spring already, the days may be longer than ever, and there may be a ton of interesting games to play and replay. All of that may be the case. May we take a moment…

Here Is A Fun Thing To Do In GTA V

You can do a lot of fun things in GTA V. This one’s particularly good. Here’s what you do: 1. Play as Franklin. You know you love playing as Franklin anyway. 2. Get a fast motorcycle. Franklin’s primary bike is too much of a hog, so if you can, get something zippier. Maybe an NRG…

Dragon Age: Inquisition’s “Jaws of Hakkon” DLC is coming to PS4, PS3 and Xbox 360 on May 26, according to a Tweet from the official Dragon Age account. As good a reminder as any that timed DLC exclusivity is bullshit.

We Used Microsoft’s New App To Guess Video Game Characters’ Ages

Microsoft has shared a demo of a new web app that can allegedly guess your age from a single photo. To test it out, we asked it to guess a bunch of video game characters’ ages. Here’s what we found: