Kirk Hamilton

Bungie has detailed how Destiny 2 Faction Rallies are changing for next week’s season 3 debut. There’s a new “Renown” system that increases difficulty and rewards as long as you go without dying, which sounds neat. They’re also lowering the difficulty on waves 4-7 of Escalation Protocol, which, good

The Thrill Of Finally Playing The First Dark Souls

I love Souls games, but until recently, I hadn’t played much of the first Dark Souls. That’s changed with Dark Souls: Remastered, and it’s been a fascinating experience. It took me a while to fully get on board the Souls train. Here’s my history with this series, which I actually have a feeling isn’t all…

Exodus Crash, a.k.a. the most hated strike in Destiny 2, has been removed from the heroic strike playlist as of today’s game update. Bungie has said they’re planning to rework it in some way; it’ll be interesting to see how. Update 11:26AM: According to numerous players on Reddit and Twitter, Exodus Crash hasn’t actually been…

Detroit: Become Human: The Kotaku Review

The PS4’s latest blockbuster moviegame Detroit: Become Human is like something my Alexa would come up with, were I to ask her to write a story about androids with feelings. As I imagine it, the vaguely sinister, sporadically helpful digital assistant that currently resides on my desk would quickly synthesize a bunch of pop sci-fi…

The Most Hated Strike In Destiny 2

Have you met Thaviks, The Depraved? He’s a jerk. If you’ve ever finished Destiny 2’s Exodus Crash strike, you’ve fought him, and probably hated him. Strikes in Destiny 2 are standalone mini-adventures designed to be taken on by three players. Each one usually lasts around 30 minutes or so (provided nothing goes wrong) and has…

Destiny 2’s New Patrol Zone Is More Interesting Than It First Appears

Destiny 2’s Warmind expansion introduces a new explorable area on Mars. Like the game’s other patrol areas on Earth, Io, Nessus and Titan, the Mars map initially seems to simply be an area with some public events and some hidden chests. It’s actually a lot more interesting. Before Warmind was the March expansion Curse of…

Destiny 2’s Warmind Expansion Is Both Disappointing and Promising

This week, Destiny 2 got its second major expansion since it came out last September. It’s called Warmind, and in many respects, it’s a disappointment. However, it benefits from the many small changes Bungie is making to the game more broadly, and succeeds in setting up a long, demanding grind that could keep some players…

Well, Destiny 2 Definitely Made This One Gun A Lot Better

It is still too early for me to say whether or not Destiny 2’s new Warmind is the breath of fresh Martian air that the game so desperately needs. But I can confidently report that the Graviton Lance pulse rifle is now really fun to use. Graviton Lance is an exotic rifle that causes enemies…

You Now Have Four Months To Lose All Your Switch Saves In A Freak Accident

Last night,Nintendo announced that the Switch will be getting cloud-save backups in September. That means you have four months to drop your Switch into a lake, or let your dog chew it up, or accidentally back over it with your car. Since the Switch came out in March of 2017, it has been impossible to…

So Is It Okay To Kill A Westworld Robot, Or What?

The HBO show Westworld is largely focused on a single question: what does it mean for people to kill and abuse robots that look, act, and possibly even feel like humans? Westworld challenges viewers by showing “robots” who are played by flesh-and-blood actors. It tells us they’re not real, but of course, we all know…

What’s Next For God Of War

God of War tells an unusually satisfying, self-contained story. But because it exists in this age of interconnected universes and unending franchises, it also contains plenty of hints about where the series might go next. Spoilers! This post will spoil everything about the ending of God of War. The spoilers come immediately after this warning.…

Track: Crazy, Classic, Life | Album: Dirty Computer | Artist: Janelle Monáe Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

I Love Nintendo Labo’s Extra Little Cardboard Bits

I really like interacting with the Nintendo Labo. I like popping, snapping, folding, and even just looking at each little piece. It’s gotten to the point that I’m having a hard time throwing any of it away. Labo is a fascinating new Nintendo product that combines the Switch handheld system with a collection of cardboard-crafting…

Assassin’s Creed Origins, Six Months Later

Half a year ago, Ubisoft released Assassin’s Creed Origins. It was in some ways the most ambitious Assassin’s Creed game ever made, and in other ways noticeably less ambitious than its predecessors. In the months since then, Origins has become considerably more interesting. Join me now as we climb into the Animus and travel back…

Bungie has explained how Exotic masterworks will function when they hit Destiny 2 on May 8. Each one is like a mini exotic quest that will require players to complete a series of sometimes mysterious challenges in order to unlock it. More info at the Bungie blog, along with details for a couple more exotic weapon…

Let’s Talk About THAT Scene From God Of War

There are a lot of cool sequences in God of War. Let’s talk about the coolest one. No seriously, that is a spoiler warning! This conversation quickly spoils one of the best surprises in God of War. It happens towards the middle of the game. We don’t actually go into detail about endgame spoilers, final…

God Of War’s Optional Stuff Is Extremely Worth Doing

God of War has a lot of stuff in it, and some of that stuff isn’t strictly necessary if you just want to see the story. However, all of it is very good. First of all, spoilers! This post will talk about the three major optional challenges in the game, but it won’t spoil anything…

Westworld Season Two Is Off To A Frustrating Start

HBO’s wild west androidapalooza Westworld is back for its second season, and we’re here to talk about it. Jason and I weren’t in love with the Season 2 premiere, for reasons we got into on a special bonus episode of Kotaku Splitscreen. You can listen to our whole chat here: You can download an MP3…

What It’s Like Auditioning To Be Star Trek’s Newest Composer

This week on Kotaku Splitscreen, I talked with composer Austin Wintory (Journey, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate) about what it was like auditioning to be the composer for Star Trek: Discovery, and why he’s glad he did it even though he didn’t get the gig. For the first part of the show I was joined by my…

Destiny Error Code Names, Ranked

Whenever Destiny or its sequel crashes or has a connection failure, you get a distinct error code. Usually those codes correspond to an animal, fruit, or musical instrument. Some are better than others. Here, with reference from the Bungie Help Twitter account and forums, is a ranking of Destiny and Destiny 2 error code names…