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CultureThe Words For Gaming In Different Languages
Like any community in the world, people who play video games have collaboratively created their own language and slang. Many of these words are international, but different languages have different ways of talking about play. This piece originally appeared 3/29/18. I’m totally fascinated by the way language influences culture and the way we think. It’s…
By Keza MacDonald Published December 6, 2019 -
CultureHow To Play Long Video Games When You Have No Time
For a lot of gamers with demanding jobs, marriages and/or families, the excitement of reading good reviews for games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is tempered by the sinking realization that they’ll never have time to play them. How do you make time for a 60+ hour game when you have…
By Keza MacDonald Published September 13, 2019 -
What Happens When Your Kids Develop Their Own Gaming Taste
For a beautiful few years, you have near-complete control over what your child plays. You decide what’s allowed and when, what to play together, which gems from the past to share with an excited five-year-old. Then a little more time passes, and suddenly the situation is completely different. There comes a point where kids are…
By Keza MacDonald Published June 20, 2019 -
All The Video Games You Can’t Play When You’re Pregnant
There are plenty of fun things you can’t really do when pregnant: waterslides, alcohol, trampolines, staying up past 10pm. You’d think that video games would be a totally unaffected pursuit, but as I’ve discovered, even cherished sofa-time is not safe. The first time I found out I was expecting a baby, for instance, I was…
By Keza MacDonald Published May 22, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryA Cyberpunk Ninja Game Where You Manipulate Time
After talking my way past the receptionist at a grotty hotel in Katana Zero, I stand in the elevator at the entrance to a heavily guarded floor, watching goons patrol back and forth. One’s got a shotgun, another a knife, another a pistol. I formulate a plan, then burst through the doors, slicing through all…
By Keza MacDonald Published April 18, 2019 -
ReviewsSwitch
Yoshi’s Crafted World: The Kotaku Review
I think I fell in love with Yoshi’s Crafted World when I discovered the costumes. You don’t know cute until you’ve seen Yoshi running around the place in a little shonky cardboard cow outfit. My heart melted. This piece was first published on March 27, 2019. We’re bumping it today for the game’s release. Sweet…
By Keza MacDonald Published March 27, 2019 -
OpinionImpressions
Sekiro Is Way Better When You Stop Playing It Like A Souls Game
Given that it is a FromSoftware game, I expected a lot of people would struggle with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. I didn’t expect that I, a disciple of these games since Demon’s Souls, would struggle with it quite so much. Despite the superficial similarities—the graphics, the bonfire/altar save system, the rhythm of exploration and boss-fighting—Sekiro…
By Keza MacDonald Published March 25, 2019 -
When Should You Start Introducing Your Kids To Video Games?
As a gamer parent, I long for the day when I can play side-by-side with my beloved progeny. Overtly or not, I think most of us hope that our kids will turn out to be mini Pokémon trainers or enthusiastic Destiny squadmates. But what’s the best way to introduce children to games? Sometimes, forcing something…
By Keza MacDonald Published February 28, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatform
Trials Rising: The Kotaku Review
I look at my watch. It’s 9:48pm. I’ll do one more Trials Rising track, I think. After that, since I’m only two levels away from the next stadium challenge, I do a few more. The stadium challenge turns out to be a tough bastard that makes me want to bite my controller in half, but…
By Keza MacDonald Published February 25, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformCrackdown 3: The Kotaku Review
It’s been a while since I’ve played something as refreshingly uncomplicated as Crackdown 3. You’re a big dude (or lady) with genetically-engineered superpowers and a whole lot of guns. Out there is a futuristic city stuffed with militia and hostile robots. And after the briefest preamble, you’re free to absolutely go to town on it.…
By Keza MacDonald Published February 15, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformWargroove: The Kotaku Review
Wargroove has everything: a charming 2D look, imaginative characters and toylike units placed on gorgeous little battlefields, and accessible turn-based strategy inspired and informed by Intelligent Systems’ classics of the genre, Fire Emblem and Advance Wars. So why am I not enjoying myself as much as I should be? This question occurred to me a…
By Keza MacDonald Published February 1, 2019 -
Pikuniku Is Not Your Average Game About A Red Blob With Legs
Do you want to feel like you’ve taken something mildly hallucinogenic and you’re watching foreign-language kids’ TV? I’ve got the game for you. The new PC and Switch game Pikuniku has been one of the few bright spots for me in what has felt like an overly long January. It’s an imaginative and cheerfully dystopian…
By Keza MacDonald Published January 25, 2019 -
Tips & Guides
A Vegetarian’s Guide To Hunting In Red Dead Redemption 2
In real life, I turn a bit green at the sight of a butcher shop. In video games, I am a merciless killer of monsters and, in Red Dead Redemption 2, deer. If you want to get into the game’s hunting, allow me to be your guide. Video games are all about escapism, right? This…
By Keza MacDonald Published November 13, 2018 -
Why Reporting a Red Dead Redemption 2 Leak Cost a British Website $1.3 Million
The video games media reports on leaked information all the time. So why, when British website Trusted Reviews published details from a leaked document about Red Dead Redemption 2 in February of this year, did it end up paying out over a million dollars to charities as part of a settlement with publisher Take-Two Interactive?…
By Keza MacDonald Published November 2, 2018 -
A Game About Staying In Bed All Day
For a couple of months I’ve been dipping in and out of #SelfCare, a game about deciding to not get out of bed. It’s nominally designed for people who don’t really like video games, but as someone who has played them all my life, I’ve found it a fascinating experiment in game design. #SelfCare is…
By Keza MacDonald Published October 16, 2018 -
A Straightforward Guide To Parental Controls On Game Consoles
All gamer parents want video games to be a positive part of family life, and parental controls can help achieve that with minimal arguments. Parental controls on consoles are something that you never think about until you need them. When you have a video-game-obsessed eight-year-old on your hands who sulks every time you tell them…
By Keza MacDonald Published October 8, 2018 -
Shenmue Has Aged Poorly, But It Is Still Special To Me
This year I bought Shenmue for the third time. I bought it despite knowing, having played it and its sequel three times, that in many ways it is a trial to play. But it’s special to me anyway, as it is to probably millions of others. It’s a relatively new phenomenon, games following you through…
By Keza MacDonald Published September 14, 2018 -
The Best Competitive Local Multiplayer Games
For a couple of years, I ran multiplayer Kotaku Game Nights in bars and pubs around London and Brighton, UK. We’d play good music with actual DJs, set up a bunch of consoles, get the beers in, and welcome anywhere from 50-200 people, depending on the night. It was the ultimate testing ground for competitive…
By Keza MacDonald Published August 20, 2018 -
Tips & Guides
Tips For Playing Monster Hunter: World [Updated]
Welcome, new hunters. Let me guide you through your first few hours with Monster Hunter: World. Whether you’re a veteran wanting to know what’s changed or entirely new to the series, you’ll find these tips useful. This post originally appeared on 1/26/2018. We updated it in February with some new and advanced tips, and are bumping…
By Keza MacDonald Published August 9, 2018 -
ReviewsMultiplatformMonster Hunter: World: The Kotaku Review
Video games often deal in illusions, proffering the fantasy of control and power even when your meaningful influence is minimal. Monster Hunter: World, the new third-person action game from Capcom, absolutely deals in fantasy. It plucks you from reality and sets you in the domains of exotically imposing monsters that you must hunt. In this…
By Keza MacDonald Published August 9, 2018
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