Stephen Totilo

The Most Difficult Game To Play As A Parent

In my first year as a parent, I’ve shunned VR games, sat out Destiny 2 and surprised myself by playing through Nioh. Despite all that, no game has been as tough to play in my new parenting life as Dishonored 2. I did not expect this. Your available gaming time plummets when you have kids.…

The Switch Joy-Con’s Infrared Sensor Is Cooler Than We Thought

One of the most interesting parts of the Nintendo Switch has gone nearly unused by game developers, including Nintendo, for the first year of the system’s existence. A mind-blowing demonstration yesterday, however, showed that the little sensor on the bottom of the right Joy-Con is more capable than we ever imagined. Specifically, it can be…

We Tried Nintendo Labo And Mostly Like It A Lot

I spent a couple of hours messing around with Nintendo’s bold new Labo project today, and I was impressed. The pure act of assembling the cardboard to build the games’ specialized controllers is lots of fun by itself, and some of the games that come with it look promising as well. Just a short walk…

Which New Nintendo Stat Is Most Impressive?

We reported earlier that Nintendo is doing well. No kidding. The Switch is on fire. The company posted a bunch of sales numbers overnight, and we at Kotaku HQ have been discussing which is the most stunning. Let’s just say that we’re not all in agreement. Which is your pick? (Please say it’s the Splatoon…

Few Things In Gaming Are As Satisfying As A New Room Game

The Room video games are among the most satisfying things you can play. They’re all about figuring out how to unlock intricately-locked boxes—or locked stoves or locked model submarines or some other beautifully intricate piece of old-fashioned gadgetry. The newest one, The Room: Old Sins, came out last week for iOS. It’s great. Kotaku senior…

“Fixed various issues with flying boats” – That’s from the patch notes for Assassin’s Creed Origins’s next patch, 1.21, which will hit on January 30. The patch also promises changes to make the game’s recently-added Horde mode easier.

Newly Discovered Audio Message In Assassin’s Creed Origins Was Supposed To Be There All Along

A game as popular as October’s Assassin’s Creed Origins is usually wrung free of major surprises by the time it’s been out for four months. That’s why some fans were startled last week to discover that Origins contains a previously unknown, new audio message from the Isu, a mysterious ancient civilization that is part of…

My Favorite Nintendo Is Weird Nintendo

The Nintendo games that star an acrobatic plumber, a go-kart-racing dinosaur or a bounty hunter are what passes for normal from the world’s most successful video game company. Thank goodness Nintendo regularly gets far weirder than that. I certainly enjoy playing new Zelda games and get excited for new Fire Emblems, but the recent announcement…

Final Fantasy XV’s Fascinating Assassin’s Creed Expansion Is About To Vanish

Final Fantasy XV ’s ambitious, enjoyable, unprecedented multi-hour tribute to Assassin’s Creed was only ever meant to be temporary. That’s a shame, because it’s surprisingly good. The game’s Assassin’s Festival was announced last summer and became available from the FFXV’s main menu on August 31. I’d ignored it, because it sounded like a trifle. If…

The Division’s fourth week-long global event, Ambush, is live. Like its predecessors, it changes basic rules governing combat. This time, you do more damage in firefights if you’re stationary, losing the buff if you move outside of cover. The event is part of this game’s post-release elevation from flawed to fantastic.

The newly announced Switch game Mario Tennis Aces isn’t just another Mario-branded sports game. Nintendo and Camelot are including a story mode in this spring release, something they haven’t done since 2005’s Mario Tennis: Power Tour on Game Boy Advance, a game that was basically a tennis RPG. Hopefully this is as robust.

Super Mario Odyssey Gets New Quasi-Multiplayer Mode, Balloon World

Super Mario Odyssey, the rare mega-game announced without any plans for downloadable content, will in fact be getting some in February. It’s not getting new worlds, but will get a new mode and outfits. In a sort-of-surprise Nintendo Direct this morning, Nintendo said that a free update will add an asynchronous online multiplayer mode called…

There is still no release date for Assassin’s Creed Origins’ first expansion. It’s just “January,” as Ubisoft reiterated today in a post that also reveals that the publisher is finally going to add Origins’ pricy paid DLC items, released weeks ago, to the rotation of items found in the game’s free Heka Chest lootboxes

In My First Year Of Fatherhood I Somehow Played 106 Video Games

For the 12th straight year I’ve made a list of the video games I’ve played in the past 12 months. I’ve tweaked the way I’ve made this list as my gaming habits have changed, but the biggest impact I expected to see this year was from becoming a father. I was right, but 2017 threw…

The Gamers Of The Year, 2017

People who play video games don’t just sit in the audience and watch, clap or boo. They interact and sometimes even help shape the trajectory of an artform. They do this as pro players and amateur critics, as speedrunners and community organizers, and more. Each year we highlight those who have made an impact that…

There Is Now Some Final Fantasy XV In Assassin’s Creed Origins [UPDATE: We Found More Stuff]

A few weeks ago, the makers of Assassin’s Creed Origins teased a screenshot of yellow feathers, and now players who embark on a new quest in Ubisoft’s sprawling ancient Egyptian adventure will find some Final Fantasy in the game. It features some of the odder use of Chocobos in gaming history. The franchise crossover between…

The PS4’s Library Of PS2 Games Is Only Getting More Disappointing

One week ago, the well-hidden section of the PlayStation 4’s online store where Sony and its partners sell PlayStation 2 games displayed more than 50 titles. Today, it lists just one item, a four-game bundle of Jak & Daxter PS2 adventures. The 50-some games are still on the store. Users who search for Bully or…

Inside, the mysterious puzzle-filled side-scroller that we’ve raved about a lot, is now out for iOS. You can play the first part for free and pay $7 for the rest.

The Division’s latest global event changes the rules yet again for Ubisoft’s shooter. In Strike, which runs for five more days, a downed enemy drops an exploding grenade that hurts nearby enemies. A more advanced Strike setting applies similar detonation chain reactions to players who take lots of damage. A fun tweak!

Assassin’s Creed Origins Patch Changes Hideous Blue Box Into Lovely Gold Box

Assassin’s Creed Origins got a horde mode this week, along with a really good improvement to its difficulty system. Who cares! The headline here is that they changed a blue box into a gold one. Origins’ Tuesday patch re-colored the “tools” slot of the game’s inventory page in a move aimed at pleasing one of…