Stephen Totilo

Halo 5 Day Zero Impressions: Mediocre Campaign, Promising Multiplayer

Halo 5 is beautiful, at times a lot of fun, and at times disappointing. It’s also not yet officially released and is dependent on its multiplayer working well on a large scale. So we’re holding off on a review until well after the game’s October 27 launch. For now, some impressions of one of the…

Our incredibly efficient pals at Lifehacker have posted a wonderfully-detailed comparison of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, to help people decide which to buy. Spoiler: They say you can’t go wrong with either.

New Assassin’s Creed Changes Series’ Signature Message About Diversity

Since the first Assassin’s Creed in 2007, games in Ubisoft’s history-hopscotching series have always begun with an on-screen message about the diversity of the people who made the game. You see it as the game boots up, before you can play anything. For this year’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, the 10th major release in the series,…

Here are the patch notes for Assassin’s Creed Syndicate’s first two patches, both available for download as soon as you get the game. Capped from a PS4. For the record our reviewer had no major performance issues with his version of the game, which we believe was running with at least the first patch (the…

The folks at 5TH Cell, the Scribblenauts studio whose CEO used to write a column for us about game development, are raising money from the public and investors for a slick-looking new action RPG called Anchors in the Drift. Find out lots more here

My Five Favorite Kotaku Stories From Last Week

It’s been a quieter fall than normal for big game releases, but we’ve been covering a slew of smaller new games and finding plenty of interesting stories. My favorites from last week: The Past, Present, And Future Of The Witcher 3 | “‘We feel there are quite a few people in the industry who consider…

The Evolution Of A Destiny Character

In a game about collecting guns and armor (and shooting aliens), everything you put on your character should make you look cooler, right? To test that theory, I took 54 screenshots of my Destiny character over the past month, as she leveled up. I got the idea shortly before the September release of Destiny’s big…

Chibi-Robo Zip Lash: The Kotaku Review

If Chibi Robo weren’t so cute, this review would be easier to write. Look at the little guy with his electric plug tail! Look at him dressing up as Link from the Legend of Zelda Look at him meeting new people: Unfortunately, this little scamp’s new game is an oddball mediocrity, a game with an…

The popular PC gaming YouTuber John “Total Biscuit” Bain told his fans yesterday that his cancer has returned and that life expectancy may be 2-3 years. We wish anyone who suffers from this terrible disease all the best and encourage everyone to talk to their doctor about when to get screenings. I’ve enjoyed chatting with…

Report: Nintendo’s Next Platform NX Combines Console And Handheld In Some Way

Nintendo’s new gaming platform will encompass a console and a handheld according to a report in today’s Wall Street Journal According to the paper: The exact shape of the NX hardware isn’t yet clear. People familiar with the development plans said Nintendo would likely include both a console and at least one mobile unit that…

Here’s Fallout 4 Streaming On a PS Vita

Tweeted out today by Bethesda, the above image shows off the PlayStation Vita’s ability to run Fallout 4, streamed from a PS4. Not a bad perk, if you’ve got the gear. Bethesda also noted that the controls for Vita—which has fewer shoulder buttons than a PS4 controller but more options for touch input—were handled by…

Deadspin’s Albert Burneko is having the toughest time with his new-gen console. Dude probably needs more firmware updates or something. Feel his pain, and enjoy his bonus capsule review of The Witcher 3

Musicians’ Union Protests Zelda Concert

Last night’s 90-piece Zelda symphony at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York drew franchise fans but also a protest in the form of a handful of members of a musicians union and a large inflatable rat. Local 802, the Associated Musicians of Greater New York, objected to the Tuesday-evening symphony using non-union players. John…

Nintendo’s Unexpected Massively Multiplayer Puzzle-Solving Experiment

Games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Fez and Destiny get a lot of credit for challenging the packs of people who play them to put their heads together to solve puzzles: players share tips online and make message board breakthroughs. Nintendo kids were doing that on the playground a quarter century ago, of course, trying to…

My Five Favorite Kotaku Stories From Last Week

We published some good stories last week that didn’t involve a certain game about shooting aliens or somesuch. Here are my five favorites: It Took A Year To Find Out What The Red Button In Wasteland 2 Actually Does How to Be a Video Game Snob The New PS4 Uncharted Collection Shows How Much The…

You’re Cut Off From Video Game’s New ‘True Grit’ Mode If You Lose Too Much 

The man who made a version of Space Invaders that deletes files from your computer every time you shoot an enemy has added a new mode to his excellent mobile solitaire game Sage Solitaire. It’s called True Grit. Lose while playing True Grit too many times and you can never play that mode again. The…

One GIF Sums Up Star Wars Battlefront‘s Modern Multiplayer Potential

Plenty of non-canonical moments will be possible in the upcoming multiplayer game Star Wars Battlefront. Above, a scene from YouTuber Jackfrags’ recent session with the game. A beta for Battlefront will be playable on PS4, Xbox One and PC starting this Thursday The game can be played in first or third-person. Here’s more: To contact…

Armature, the studio run by ex-Metroid Prime has announced a second new game for 2016, a top-down arcade shooter called Dead Star that supports 10v10 multiplayer. PC, PS4, early in the new year. The’ve also got ReCore coming for Xbox One

My Five Favorite Kotaku Stories From Last Week

Who knew that one of the most interesting stories we’d find last week would involve proper implementation of a power grid in a zombie game? Or that there were so many terrific lower-profile games coming out to compensate for the awfulness of the new Tony Hawk? Dying Light Creators Respond Amazingly To Fan’s Drunken Rant…