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CultureKotaku Game DiaryAfter A Disappointing Start, WoW: Shadowlands’ Story Picks Up Big-Time In Maldraxxus
The more I think about Bastion, the more I’m glad I put the golden fields and star-dotted skies of that deceptively beautiful hell behind me for the pus-green, boil-covered and fleshy pastures of Maldraxxus. Seriously. Even though I knew I’d be trading one of the most beautiful zones ever designed in 13 years of World…
By Ash Parrish -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryWasting My Time In WoW And Destiny 2 Is Good Actually
In World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, I’m level 59 and 7/8ths, have completed three of the five new zones, and I still don’t think I’m enjoying myself. In Destiny 2, I’m stumbling around Europa while I clumsily figure out (sometimes embarrassingly late) what the hell all my warlock powers do. Other than a few, fleeting moments,…
By Ash Parrish -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryWorld of Warcraft: Shadowlands Manages To One-Up War Crimes in New Questline
I can’t imagine a fate worse than death, but thankfully, the writers of World of Warcraft don’t suffer from my same lack of imagination. In a new campaign introduced in the Shadowlands zone Bastion, the WoW writers have managed to concoct a scenario as horrifying to me as when Sylvanas Windrunner decided to do a…
By Ash Parrish -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryIn Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Nintendo Refuses To Acknowledge BotW’s Darkness
I had high hopes for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, particularly for its story. As a prequel, it promised to tell a more in-depth tale of the fight against Ganon 100 years before Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. But AoC failed that expectation in nearly every regard. What I didn’t expect, and what…
By Ash Parrish -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryIt’s Really Fun To Crush Foes With Your Fists In Demon’s Souls Now
One of the best things about the Demon’s Souls remake is that every weapon now has unique animations. And not only does attacking look different on PlayStation 5, but so does backstabbing and riposting after a parry. This small change has encouraged me to try out new equipment, but, as in real life, nothing so…
By Ian Walker -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryMissing Sequential Collectibles Is The Worst
In Sackboy: A Big Aventure, a mostly harmless platforming game for PlayStations 4 and 5, each level has a series of Imagination Orbs that Sackboy must find. As they are collected, the Imagination Orbs fill a little cloud-looking object in the order they appear in each level. Should the first Orb you collect show up…
By Mike Fahey -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Love Being A Lazy Hacker In Watch Dogs: Legion
When it comes to finishing missions and doing side quests, Watch Dogs Legion gives you a lot of options. You can run in and shoot everyone, sneak around using stealth, recruit an enemy, and use them to walk into a hostile area unnoticed or you can just sit in your car and be lazy. This…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryDemon’s Souls Has Some Truly Fucked Up Teeth Options
With both the PlayStation 5 and its marquee launch game Demon’s Souls launching today, you’re going to see a lot about the latter’s character creator. And for good reason! The robust customization options give you the ability to make some very cool avatars for exploring Boletaria. The teeth, though. My god, the teeth. I don’t…
By Ian Walker -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryWe Tested All The PS5 Demon’s Souls Graphics Filters
I’m happy to report that I’m finally playing Demon’s Souls, my most anticipated next-gen game. While full impressions will require more time, let’s take a look at the various visual filters the game provides to players on PlayStation 5. (These are 4K images captured via the console’s Create button, by the way, so be sure…
By Ian Walker -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryAs Destiny 2‘s Commander Zavala, Lance Reddick Finally Gets To Be The Good Cop
I am a lapsed Destiny 2 player. In anticipation of the Beyond Light expansion coming out November 10th, I thought I’d reacquaint myself with the game which I hadn’t touched in years. Even though I probably should have waited for Beyond Light and its promise of a revamped and heavily streamlined new player experience, one…
By Ash Parrish -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryNo More Heroes On Switch Ruins My Favorite Part Of Its Loading Screens
I’m a simple man. Give me some rhythmic, monotonous task to carry out and I’ll be content. I think that’s why I found the loading screens in the original No More Heroes so engrossing, and why I’m now so bothered to find the recent Switch port screwed them up. I love games that give you…
By Ian Walker -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryOn The Eve Of PlayStation 5 Season, Let’s Remember My PlayStation 2
Today, a handful of my colleagues have published PlayStation 5 impressions, detailing where the power button is, how it fits in various spaces, and how those slick-ass Dual Sense controllers feel. But did you also know that this week marks the 20th anniversary of the PlayStation 2? How can we appreciate where the next-gen consoles…
By Ash Parrish -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryThanks To My Childhood, I Can’t Throw Out My Console Boxes
My first console was a PlayStation, a gift from my mother’s boyfriend. I don’t remember asking for it; I think it was a gift to curry favor. My mother had an antipathy towards video games that bordered on hostility, so while she didn’t outright ban my sister and me from playing them, it was very…
By Ash Parrish -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryCozy RPG Ikenfell Uses Cats As Save Points
Ikenfell, released earlier this month on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC, is an excellent little RPG that puts a tactical spin on the reflex-based battle mechanics of the Mario franchise’s role-playing spin-offs. It also uses cats as save points which, come on, of course I’m going to write about. Cats snooze in every…
By Ian Walker
