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CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Can’t Stop Playing Picross, Send Help
I’m going to make this quick so I can get back to the game that’s making me write this in the first place: Picross has taken over my life. Mario’s Super Picross (pronounced PIE-cross) is a free puzzle game on the Super Nintendo service available to all Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. (Yes, I know the…
By Ash Parrish -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryWorld Of Warcraft’s Speedy New Leveling Experience Leaves Me Cold
I started a new World of Warcraft character last week, following the release of the Shadowlands expansion pre-patch that, among other things, reduced the game’s level cap from 120 to 50. I’ve only adventured in two different zones and I’m already level 32. It’s all going by so fast. World of Warcraft launched in 2004…
By Mike Fahey -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryFinding Player Homes Is One Of The Best Parts Of Fallout 76
I was out in the middle of the wasteland, low on health, guns near broken and over-encumbered by a bunch of junk and loot. I had just explored a big building and came out into a pack of radscoprions. They nearly killed me, but I barely got away. Yet more deadly things could appear at…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryIn Baldur’s Gate 3, Some Of The Simplest Abilities Are The Most Powerful
I’m new to Baldur’s Gate, so the concept of video games based on Dungeons & Dragons mechanics is completely foreign to me. As I navigated the game I encountered a number of occasions where I’d get my tiefling’s well-crafted ass handed to me in battles because I was too underleveled or too unlucky with my…
By Ash Parrish -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryDear Video Games, I’m Begging You: Cut It Out With The Spiders
Torchlight III, an action role-playing game that came out this week, starts innocuously enough. You choose from a cadre of traditional fantasy roles (mage, archer, soldier, or person with mountainous biceps and a murder train) and go on your merry way killing goblins. In short order, you’re sent into a dungeon that’s loaded up with…
By Ari Notis -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryComic Book Covers Make Lousy Video Game Collectibles
First Marvel’s Avengers, now G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout. Over the past couple of months two video games, one a major release and one G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout, have rewarded my exploration and gameplay efforts with the front covers of classic comics. If you’re going to give me a comic book, give me the whole damn…
By Mike Fahey -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryThey Finally Did It: Fallout 76 Is Pretty Good Now
Last April I bought a PC copy of Fallout 76 for $17. It was such a cheap price that I finally couldn’t resist trying it out. After five or so hours of doing some quests and building a small shack I called home, I moved on. While I enjoyed exploring the world, the performance issues,…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryEvery Game Needs A Dedicated Pass-And-Play Mode
Every video game supports pass-and-play multiplayer. Just find a stopping point, hit pause, and hand the controller to a friend. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time’s pass-and-play is the same sort of thing, only the game’s got built-in prompts and per-player summaries at the end. I appreciate the hell out of that. Welcome to Kotaku’s…
By Mike Fahey -
CultureKotaku Game DiarySpelunky 2’s Turkey Man Doesn’t Respect My Labor
Most everything in Spelunky 2 is out to kill you, so it’s always nice to come across Yang, a random NPC who mostly just chills in a little hut and talks about turkeys. But as my explorations continue to improve, so too has my knowledge of Yang’s racket, and I’m disappointed by what I’ve discovered.…
By Ian Walker -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryGenshin Impact Gets A Lot Better After The Lengthy First Quest
Genshin Impact, a free-to-play totally-not-Zelda game that came out this week for PC, PS4, and mobile, starts slow but quickly picks up the pace. If you’re just starting out and aren’t immediately gripped, that’s fair, but don’t throw in the towel just yet. Stick with it through the first, lengthy prologue quest. Yes, it’s a…
By Ari Notis -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI’m Trying To Kill Fewer Enemies In Spelunky 2
Spelunky 2 can be a violent experience. While searching for the main character’s parents is its ostensible goal, you sure do a lot of killing along the way. I’m doing my part to stem the tide of violence with a self-imposed goal: kill as few enemies as possible. Much like its predecessor, the world of…
By Ian Walker -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryWhipping Arrows Out Of The Air Is Still Super Satisfying In Spelunky 2
There are a lot of ways to deal with arrow traps in Spelunky 2, but the most satisfying strategy is simply whipping the arrows out of the air before they hit you. Everything in Spelunky 2 is out to kill you. Make one wrong move and you’re liable to get tossed around the level like…
By Ian Walker -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Guess I Actually Like Roguelikes Now
Roguelike is a dirty gaming word to me: I can’t think of a genre of game that appeals to me less than one in which you do the same things over and over again in slightly tweaked variations until you somehow find the magical combination of paths, abilities, or spells to win the game. But,…
By Ash Parrish -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Keep Discovering Great Indie Games In Xbox Game Pass
Throughout my time with Undermine—which has been in early access on PC since 2019 but received a full release last month for PC and Xbox, where it’s part of the Game Pass library—I’ve seen a lot of good soldier-miners die. Bryeb got trampled by a bobo, a large primate that indiscriminately charges at anything in…
By Ari Notis -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryMore Games Could Use Invincibility Modes Like Control’s
Control’s latest update added an assist mode that makes protagonist Jesse into a paranormal killing machine with the click of a button. It’s an option I wish more games had. While many games launch with multiple difficulty modes ranging from chill strolls to brutal death marches, Control only had one when it came out last…
By Ethan Gach -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryIt Took 12 Years, But I Finally Got A Platinum PlayStation Trophy
Sony introduced trophies for PlayStation 3 games in July of 2008. Since then I’ve earned more than 3,000 virtual accolades on PlayStation consoles, but it wasn’t until last weekend that I finally joined the Platinum trophy elite, thanks to Hello Games’ The Last Campfire. I wasn’t looking for fame and notoriety as I wound my…
By Mike Fahey -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryIt’s Damn Near The Apocalypse, But At Least My Blaseball Team Is Doing Well
Shit sucks. Our government continues to expand the boundaries of its fascist power. The ostensible opposition party lacks the strength or willingness to do anything. Society continues to buckle under the weight of a preventable pandemic. The only “hope” we have is a doddering politician who promises to change nothing if he becomes president. But…
By Ian Walker
