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CultureKotaku Game DiaryOuter Wilds Has Made Exploration In Other Games Boring
When it comes to video games, “exploration” is kind of a bullshit word, a sexier way of saying hey you’re gonna be doing a lot of running and stuff. “And stuff,” in this context, can be climbing, walking, riding a horse, swimming, or what have you. All the basic ways you get from here to…
By Joshua Rivera Published December 2, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryGrid On Stadia Runs Well And Reminds Me What I Love About Racing Games
I’ve been flirting with the idea of playing a racing simulation again, so when Stadia finally launched with Grid, I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone: test out how smooth the game runs on Google’s new streaming platform and satisfy my motorsport craving. Turns out both are super effective. I remember fondly the…
By Paul Tamayo Published November 27, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryThis Is What Happens When I Explore Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order‘s Amazing World
Oh, cool. I found a secret area in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, everyone. I wonder what kind of reward I’ll find here. This place is way off the grid, so there’s got to be something incredible hidden in these chambers. I discovered this place because I spotted a little green icon on my map,…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 26, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryBring Back Destiny’s Self-Resurrection, You Cowards
Once upon a time, Warlocks in Destiny could channel the fiery energy of distant neutron stars or however that universe’s space magic works to instantly bring themselves back to life. Then they lost all their powers in the switch over to Destiny 2. They gained a bunch of new ones, but self-reviving wasn’t among them.…
By Ethan Gach Published November 22, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI’m Not A Top-Tier MMO Raider But I Love Watching Them Stream
2019 is the year of the online RPG, at least for me. Whether that’s the countless hours I’ve spent in Final Fantasy XIV or my curious wandering through WoW Classic, digital worlds have offered me grand adventures and dear friends. But a few experiences are still out of my reach: the toughest challenges, meant for…
By Heather Alexandra Published November 21, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryLet Me Tell You About A Very Specific Death Stranding Problem That Only I Have
I’m loving Death Stranding so far, but I’m having an unusual problem with it: Heartman sounds exactly like James Kennedy from Vanderpump Rules to me. I can’t unhear it. In case you were not aware, Vanderpump Rules is a show about horrible people being horrible. Lisa Vanderpump is the owner of the restaurant SUR, which…
By Gita Jackson Published November 20, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryDeath Stranding Takes Me Back To The Smoky Mountains
I’ve never been outdoorsy. I’m allergic to pollen and most animals, and not exactly athletic to boot. While I appreciate nature, I mostly do it from indoors, looking out, or by caring for my growing menagerie of plants. That’s why I managed to surprise myself a little getting lost in Death Stranding—I realized I didn’t…
By Gita Jackson Published November 19, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryStarting Destiny 2 Late Spared Me A Lot Of Misery
Many video games these days improve with age and a big batch of patches, which is why it often helps to play them late. Ignore the hype, laugh off the social pressure, and play this year’s games next year. Can you do it? I keep doing it with Destiny games, and it’s been great. Destiny…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 18, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiarySpamming Like In Death Stranding Makes You Feel Real Good
Death Stranding’s America is dotted with thousands, possibly even millions, of player-made structures that can make the post-apocalyptic expanse less dangerous and also less lonely—perhaps even welcoming. These structures have a social media-inspired system that lets you click a “like” button on them. And I am determined to favorite them all as much as possible.…
By Ethan Gach Published November 15, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryA Complete List Of Video Games I Played On Paternity Leave
I had a baby a couple months ago, and I took a few weeks off work to hang out with her. Mostly that meant giving her bottles, changing her diapers, and holding her on my lap as I played video games, because it turns out there’s nothing babies hate more than NOT being held at…
By Jason Schreier Published November 14, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Can’t Stop Playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Even Though I Hate It
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is not a game I can claim is good. It’s got big-money polish, cinematic orchestral music, and the quote-unquote “gunfeel” of a AAA banger, but a large portion of the series’ fanbase and I agree that it’s also rife with issues that make it irredeemably frustrating to play: camping players,…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published November 13, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryIt’s Amazing That I Ever Finished My First Hardcore RPG
Inspired by the recent 10-year anniversary of Dragon Age: Origins, I decided to revisit the BioWare role-playing game for kicks. I loved the game when I played through it in late 2009 and early 2010. It was my first BioWare RPG—I didn’t have a gaming PC growing up, and I generally came to a lot…
By Joshua Rivera Published November 12, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryAssemble With Care Is Helping Me Handle Myself With Care
In Assemble With Care, a mobile game from the makers of Monument Valley, you play as a woman who’s made a career of restoring old and broken things. It’s a pretty tactile game where you rotate objects to connect wires and replace broken parts before putting them back together again. You even repair an old…
By Gita Jackson Published November 11, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryDisco Elysium’s Voice Acting Is Good Enough Not To Skip
I recently picked up Disco Elysium, an introspective detective game that launched on PC a couple of weeks ago. Like many people who have sat down with the game, I’ve found it very engrossing. It’s so engrossing that I’m not barreling through the dialogue as fast as I can read it, which I usually do.…
By Ian Walker Published October 31, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Made A Radical (Literally) Playlist For The Outer Worlds
Whenever I really love a piece of media, I make a mixtape of songs that remind me of it. As soon as I finished The Outer Worlds, I began compiling my mixtape. There’s something nice about having a compilation of songs that take you back to a tone and a mood, since it allows you…
By Gita Jackson Published October 30, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Can’t Bring Myself To Play Public Betas Anymore
Beta testing periods and public test realms give players the opportunity to test out new online multiplayer games and content before it goes live. Right now, on the World of Warcraft public test realm, players are poking and prodding at the Vulpera, the new Horde allied race coming in the game’s next major update. I…
By Mike Fahey Published October 28, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryIt Sucks To Get Outleveled By Your Friends In World Of Warcraft Classic
The best thing about getting together to play an MMORPG with your friends is knowing you’ll have people to shoot the shit with when you’re grinding out low-level quests. The worst thing about playing an MMORPG with your friends is that it sucks more when they leave you behind. Instead of hanging out at the…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published October 25, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Deleted An Endless Service Game And I Am Finally Free, Like My Hard Drive
Earlier this week, I finally deleted Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 from my hard drive, a video game that I had spent the better part of a year lying to myself about getting into. I played several hours at launch, not really feeling it but not really hating it. I checked in every now and…
By Joshua Rivera Published October 24, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryAfter Leaving A Game For A While, Sometimes It’s Best To Just Start Over
After finishing The Outer Worlds, a dense role-playing game, I did what any sensible person would do and returned to playing Divinity: Original Sin 2, a much longer and denser role-playing game. After a moment of contemplating whether or not to pick up my old save or start a new one, I made the choice…
By Gita Jackson Published October 23, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Want To Play Trails Of Cold Steel III But Can’t Force Myself To Skip The First 2
The third game in Nihon Falcom’s The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel JRPG series finally arrives in North America for the PlayStation 4 today. Picking up a year and a half after the events of the previous game, Trails of Cold Steel III stars a compelling mix of new and old characters and…
By Mike Fahey Published October 22, 2019