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CultureKotaku Game DiaryI’m Addicted To The First Three Stages Of Galaga
Stage one: Get one ship captured, then rescue it to double firepower. Stage two: Take advantage of doubled weaponry to wipe out aliens before they can even enter formation. Challenging stage: Kill 40 aliens for 10,000 points. Bonus stage: Feel deep satisfaction because nailing the first three stages in Galaga is one of the best…
By Mike Fahey Published May 2, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI’m Playing Six JRPGs At Once And You Can’t Stop Me
There are about four or five things I tell my friends that make them look at me like I’m deranged, and one of them is how I’m fond of playing the few hours of a Japanese role-playing game and moving on to another. (“It’s kind of like edging,” I say, “but with video games,” as…
By Joshua Rivera Published May 1, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryFallout 76’s New Camera Quest Helped Me Fall In Love With The Game’s Broken Beauty
Fallout 76’s world is lonely. Despite being a multiplayer game, it hosts just a couple dozen people around a sprawling map in any session you play. Other Fallout games might have a lot of computer-controlled civilians to chat with. Not this one. All of the non-player characters died long ago, or mutated beyond recognition. This…
By Ethan Gach Published April 30, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Spent All Night Waiting For Dragon’s Dogma‘s Servers To Come Back Online
I’ve become obsessed with Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen for the Nintendo Switch. Having missed out on the original in 2012, I’m glad the Switch has breathed more life into this cult classic. Last night, the game’s servers—which allow players to share their companion characters with the world—were down. For the first time, I really felt…
By Heather Alexandra Published April 29, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryNew Visitors Are Shaking Up My Once-Exclusive Final Fantasy XIV Server
As of Tuesday, Final Fantasy XIV’s World Visit service is live, allowing players to zip between servers and check in on other worlds. The result has been a wonderful sort of chaos. New friendships, massive economy shakeups, and a few troublemakers trying to stir up the pot. Once closed-off servers have now been opened, and…
By Heather Alexandra Published April 26, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryMy First Captures On The Switch, PS4 And Xbox One
I’ve spent a lot of time this console generation honing my screenshot-taking reflexes, and now my Switch, PS4 and Xbox One are full of pictures and videos I’ve captured. But what did I capture first? On my Switch, it was Link in his 100-year underwear, just waking up at the start of The Legend of…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 25, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryFinding The Metagame In Atlantic City
While visiting Atlantic City’s greige boardwalk last Sunday, I set foot in my very first casino, a come-as-you-are joint called Bally’s with years’ worth of cigarette smoke ground into its red carpet. It was Easter—not a great day to commune with sin—but a day off nonetheless. Passing the ringing slot machines, I sat down at…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published April 24, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryThe Fortnite World Cup Is Worth Watching, Despite Its Flaws
Over the last two weekends, I’ve obsessively watched the Fortnite World Cup tournaments. I turn on the long broadcasts while cleaning the house or cooking, certainly tormenting my neighbors with hours of esports shoutcasting. It’s introducing me to new players and techniques, and it’s inspiring me to get better at the game. Watching competitive Fortnite…
By Riley MacLeod Published April 23, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Tried To Defeat Water In Dwarf Fortress And Failed
Dwarf Fortress is full of hidden horrors, like Forgotten Beasts that breathe poison or giant metal Titans with impenetrable skin, or even just the regular old Goblin coming to kidnap one of your children. But these abominations pale in comparison to the challenge I tried to overcome a couple weeks ago, Dwarf Fortress’s first real…
By Gita Jackson Published April 22, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI’m Cramming Old BoxBoy Games Before The Sequel Comes Out
About a year ago, I came to grips with my failure to keep up with some of my favorite game series. I’m about two Fire Emblems behind and still about a half-game short of being caught up on Mario & Luigi. I’ve learned that I should just skip and reset with the new one, but…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 19, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryA Cyberpunk Ninja Game Where You Manipulate Time
After talking my way past the receptionist at a grotty hotel in Katana Zero, I stand in the elevator at the entrance to a heavily guarded floor, watching goons patrol back and forth. One’s got a shotgun, another a knife, another a pistol. I formulate a plan, then burst through the doors, slicing through all…
By Keza MacDonald Published April 18, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryA Teen Dirtbag Beat-Em-Up With Phenomenal Writing
The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa, an independent game for the Nintendo Switch, shocked me with its greatness. I streamed it yesterday. You can watch the above video archive if you want to see me, sincerely and in real time, react to the game’s blowing of my mind. Before I downloaded it, the game had already…
By Tim Rogers Published April 17, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryWhen Life Gets Tough, I Make A New World Of Warcraft Character
This is Raisin. She is a level 43 gnome Mage on the Proudmoore server. I created her a few days ago to help me cope with a horrible situation I am dealing with in real life. Like many throwaway World of Warcraft characters before her, she’s been doing a bang-up job. It’s doubtful Raisin will…
By Mike Fahey Published April 16, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryOh No, I Think I Might Be Getting Good At Smash Bros.
Lately I’ve been playing more Smash Bros. than I have in my entire life. That sounds like a lot, but it’s really not. I missed out on all the Nintendo consoles after the SNES, so I never owned a version of the game before Smash Ultimate, which came out for the Switch last year. I…
By Joshua Rivera Published April 12, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryOverwhelm Is A Tough Game That Still Feels Like It’s Rooting For Me
I am not a glutton for punishment in games. I don’t usually enjoy dying over and over again until some mercurial mix of skill, experience, and luck finally combines to see me through to the next level. But I revel in the moments just before failure occurs, when I’m fighting for my life and the…
By Ethan Gach Published April 11, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryBaseball’s Excellent Video Game Isn’t Enough To Get Me Past The Sport’s Problems
I always keep a copy of MLB The Show on my hard drive, even though I rarely play it. It connects me to baseball, a sport I have increasingly complicated feelings about. The Show is one of the few places in video games full of Puerto Ricans like me, because baseball is a sport where…
By Joshua Rivera Published April 10, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Can’t Stop Myself From Telling People To Play Phoenix Wright
When I talk to people about the Phoenix Wright series, I often find myself adopting the idiosyncrasies of a crazed motivational speaker. “What are you waiting for?” I implore people, insistent that it’s for their own good. When will you take control of your life? I slink into the brazenly annoying behavior of someone who…
By Natalie Degraffinried Published April 9, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryAll Of My Games Are On Different Schedules And It’s Impossible To Play Them All
One of the nice things about being an adult—or even a teenager with a reasonable level of autonomy—is the freedom to decide to do whatever you want with your free time. The older you get, the odder your windows of free time get. This is one of the reasons I like video games. I seldom…
By Joshua Rivera Published April 8, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryWhat I Know About Surviving In Sekiro I Learned On The Volleyball Court
The spectral foe towered over me, her sheer size outmatched only by her overwhelming poise. The pole arm she held in one hand was twice the size of my character, and the loose robes and prayer beads draped over her hulking figure only served to make her more intimidating. With a grace that only made…
By Natalie Degraffinried Published April 5, 2019
