Culture

Final Fantasy VII Remake, Avengers, And Other Promising (And Confusing) Games We Saw At E3

E3 2019 brought us demos and details about games we can’t wait to play, like Link’s Awakening and the Final Fantasy VII remake, but it also threw us some real head-scratchers, like that upcoming Avengers game. On this week’s episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, we ran down all the coolest and most befuddling games that we…

Wit And Charm Are Powerful Weapons In Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2

While I was playing Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2’s demo at E3 last week, I was feeling pretty smug about bluffing my way through a problem. Then, the developer holding the controller hit the wrong button, and a fight broke out regardless. Bloodlines 2 looks like it has a wonderful breadth of experiences to offer…

I’m triple flipping over fools in My Friend Pedro live on our Twitch channel right now! Come join me in the chat.

Nintendo’s Mobile Game Dragalia Lost Has Finally Lost Me

From its launch in late September through mid-May, Nintendo’s mobile RPG Dragalia Lost was part of my daily routine. I only missed one daily login during the entire period, and that was because I was recovering from surgery. But, over the past couple of weeks, the game’s pull on me has faded, and my play…

Worn Path. Drivenik, Croatia. By Eduard Tucaković | Instagram JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

League Of Legends‘ Version Of Auto Chess Has Taken Over Twitch

We have a habit, in the gaming industry, of declaring things “The Year Of ___.” 2013 was The Year Of Luigi. 2014 was The Year Of Luigi’s Death Stare. 2019 is The Year Of Gooigi. However, if Gooigi had not transformed into an unassailable, medium-defining phenomenon, we might also be tempted to call this The…

Pokémon‘s Creators Tell Us What Kind Of Pokemon Gym They’d Run

I’ve always fantasized about what kind of gym leader I’d be in the world of Pokémon. The series’ producer Junichi Masuda’s and Pokémon Sword and Shield director Shigeru Ohmori’s hypothetical gyms both sound like places I’d want to visit. In Pokémon games, every gym leader specializes in a certain Pokémon type. Misty from Red and…

The Ranger Class Is Getting Some Changes In D&D (And Baldur’s Gate 3)

How is Baldur’s Gate 3 going to implement the modern rules of Dungeons & Dragons? Last week in Los Angeles, we sat down with creative director Swen Vincke and D&D head honcho Mike Mearls on a bonus episode of Kotaku Splitscreen to discuss. One thing you can definitely expect: the ranger is getting some changes.…

Bloodstained Made Me Fight The Disembodied Head Of My Dog

In Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, you play as a woman who must traverse a labyrinthine castle full of monsters and possessed paintings. That is to be expected: as the spiritual successor to the Castlevania series of games, it faithfully recreates many of that series’ tropes, which include monsters and possessed paintings. That’s normal. Then…

Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines‘s Weird Dancing Is Back For The Sequel

There’s a lot to love in Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2, but the team brought something special back for the fans: dancing. One of the first locations you become really aware of in Bloodlines 2, which is coming to Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC in 2020, is the local club, Atrium. It has a…

Track: My Honest Face | Artist: Inhaler | Album: My Honest Face Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment. 

Shibuya. Tokyo, Japan. By Adil Aeh JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Counter-Strike’s Iconic De_Dust 2, Remade In Unreal Engine 4

Counter-Strike’s most famous map has changed a bit over the years, but it’s never looked as good as it does here in this remake of part of the level by artist Wiktor Öhman. Öhman, who has worked on games like Far Cry 3, has “fond memories playing it with my friends at LAN parties in…

Slime Rancher, the relaxing game about slimes and also ranching, just received a free DLC expansion. It’s called “Viktor’s Experimental Update,” and it sees you delve into a “virtual re-creation” of Slime Rancher’s setting to root out nefarious glitch slimes. You’re able to make use of a whole host of new gadgets in order to…

They Are Billions, the tower defense-RTS hybrid that took Steam by storm last year, is now out of early access. The 1.0 update, free to all who previously purchased the game, adds a long-awaited (if, so far, divisive) campaign and new survival mode maps. It also includes a host of bug fixes and addresses stability…

Final Fantasy XV‘s Lead Designer’s New Game Is A Love Letter To Live Music

No Straight Roads is a rhythm game inspired by the strong visual storytelling of Psychonauts. Playing it feels like rocking out in front of a surreal, vibrant crowd. At E3 last week, I was able to play a short demo that included the first boss fight, and as someone who also loves live music, I…

Astral Chain Director Says It Actually Can Be Two-Player, But It Makes The Game Harder

Platinum Games’ upcoming Nintendo Switch exclusive, Astral Chain, involves controlling two characters at the same time during combat. The game is not necessarily designed to be played by two people at once, but according to Astral Chain director Takahisa Taura, there is a way to do it that he described as both “challenging” and “really…

The Division 2‘s Developers Have A Plan For Overcoming The Backlash

The people making The Division 2 always expected that their fans would start grumbling about the game. “When we had the very positive feedback at launch, we knew there would be a moment where the honeymoon would be over and people would start scratching beneath the surface,” the game’s live content manager, Yannick Banchereau, told…

It’s ’90s Nostalgia Week With Toy Story, Crash Bandicoot, And A Spiritual Successor To Castlevania

This week we’re taking simulated vacations, making new friends, and reconnecting with old friends too. Here’s your heads up for the things making waves, both big and small, this week in the world of games and beyond. Watch the video above, or find out what’s coming in the post below. Lovely Planet 2 releases today…

How One Large Game Studio Avoids Crunch

How does the Chicago-based studio Iron Galaxy maintain a healthy work-life balance for all of its employees? On Kotaku Splitscreen, we talk to founder and Giant Bomb jokeman Dave Lang about his leadership philosophies and how Iron Galaxy avoids crunch. Last week in Los Angeles, I sat down with Lang to talk about founding Iron…