Culture

State Of Decay 2 Remembers Punching Nazis Is Good, Actually

I think most of us can agree that punching Nazis is a good thing. Heck, a bunch of great video games are founded on that very premise. That’s why it was weird when a State of Decay 2 player discovered that the game gives characters a negative effect for having taken out the trash in…

Deathloop’s Sultry ‘Déjà Vu’ Will Be My Summer Anthem

Outside of Square Enix announcing a new story DLC for Final Fantasy VII Remake, yesterday’s PlayStation State of Play event was kinda a dud. But there was a notable exception: Deathloop’s new original song “Déjà Vu.” Deathloop, an upcoming game from Prey developers Arkane Studios, is Hitman meets Groundhog’s Day in which you play Colt,…

Hmm, That New Pokémon Game Sure Looks A Lot Like Breath Of The Wild

Today during a Nintendo livestream we got our first look at Pokémon Legends: Arceus, a new open-world Pokémon game. Almost instantly after it was revealed folks on the internet began comparing it to Breath of the Wild. In fact, one particular shot in the new trailer caught the eyes of many fans for how similar…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for realizing how short February is at the last moment. It’s so short. We should fix that. Also, it’s about playing an anime game that should be my jam but is currently confusing the hell out of me. Yeah, I am cheating this weekend and playing Neptunia Virtual Stars from Idea Factory,…

Here’s How The New Pokémon Snap Works

The original Pokémon Snap, released for the Nintendo 64 in 1999, saw players riding the Zero-One buggy across the generically-named Pokémon Island at the behest of Professor Oak. New Pokémon Snap gives players a whole new region to explore, a new professor to guide them, and new ways to edit and share endless photos of…

Pokémon Legends: Arceus Is A New Open-World Game Coming In 2022

Set in the Sinnoh Region of old, Pokémon Legends Arceus is a new approach to open-world Pokémon games coming to the Nintendo Switch in early 2022. In Pokémon Legends Arceus, players travel to the Sinnoh Region, choose Rowlett, Cyndaquil, or Oshawott as their partner, and set about filling out the region’s very first Pokédex. There’s…

Switch Is Getting Pokémon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl Remakes In Late 2021

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl for the DS are getting “faithful” remakes in the form of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl on Switch later this year, the Pokémon Company announced in a livestream today. The games take place in the Sinnoh region, one of the series’ more naturalistic settings, with players adventuring while accompanied one…

Here’s March 2021’s PlayStation Plus Lineup

PlayStation Plus seems to be on a roll right now with another great slate of games. There are, count’em, four games, headlined by the excellent Final Fantasy VII Remake, which released less than a year ago. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active PlayStation Plus membership. February’s PS Plus games…

Tron: Evolution’s Hard Electronica Holds Its Own With Daft Punk

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s ongoing hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today, we are entering the grid. It’s time to fight for the users. More Tron references! Enough of that, let’s listen to Tron: Evolution’s soundtrack. I’m a big fan of Tron. Ask anyone around here. And…

Track: Europe Endless | Artist: Kraftwerk | Albums: Trans Europe Express

Report: PlayStation 5 Storage Upgrades Coming This Summer

Sony is getting ready to allow for internal PS5 storage upgrades, sources tell Bloomberg. This would obviously enable PlayStation 5 owners to store even more games at a time. The PlayStation 5’s solid-state drive has only 667.2GB available for media storage—something that has vexed Kotaku and, well, pretty much everyone! The issue has been that…

Xbox Live Has Been Down For Over 5 Hours (Update: It’s Back)

Update (9:47 p.m. ET, 02/25/2021): Shortly after Kotaku first reported on Xbox Live’s outage, the service appears to be back up and running. You’re welcome! Our original story follows below. Trying to get some gaming in this lovely Thursday night? Well, if you’re on Xbox, that’s too bad, because various functions of Xbox Live have…

Sony’s Illustrious Japan Studio Is Basically Done For

Japan Studio, a branch of PlayStation’s development efforts once responsible for everything from Shadow of the Colossus to Gravity Rush to Ape Escape, has been downsized to oblivion by Sony, with only the team responsible for Astro’s Playroom remaining, alongside a few other staff. Responding to an initial report by VGC, a statement issued by…

Early Bugsnax Idea Had You Skinning And Butchering Them

Look, we knew Bugsnax was a cute game with a dark heart, but this is particularly bleak. The game’s developers have been sharing some early, ditched ideas for the game on Twitter today, like the fact it was originally an on-rails experience: And, uh, that you would “have to peel and dismantle their bodies before…

Square Enix Announces Two More Final Fantasy VII Games

Just after wrapping up Sony’s media show this evening with some Final Fantasy VII x PS5 news, Square Enix announced that there are two more Final Fantasy games coming, both based on the Final Fantasy VII universe. First up is Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier, which is a “battle royale game set in Midgar…

Everything Sony Announced During Today’s PlayStation State Of Play

Here’s everything Sony announced, revealed, or otherwise discussed during today’s PlayStation State of Play broadcast. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is getting some PlayStation 5-exclusive upgrades when it launches on March 12. These include faster loading times, DualSense features like improved haptics and adaptive trigger usage, and enhanced 3D audio. Players will also be…

Final Fantasy VII Remake Gets PS5 Version With New Story Starring Yuffie

This summer, Final Fantasy VII Remake is getting a PlayStation 5 upgrade with all sorts of graphical bells and whistles—and also a new “episode” starring a Final Fantasy VII character who didn’t appear in the game previously: Yuffie Kisaragi. Square made the announcement as part of today’s State of Play Sony event. The new PS5…

Baldur’s Gate 3‘s ‘Biggest Patch Yet’ Is Now Live

I rue every day that the complete Baldur’s Gate 3 experience isn’t out yet, but we’re getting there. Today, developer Larian dropped the fourth patch for the Divinity: Original Sin 2 sequel/Baldur’s Gate sorta-sequel, which it calls its “biggest patch yet.” Standout features include the druid class, loaded dice to keep you from critical failing…

Twitch Removes Amazon’s Anti-Union Ads After Furious Streamer Response

Earlier this week, it came to light that Twitch was running ads in blatant opposition to the Amazon warehouse worker unionization effort in Bessemer, Alabama. Streamers, who had no say in whether or not these ads appeared during their broadcasts, were outraged. Today, Twitch has removed the ads, saying that they never should have run…

After Anthem‘s Failure, Dragon Age 4 Will Reportedly Be Single-Player Only

We praise dancing in the Chantry y’all! According to a report from Bloomberg, EA is allowing BioWare to ditch “all multiplayer components” originally planned for the latest game in the Dragon Age series. EA is a company known for its dogged insistence on adding multiplayer and microtransactions to every one of its games, pushing its…