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CultureKotaku Game DiaryWith Xbox Game Pass I Am Too Powerful
Through a bit of luck, I managed to acquire an Xbox Series S for the holidays. I’ve only had it for about a week now, but the slim, be-speakered machine—and, more specifically, the Game Pass subscription I purchased for it—has utterly changed my gaming life in ways I’m still trying to process. For those of…
By Ash Parrish Published December 30, 2020 -
CultureHere’s January 2021’s PlayStation Plus Lineup
January’s PlayStation Plus games are looking pretty good, and I can’t complain about getting three games instead of two. As ever, these games are only “free” if you have an active PlayStation Plus membership. January’s PS Plus games are: PS5 Maneater PS4 Shadow of the Tomb Raider Greedfall
By Riley MacLeod Published December 30, 2020 -
CultureKoei Tecmo Shuts Down Forums Following Data Hack
The Japanese publisher Koei Tecmo announced over the Christmas holiday that some personal data from 65,000 users of its English language website was hacked, leading the company to take its US and UK websites offline for the time being. “Within the website operated by KTE, the ‘Forum’ page and the registered user information (approximately 65,000…
By Ethan Gach Published December 30, 2020 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryAssassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Glitch Kept Making Eivor Drunk, And Then It Got Weirder
Every time my viking hero Eivor dies in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, she returns to life drunk. This is a known bug that the developers appear primed to patch, but in trying to just bear with it last night, I somehow made it worse. Though, in this case, “worse” also means “better.” And now I’m conflicted…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 29, 2020 -
CulturePoison Suspected In Death Of Yoozoo Games’ Founder Lin Qi
Lin Qi, the billionaire founder of China-based League of Angels developer Yoozoo Games, died on Christmas, several days after being admitted to the hospital. Shanghai police are now investigating the 39-year-old’s death as a possible poisoning, according to the Associated Press. Known worldwide for microtransaction-based mobile and browser games like League of Angels and Game…
By Mike Fahey Published December 29, 2020 -
CultureOdds and EndsCall Of Duty‘s 1980s Shopping Mall Map Gets The Little Details Right
Maybe it’s the 2020 pandemic blues, but I can’t get enough of Black Ops Cold War’s retro shopping mall map. “The Pines” is a standard 6v6 multiplayer map that was added earlier this month with the launch of Cold War’s Season One. It’s a New Jersey-based mall filled with retail flashbacks. I’ve gotten so distracted…
By S.E. Doster Published December 28, 2020 -
CultureLet’s Talk About How Much Mass Effect 2 Rules
Mass Effect 2. It’s widely regarded as one of the best games of all time, a sweeping space opera that set the standard for modern role-playing games. One of us (Ari Notis) is just now playing it for the first time, ahead of next year’s remastered trilogy. The other (Ash Parrish) basically has a PhD…
Ash Parrish & Ari Notis Published December 28, 2020 -
CultureOdds and EndsSuper Mario Sunshine Mod Turns Every NPC Into A Chuckster
Indie game developer Bread released a very special Super Mario Sunshine mod over the holidays that makes every NPC in the game able to heave Mario over their heads with no regard for his safety. What a great gift! This ability is lifted from the Chucksters, a group of throw-happy Piantas who form the crux…
By Ian Walker Published December 28, 2020 -
CultureWhat Games On Your Backlog Do You Want To Finish This New Year?
I asked this same question last year and looking back on the list of games I hoped to finish, I actually am surprised I got to quite a few of them. That includes Deadly Premonition, Radiant Historia, Pikmin 3, Link Between Worlds, Trace Memory, and No More Heroes. The link between them all is that…
By Peter Tieryas Published December 27, 2020 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryLost Odyssey’s Ending Felt Like A Bittersweet Farewell To The JRPGs Of Old
I wish I were immortal just so I could play all the games on my backlog. Lost Odyssey for the Xbox 360 is about immortals who’ve lived over a thousand years and they’ve experienced a lot. Maybe too much. Life has taken its toll and the only thing that’s made it bearable is the involuntary…
By Peter Tieryas Published December 27, 2020 -
CultureThe Week In Games: Birds
It’s a pretty quiet week for game releases. Look at it as a chance to catch up on your backlog. Monday, December 28 Quell Reflect | Switch Cube Raiders | Switch Void Source | Switch Professor Lupo: Ocean | Switch Dungeon Limbus | Switch Hell Sports | Switch Tuesday, December 29 Wingspan | Switch Back…
By Riley MacLeod Published December 27, 2020 -
CultureSunday Comics: Presents
Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published Dec. 24. Read more of Corpse Run Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published Dec. 21. Read more of Awkward Zombie Clueless Hero by…
By Riley MacLeod Published December 27, 2020 -
CulturePhantasy Star III Is A Flawed, But Ambitious, Entry Into The Series
Phantasy Star III was a game I wanted to love, especially since its predecessor was a science fiction classic and arguably one of my favorite games on the Sega Genesis. I still remember when I first heard about Phantasy Star III, which released for the Genesis in 1991, I was blown away by the idea…
By Peter Tieryas Published December 27, 2020 -
CultureWho’s The Strongest Video Game Character?
If all the video game characters ever created got together in a big rumble, who’d come out on top? Kratos, the one who took down the gods of Olympus? What about Asura who fought off a deity the size of a planet? What about the ancients who wore Majora’s Mask and caused so much havoc,…
By Peter Tieryas Published December 26, 2020 -
CultureThe Brilliant 16-Bit JRPG About The Death And Rebirth Of The World
Considered part of the Quintet Creation Trilogy, Terranigma was the culminating tour de force from the Japanese studio behind 16-bit games like Actraiser, Illusion of Gaia, and Robotrek. It was never released in North America (though it received a translated version in PAL), explaining why most of us here in the States, including myself, never…
By Peter Tieryas Published December 26, 2020 -
Culture7 PS4 Horror Games That I Hope Get PS5 Sequels
The PS4 had some great horror games. The best had a way of creeping into my mind subconsciously, lingering until a vulnerable moment and striking terror when I least expected. It’s interesting that with the increase in graphical power, the games that scared me most last gen weren’t necessarily the best looking ones; sometimes, that…
By Peter Tieryas Published December 26, 2020 -
CultureHow A Dark Time-Traveling Fantasy Game Became the Original Fallout
The end of the world was both darker and more humorous than anyone could have imagined, and in the original Fallout, released for the PC in 1997, gamers got to experience the apocalypse firsthand. The iconic, “War, war never changes,” introduction set the somber mood, which was written, strangely enough, during an episode of The…
By Peter Tieryas Published December 26, 2020
