Insomniac added a new “Performance RT” visual mode to Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The new setting allows for ray-tracing at 60FPS, with the tradeoff being an unspecified adjusted scene resolution 

Microsoft’s 2021 Release Calendar Doesn’t Include Many First-Party Games

A month into the launch of the Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft has given a rundown of what people can expect to play on the new machines in 2021. There are a lot of games, but very few of them are from Microsoft’s own studios. A new post over on the Xbox Wire blog outlines some…

Xbox Cloud Gaming is coming to Windows PC and iOS devices this spring. Available now for Android devices as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Microsoft today announced an official release window for PC and iOS (via web browser), furthering the value divide between regular and Ultimate Game Pass subscribers.

Some People Are Playing Cyberpunk 2077 A Day Early On Xbox By Switching Time Zones

Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t officially release until 12:01 a.m. on December 10, but Xbox owners are already playing the game by manipulating their console’s time and location data. As Video Game Chronicle’s Andy Robinson pointed out on Twitter overnight, players can simply change the location on an Xbox One or Series X/S to New Zealand, where…

Scuf Gaming Is Making Headsets Now

Atlanta-based Scuf Gaming makes some of the best high-end controllers for the Xbox and PlayStation 4. Now the company makes a gaming headset to match. The Scuf H1 is an adorable set of hearing cups that can be configured with different cushions, colors, cables, mics, and around 30 different speaker tag designs. As with Scuf’s…

Yakuza: Like A Dragon’s Best Boss Theme Makes Me Wanna Break Stuff (In A Good Way)

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today, we’re looking at what I think is the best boss battle theme in modern history. Yakuza: Like a Dragon (playlist /longplay) is an incredible game that arguably improves on its beloved predecessors shifting to a…

Once Again, Hikaru Utada Is Singing The Rebuild of Evangelion Theme

Next January, the fourth and final film in the Rebuild of Evangelion series will hit Japanese movie theaters. And of course, Hikaru Utada will once again sing the theme. The theme for Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time will be Utada’s “One Last Kiss.” Previously, she sang the themes for the earlier three films in…

Sake Brewery Teams Up With Japanese Burger Chain For Alcohol-Free Milkshake

Dassai, one of Japan’s most famous brands, is joining forces with Mos Burger, Japan’s best burger chain, for a non-alcoholic milkshake. As Asahi Shuzo, the makers of Dassai, point out, this is the first time Mos Burger has ever collaborated with a sake brewer. It’s based on the fast-food chain’s vanilla shake, but with a…

Track: All Things Must Pass (2020 Mix / Audio) | Artist: George Harrison | Album: All Things Must Pass 

‘Free’ Gears 5 Expansion Highlights Growing Divide For Game Pass Subscribers

Gears 5 is getting a new campaign expansion next week. It’ll be available at no extra cost for members of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a $15-monthly subscription. Everyone else will have to pay up. It’s just one more perk suggesting a growing gulf between the entry-level and premium tiers of Microsoft’s games-on-demand service. The new…

A Lot Happened In Destiny Today

New content, upgrades for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and new information about long-awaited features coming in future seasons: Destiny 2 had a big day today, so let’s break it all down. First, the big one: Destiny 2: Beyond Light has now been optimized for next-gen consoles. I’ve played dozens of hours of Destiny 2…

Yakuza: Like A Dragon: The Kotaku Review

After an exhausting run of seven main games, some spinoffs and the sandwiched-but-excellent Judgment, the Yakuza series entered a new era in 2020 with the release of Like a Dragon, which is trying to be something completely new, only it’s also not. It sure seems new. The star of Yakuzas 0-6, Kazuma Kiryu, snuck off…

Kate Bishop Makes Avengers Exciting Again, At Least For A Few Hours

The Kate Bishop version of Hawkeye has arrived as a new playable character for Marvel’s Avengers, bringing with her three or four hours of fresh single-player content to Square Enix’s stale co-op superhero game. To be fair, any new playable character would have had the same effect, but Kate is pretty damn great. Following the…

It’s Super Easy To Make Kanye West In Demon’s Souls

Unlike the original Demon’s Souls, the PlayStation 5 remake includes a fairly robust character creation system. While I was mostly content to make a generic, purple-skinned lady for my first playthrough, folks have been able to craft some interesting characters. Someone also figured out how to make a decent Kanye West, if you want to…

How To Avoid Burnout And Finish Any Open-World Game

Do you ever feel like there are too many open-world games, and too many of them take up too much time? Just consider some offerings from this year alone. There’s Ghost of Tsushima, the gorgeous samurai action game, which can take you more than 60 hours to check off every objective. Ubisoft released not one…

Seven Video Games Where You Beat Up Your Dad

Our culture suggests that this time of year is all about family, and while family can be a lovely thing, it also tends toward being very complicated. Recent years have seen the emergence of Dad Games, in which you play as a complicated father figure protecting his child/ward. This Dad Game dynamic has never appealed…