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ReviewsYear in ReviewThe State Of The PS4 And PS5 In 2020
Despite the harrowing circumstances impacting the world, 2020 was a stand-out year for PlayStation. Over the course of 2020, Sony published more than half a dozen top-shelf games, a huge step up from last year’s scant offerings. Beyond that, the company pushed out two models of an ambitious gaming console, and boosted support for the…
By Ari Notis -
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe State Of The Nintendo Switch In 2020
It’s hard to imagine what the state of the Nintendo Switch would look like right now if 2020 hadn’t been so horrible. What could have been one of the hardware’s more stagnant years turned into one of its most memorable, when the soothing escapism of Animal Crossing met a world desperately in need of a…
By Mike Fahey -
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe State Of Xbox In 2020
This time last year, Microsoft’s current flagship console was little more than a swanky video spot aired during a swanky awards show. Now, it’s the capstone to one of the biggest years for Xbox in recent memory. Time sure works in funny ways. Yes, it’s been almost one year to the day since Microsoft officially…
By Ari Notis -
CultureMorning MusicThis Incredible Link’s Awakening Song Is Actually From Its Commercial
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s frequent hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today’s column is all about a reinvigorating classic that didn’t actually make it into the game it was used to promote. Link’s Awakening (playlist /longplay /VGMdb) is one of the greatest games in the Legend of…
By Ian Walker -
CultureThe Week In Games: Meat Boy Is Back
A decade is a long time to wait for a sequel, but Super Meat Boy Forever is almost here after some delays and hiccups. I wanted to like the first Meat Boy game but it just wasn’t for me. However, I know some folks who dug the hell out of that quirky platformer and they…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureOdds and EndsFIFA 21 Has Some Good Looking Hair
I don’t play sports games. I don’t even watch sports. But I’m always impressed by some good looking, next-gen hair. And the latest FIFA game on next-gen consoles like the Xbox Series X has some damn fine hair. I know nothing about soccer games, so it’s possible FIFA 21 is a terrible game filled with…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureOdds and EndsA Strange Game That Lets You Create A Digital Art Gallery About Anything
Art galleries can be cool. But they are hard to create, so we don’t get as many galleries as we deserve. For example? Where are the galleries and museums for things like broken extension cords? Or people like Keanu Reeves? Well, thankfully, with The Anything Gallery, you can create a gallery about whatever you want.…
By Zack Zwiezen -
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe Worst Video Games Names Of 2020
What’s in a name? When it comes to games… not much. Games can be great and have terrible, awful, dumb names. In fact, many games on this list are good games that are just unfortunately saddled with an awful title Some of these names are silly, some are dumb, some don’t really make sense, others…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureShop Contest‘Shop Contest: Miyamoto In A Pipe
Shigeru Miyamoto hosted the most recent Nintendo Direct, which was all about the Super Nintendo World park in Japan. It opened with the legendary designer jumping out of a pipe. Thank you, Nintendo for this ‘Shop Contest gift. Your challenge this week: Have some fun with Miyamoto in a pipe! I was originally planning on…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureMorning MusicSimCity 4’s Soundtrack Is So Good You’re Already Reinstalling The Game
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today I’m going to remind you all how much the music in SimCity 4 slaps. Granted, I just did, but now I will go into greater length. SimCity 4 (playlist / longplay/ VGMdb) is considered by many,…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureSunday Comics: No Spoilers!
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. 17. Read more of Corpse Run Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published Dec. 14. Read more of Awkward Zombie Clueless Hero by…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureShop Contest‘Shop Contest: National Horse Day, Winners
Last week, we all came together (virtually and safely) to celebrate the most important holiday of the year: National Horse Day. And you all created some uh… interesting horse-related images to celebrate the day. Our winning image this week comes from sciteach who isn’t really celebrating horse day but instead ending the holiday. I’ve only…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureCyberpunk 2077 Might Be Buggy, But It Has A Great Photomode
This week on Snapshots, the final one of 2020(!), we have a ton of cool Cyberpunk 2077 screenshots. While the game might be buggy and broken for many players, especially on console, it’s still a pretty looking game and makes for some great virtual photography. Good to see arcades make it to 2077. Kotaku Snapshots…
By Zack Zwiezen -
ReviewsYear in ReviewZack Zwiezen’s Top 10 Games Of 2020
When I first sat down to put together this list, I wrote down two titles and then sat and thought for a while about what else I played. I think this year has thrown my whole mind into a strange funk, because I couldn’t even name 10 games I had played, let alone loved. But…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CulturePokemonDelibird Gives The Best Presents
Every Pokemon is interesting and worth talking about. I don’t play a ton of Pokemon, but I do enjoy the universe and I love learning more about the creatures in it. So, Here’s Another Pokemon! It’s Delibird! Delibird Details Type: Ice/Flying Average Height: 2′ 11″ Average Weight: 35.3 lbs. First Added In Generation II On…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureSomeone Found A Weird Unreleased Simpsons Game On An Old Dreamcast Dev Kit
Sreak, a user over on the Dreamcast-Talk forums, posted the files from an old, broken Dreamcast dev kit hard drive. Users quickly found inside an unreleased, incomplete and odd Simpsons game, which it seems had never been publicly announced or revealed. Yesterday, Sreak posted that they wanted to upload some files from an old Dreamcast…
By Zack Zwiezen -
OpinionImpressionsGhostrunner Is Actually The Fall’s Sharpest Cyberpunk Game
Ghostrunner is a lean-forward game. You know the position: When the going gets tough, anything short of absolute focus won’t cut it, so you lean forward, elbows on thighs, in order to close the distance between your eyes and the TV as much as possible. With a lean-forward game, the going is always tough. Ori…
By Ari Notis -
CultureMorning CheckpointOH NO, He’s Hot!
This week we catch up on ALL the Cyberpunk 2077 news, check out a bunch of Xbox consoles playing Crimson Skies, get yelled at by Santa, watch the new trailer for Fall Guys Season 3 and look at shirtless Sephiroth. Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week Cyberpunk’s character creator has some highs, but it…
By Zack Zwiezen -
CultureOdds and EndsThe United States Space Force Is Basically Setting Up Destiny
Earlier today, United States vice president Mike Pence announced that the members of the Space Force—a big dumb vanity project by the big wet toddler currently living in the White House—will be called “Guardians,” much like the player characters of the Destiny franchise. Bungie CEO Pete Parsons obviously got a kick out of that. I…
By Ian Walker -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryThe Sephiroth Boss Fight Is The Most Fun I’ve Had In Smash Bros. Ultimate In A While
It’s been a rough year for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and me, mostly because with the ongoing pandemic I haven’t been able to play it IRL with anyone. The game’s new limited-time Sephiroth boss fight has helped me fall back in love with it though, by giving me a brief but excellent new single-player challenge…
By Ethan Gach