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ReviewsPlayStationReturnal: The Kotaku Review
I’m sure you’ve felt it too. For the past year and some change, life has fallen into a rut more than usual. Life is always cyclical to some degree—humans are, after all, creatures of habit—but the stresses that go hand-in-hand with a certain mismanaged pandemic have made the day-to-day feel more dreary and cyclical than…
By Ari Notis Published April 29, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsDark Forces II’s Opening Remade In Unreal Engine 4
The original Dark Forces might be our Best Star Wars Game Ever, but its sequel is also great. It is, however, a little dated in 2021, so game developer and artist Acke Hallgren decided to see what it could look like with a modern coat of paint. So here’s the game’s opening level remade in…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 28, 2021 -
CulturePlease Enjoy These Fake Nintendo Games That Should Also Be Real Nintendo Games
As it has managed every year since 2005, even through global pandemics, Japanese game store Meteor is once again holding its annual Famicase exhibit where it asks artists from around the world to submit their original designs for Famicom cases. Cases for games that don’t actually exist. We’ve been covering the exhibit for 14 years now,…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 28, 2021 -
CultureNew Expansion Is Steam’s Worst-Rated Launch Ever
Leviathan, the latest expansion for classic strategy game Europa Universalis IV, has had a rocky launch. So rocky that, uh, it has become the worst-rated product available on Steam. It’s an unexpected turn of events, because EUIV is one of the all-time greats, a Paradox grand strategy game that eight years after release still commands…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 28, 2021 -
CultureGoogle Revolutionizes Stadia Experience With Search Bar
Today, Google Stadia announced it will add a search bar function to its web store. Yes: Google, the company that literally began as a search engine, finally realized its video game platform could use a search function. “Search bar on Stadia for Web is rolling out now and will reach all players this week,” Stadia…
By Ash Parrish Published April 28, 2021 -
CultureNow You Can Play The Canceled Dreamcast Castlevania Prototype
Earlier this month, it appeared as if Castlevania Resurrection, a canceled Sega Dreamcast project from the early 2000s, had somehow escaped the dark confines of a Konami warehouse somewhere. Now, everyone has a chance to play that prototype thanks to gaming preservationists having archived that early build. This has all been made possible by the…
By Ian Walker Published April 28, 2021 -
CultureFree Fallout 76: Update Adds An Extra C.A.M.P. And S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Loadouts
The headline for this post would have been “Free Fallout 76 update makes players incredibly happy,” but that would have been too vague. Along with kicking off the game’s fourth season, Cold Steel, the “Locked and Loaded” update finally adds easily swappable S.P.E.C.I.A.L. builds and the ability to build and maintain a second C.A.M.P. slot.…
By Mike Fahey Published April 28, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryMy New Favorite Stormblood Character Is A Random Pirate
In a development shocking to absolutely no one, Stormblood is fucking awesome. I started Final Fantasy XIV’s second expansion mere days ago, and it’s already made the leap from, “this is not Heavensward. I want Heavensward back,” to, “Ok, give me more of this.” I was prepared for Stormblood to underwhelm me. In the FF14…
By Ash Parrish Published April 28, 2021 -
CultureHere’s May 2021’s PlayStation Plus Lineup
May’s PlayStation Plus lineup isn’t a knockout, but it’s also not a bad-looking group. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active PlayStation Plus membership. May’s PS Plus games are: PS5 Wreckfest: Drive Hard, Die Last PS4 Battlefield V Stranded Deep All games are available starting May 4.
By Riley MacLeod Published April 28, 2021 -
CultureDespite Supply Issues, PS5 Sales Outpace The PS4
The PlayStation 5 is nowhere, and yet, the PlayStation 5 is everywhere. Sony has sold 7.8 million PS5s since the console officially launched last November, according to a company quarterly earnings call held this morning. It’s no secret that getting your hands on a PS5 is nearly impossible, in part thanks to a global semiconductor…
By Ari Notis Published April 28, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsA Belated Apology To The Child Whose Pokémon Gym I Stole
In 2016, Pokémon Go took the world by storm, and I wanted to be the best like no one ever was, regardless of who I hurt in the process. As I make my return to the app in 2021, I can’t help but feel bad about a child I bullied all those years ago. I…
By Lisa Marie Segarra Published April 28, 2021 -
ReviewsSwitchNew Pokémon Snap: The Kotaku Review
After 21 years, gaming’s least violent on-rails shooter triumphantly returns to usher in a new generation of Pokémon paparazzi. New Pokémon Snap adds layers of complexity to the monster photo safari without straying too far from what made the original so damn lovable. New Pokémon Snap tasks you with helping Professor Mirror and his research…
By Mike Fahey Published April 28, 2021 -
AnimeDragon Ball Composer Shunsuke Kikuchi Dies At 89
Famed composer Shunsuke Kikuchi has died from pneumonia, Oricon reports. He was 89. Kikuchi was born in Aomori Prefecture in 1931. He made his music debut in 1961 and went on to compose for an array of iconic shows, including the themes for Kamen Rider and Doraemon. His “Doraemon no Uta” (Doraemon’s Song) with lyrics…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 28, 2021 -
CultureEarth Defense Force 2 Coming To Nintendo Switch In Japan
This summer, Earth Defense Force 2 will be released in Japan under the title Earth Defense Force 2 for Nintendo Switch. Clever! The game is based on the PlayStation Vita’s Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space, which was a remake of 2005’s Global Defense Force. Soon, folks can shoot up giant insects on…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 28, 2021 -
AnimeWatch Anime Style Paint Jobs Bring Figures To Life
Over the years, Kotaku has featured the work of artists specializing in anime-style paint jobs (here, here, and here, for example). Now let’s watch as YouTuber MA-Man shows how it’s done. While the clips are in Japanese, even if you don’t speak the language, you can follow along as MA-Man does an anime paint job…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 28, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsA Golden Wii Made For Queen Elizabeth II Is Now For Sale
Back in 2009, as part of a publicity stunt for… Big Family Games, publisher THQ commissioned the creation of a golden Nintendo Wii, and had it delivered to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II The Queen likely never received the console—as outlined in this excellent episode of People Make Games—but it did eventually find its way…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 27, 2021 -
CultureSega Wants To Sell NFTs, Can Fuck Right Off
Sega Japan announced earlier today that it will be getting into the NFT business, partnering with (and buying a stake in) a company called Double Jump Tokyo, with plans to not only sell character-related tokens, but NFTs in future games as well. The announcement is thin on details, but as Pocket Gamer reports, Sega hopes this…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 27, 2021 -
CulturePokémon Go Player Celebrates Holding Gym For 1,332 Days, Immediately Loses It To Cheater
Where there’s a will (to cheat), there’s a way (to use cheats to functionally climb a real-life mountain in the wilderness of Montana). Recently, Pokémon Go player BootsMade4Walking’s tale of triumph quickly gave way to a cautionary tale. Yesterday on Reddit, they posted a screenshot of a gym they’ve held for three and a half…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 27, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsThis Is The Coolest Ryu Has Looked In Years
Street Fighter protagonists Ryu and Chun-Li are crossing over to Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid on May 25. And while the world warriors’ respective Power Ranger uniforms are fantastic enough on their own, I’m also very much here for the ‘90s throwback the developers revealed for Ryu today. The alternate skin imagines what Ryu…
By Ian Walker Published April 27, 2021
