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CultureKotaku Game DiaryFinal Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Is Even More Heartbreaking In French
I do not speak a lick of French, and yet the first thing I did upon (finally) unlocking Heavensward, Final Fantasy XIV’s first expansion, was switch to French audio. It was a recommendation of a dear friend who’s further into her first journey through FF14 than I am. Neck-deep in Heavensward’s main story quest, (I…
By Ash Parrish Published March 22, 2021 -
CultureTekken 7’s Newest Fighter Is The Fictional Prime Minister Of Poland
The real prime minister of Poland, 53-year-old Mateusz Jakub Morawiecki, does not look like much of a fighter. Fictional Polish prime minister Lidia Sobieska, joining Tekken 7’s roster on March 23, seems a much more sensible choice. Teased seemingly forever and the subject of a recent Bandai Namco press mailing which included an official invitation…
By Mike Fahey Published March 22, 2021 -
CultureFallout 76‘s 2021 Roadmap Shows More Story Content Coming This Summer
Fallout 76 needs some new content, and based on today’s roadmap players will have to wait until the summer to get it. While welcome new gameplay features and continued quality-of-life improvements are planned throughout the rest of the year, new story quests aren’t coming to Fallout 76 until closer to July at the earliest, based…
By Ethan Gach Published March 22, 2021 -
CultureWhat’s New In Fall Guys Season Four Today
Fall Guys neon-soaked season four is officially out today. The update introduces a number of changes to the platformer royale, including seven new levels: Basketfall: Yes, Fall Guys is getting another team-based ball-tossing mini-game. Didn’t we already learn this lesson with Egg Scramble? Skyline Stumble: Earlier this month, Mediatonic showed off Skyline Stumble as the…
By Ari Notis Published March 22, 2021 -
CultureBreath Of The Wild Mod Aims To Add A Whole New Story Expansion
Breath of the Wild has gotten quite a few mods over the years, but few with the scope and ambition of Second Wind, a story-based expansion adding new characters, side-quests, and bosses. “Second Wind is a large-scale expansion for Breath of the Wild that aims to add new content to the game in a similar…
By Ethan Gach Published March 22, 2021 -
CultureSteam Flat-Out Refuses To Sell Sleazy Pick-Up Game Super Seducer 3
The third game in dating guru and author Richard La Ruina’s Super Seducer series of full-motion-video dating sims will not be releasing on Steam, because the service does not “ship sexually explicit images of real people,” just tons and tons of anime porn. After weeks of back-and-forth between La Ruina and Steam, much of which…
By Mike Fahey Published March 22, 2021 -
CultureThe Week In Games: Monster Hunter Rise Arrives
Get your big sword ready, we going monster hunting this week in Monster Hunter Rise, releasing for Switch on March 26. One day I’ll play a Monster Hunter game for more than 40 minutes. Probably. They do look neat and I know loads of people who have fun with them. But none have clicked with…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 22, 2021 -
CultureMorning MusicFamicom Graffiti‘s Metroid Remix Kills, But Oh Dear, That One Zelda Track…
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s ongoing hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today’s vintage selection from Nintendo has a real unpredictable streak and features one of the best Metroid covers you’ll hear. And, well, other things. Video game soundtrack albums were kind of a wild west in the…
By Alexandra Hall Published March 22, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsThe Incredible Story Of A Trackmania Shortcut 13 Years In The Making
I know almost mothing about Trackmania, but this video about the quest for a particular shortcut is one of the most fascinating video game clips I have ever seen. Put together byTrackmania YouTuber Wirtual, it goes for 18 minutes. I, too, wondered, “What the hell could make this go for 18 minutes, I’ve got stuff…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 21, 2021 -
CultureBomberman Board Game Cancelled, Which Sucks
Of all the video games out there being turned into board games, few are as perfect a fit for the tabletop treatment as Bomberman. So it sucks to hear that, having originally been planned for a 2020 release, IDW and Konami’s Bomberman board game has been cancelled. Designed by Sean McDonald at Tower Games—the same…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 21, 2021 -
CultureAssassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Post-Launch Woes Continue
I loved Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. So much so that, had I been given more time with it during the calendar year, it would have made a serious run for my Game Of 2020. But boy, at the same time, I have not been happy with the support the game has got after launch. The game…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 21, 2021 -
CultureOdds and Ends25 Years Later, Doom II’s Super Shotgun Is Still The Best Video Game Shotgun
Recently, I played through the newer ports of Doom and Doom II. And playing Doom II again, I was reminded of a simple fact: The super shotgun is amazing and is still the best video game shotgun ever made. Doom II’s Xbox One port was one of many Bethesda games that ended up on Game…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 21, 2021 -
CultureShop Contest‘Shop Contest: The Rock Edition
According to weirdos on the internet, The Rock might be in Fortnite. Maybe? Who can really say? (Besides The Rock, his PR team, and Epic.) Regardless, let’s put The Rock in some video games! Your challenge this week: Add Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to video games. It’s likely that by the time we get around…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 21, 2021 -
CultureGame Preservation Group Releases Over 700 PS2 Prototypes And Unreleased Demos
Last night video game preservation group, The Hidden Palace, released over 700 PS2 early builds, prototypes, E3, and press release demos in a massive dump the group referred to as “Project Deluge”. The Hidden Palace hosted a stream on Twitch that lasted over six hours Saturday night. During that stream, they showcased a number of…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 21, 2021 -
CultureSunday Comics: Yes, Perfect!
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 March 18. Read more of Corpse Run Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published March 15. Read more of Awkward Zombie Clueless Hero by…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 21, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanFinal Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade Had A Dedicated Team of Lighting Experts
When Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade was announced earlier this year, Square Enix detailed how it changed the textures and lighting, as well as added fog effects. Some changes were more subtle. During today’s Sony online event, Final Fantasy producer Yoshinori Kitase ran through the changes in the PS5 version. Most of the information was…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 21, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanSize Comparison For Resident Evil Village‘s Tall Vampire With Real People
Lady Dimitrescu is one tall lady—to be exact, 2.9m tall (that is, 9’6″). But what does that look like next to actual humans? Let’s find out! During today’s online PlayStation event, the character was compared with celebrity hosts Hatsune Matsushima and Kayo Satoh. Matsushima is 5’2″ tall (161cm), while Satoh is 5’6″ (172cm). Lady Dimitrescu…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 21, 2021 -
CultureShop Contest‘Shop Contest: Bethesda+Microsoft, Winners!
You got Halo in my Fallout! You got Doom in my Forza! Well, this is a giant mess. At least we get more Game Pass games out of it all. And a fun contest! Our winning image this week comes from…. KaputNoob! Yes, we have a back-to-back winner once again folks! Will they be able…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 20, 2021 -
CultureSpider-Man Saves People, Neither Snow Nor Rain
After a week off, Snapshots is back! We got more great screenshots this week from a bunch of games. Just a heads up: Some of these screenshots are from last week. So consider this a special, larger-than-normal edition of Snapshots! I already miss the little snow flurries we got over here in Kansas during Winter.…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 20, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsElites In Halo: Reach Contain A Gross Secret
I’ve played a lot of Halo: Reach. In fact, last month I played through the entire game again with my brother via the Master Chief Collection. But I had no idea that inside the playable Elites in the game lurks a somewhat disgusting little secret: Their innards…? Guts? Bones? Hard to tell. In Halo: Reach,…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 20, 2021