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CultureMorning MusicI Hope Halo Infinite Sounds Half As Great As Ori And The Will Of The Wisps
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s ongoing hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today, let’s listen to the soundtrack for one of last year’s best games: Ori and the Will of the Wisps, the ethereal platformer from Moon Studios. Plenty of games have terrific music. (See: Exhibits A through…
By Ari Notis Published February 24, 2021 -
CultureFinal Fantasy XVI Is Taking Steps For Players Who Don’t Like Action Gameplay
During a recent radio interview, producer Naoki Yoshida was asked about Final Fantasy XVI. Despite some earlier wariness about spilling any beans, he revealed that following the very action-focused trailer, they’re developing a mode for people who prefer to focus on story. Previously, Yoshida has mentioned that Square Enix didn’t want to say “something that’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 24, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanNSFW Mousepad Gets A Surprising Number Of Pre-Orders
Late last year, a mouse pad for the character Kashino from browser game Azur Lane was announced. This was no ordinary mouse pad. Note: This article contains content some readers might find objectionable. For well over a decade now, there have been mouse pads featuring characters’ chests (or even butts!), resulting in what’s known as…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 24, 2021 -
CultureTrack: One Room | Artist: Yonige | Album: Girls Like Girls
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 24, 2021 -
CultureMore PC Games Get Magical DLSS Support
Two more PC games have gotten DLSS support—a form of modern sorcery—from Nvidia, meaning anyone with a card that supports the tech will now be getting much better performance. Those games are Nioh 2 (which did not launch in the best shape) and Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, which should both be getting framerate boosts…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureStardew Valley Is Now A Co-Op Board Game
For the past two years, designers Eric Barone and Cole Medeiros—who met while playing Stardew Valley online—have been working on turning the idyllic video game into something folks can play on a table. Their work is now done, and in addition to announcing the board game, they’ve also announced that it’s available for purchase, right…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureGameStop Exec Leaves With $2.8 Million Severance
GameStop chief financial officer Jim Bell is set to resign from his position on March 26, the video game retailer announced today. He’ll do so $2.8 million richer thanks to a lucrative severance bonus. According to SEC filings first reported by IGN, the contract Bell signed with GameStop in 2019 affords him a severance bonus…
By Ian Walker Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureYakuza’s Producer Would Like To Bring Its 17th & 19th Century Spinoffs To The West
While Sega has eventually managed to bring all the main Yakuza games to the West, we’ve still never gotten the series’ two historical spinoffs, Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! and Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! Set in the 17th and 19th centuries respectively, these games take the core cast and premise of the Yakuza series and transplant…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryPersona 5 Strikers’ Menus Are As Vibrantly Alive As Its Cast
Video game menus are like assholes—every game has them and more often than not, they stink. They are often the least-pretty, least splashy part of an otherwise beautiful game, partly because they aren’t central to gameplay (unless it’s Crusader Kings or something). But Persona 5 Strikers shows us a world in which menus do not…
By Ash Parrish Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryA God Damn Boar Sank My Boat
Many survival games feature animals you can hunt for crafting supplies and sustenance. Only in Valheim do they get revenge. Nautical revenge. My friends and I have had some good times in the surprise-hit survival game. We’re making bronze armor. We’re in hot pursuit of the game’s second major boss, The Elder. Last night, I…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsFinal Fantasy Got It Right With Two Black Fathers
Lately, dads have become the video game industry’s pet trope. There are a ton of games that have won a lot of awards about trying, failing, and in very few cases, succeeding at being a dad. But that trend largely excludes Black fathers (with one extremely notable exception), since the video game industry generally ignores…
By Ash Parrish Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureBlade & Soul Revolution Launches Worldwide Next Week
NCSoft’s martial arts epic Blade & Soul is one of my favorite massively-multiplayer online role-playing games in recent memory. Launching March 4 for iOS and Android, Blade & Soul Revolution is the free-to-play mobile adaptation of the PC game. And half of you left. I really should save the free-to-play bit for after the jump.…
By Mike Fahey Published February 23, 2021 -
CulturePersona 5 Strikers Got Siri’s Original Voice Actor To Play Its In-Game AI
Artificial intelligences like Apple’s Siri have become so ubiquitous in many people’s lives that it’s no wonder the story of Persona 5 Strikers (out today on Playstation 4, Switch, and PC) features its own AI assistant in the form of EMMA. But what you might not immediately notice is that EMMA is played by the…
By Ian Walker Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsInternet Unites For Amazing Mii Channel Song Jam Session
Composer, musician, and YouTuber Alex Moukala let loose a funky, bass-tastic remix of the Nintendo Wii’s Mii Channel theme music on Twitter yesterday and then invited other artists to do the same. The result is an impromptu jam session full of super-talented people showing their love for one of gaming’s quirkiest songs. Moukala, whose music…
By Ethan Gach Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureHitman 3‘s Latest Patch Fixes Incorrect Arabic Text
IO Interactive released the first major patch for Hitman 3 today, bringing with it a raft of changes to the assassination game, including some much-needed updates to the environment. The patch also corrected some Arabic text in the game’s opening level, which was written incorrectly. Shortly after Hitman 3 was released last month, players spotted…
By Ari Notis Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureValheim, As Told By Steam Reviews
I’m getting the impression that maybe, just maybe, Valheim’s five-person development team might be onto something. Since the Viking survival game’s Steam release earlier this month, it’s sold 3 million copies. Over the weekend, more than 500,000 people played it at once. But what do players actually think? That you should avoid falling trees, mostly.…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Will Cost $10 To Upgrade To PS5 And Xbox Series X/S Versions
Last year’s remaster of the first two Tony Hawk Pro Skater games is heading to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch, Activision announced today. Unfortunately, those looking to upgrade their existing copy of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 to the next-gen version will need to shell out an extra $10. The PS5 and Xbox Series…
By Ethan Gach Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureHere’s March 2021’s Xbox Live Games With Gold
It’s going to be March again, or it’s still March—it’s hard to say, but you can mark the impossible passage of time with a new batch of Xbox Live Games with Gold games. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold membership. March’s Games with Gold are: Xbox…
By Riley MacLeod Published February 23, 2021
