New The Last Of Us Part II Trophies Tease Grounded Mode, Permadeath [Update: Naughty Dog Explains]

The Last of Us Part II has a couple new trophies that indicate the impending arrival of both Grounded mode and a permadeath option, both of which should make the game exponentially harder. Grounded mode first appeared in 2013’s The Last of Us as a heightened difficulty level made available post-release. Although Naughty Dog hasn’t…

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Streaming Beta Starts Tomorrow

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to start playing a limited number of Game Pass games streamed to their phones as part of a new xCloud beta starting August 11. “[W]e’re entering a limited beta period to ensure a smooth transition of the cloud gaming experience to the Xbox Game Pass app on…

Fast & Furious Crossroads Is Ridiculous

Though all of the action in Fast & Furious Crossroads, the star-studded video game side story to the long-running film franchise, involves driving a car, there are no speedometers. The only speed is fast. Unless you’re tailing a van owned by the Barcelona mob. Then it’s slow, though probably also furious. Crossroads isn’t a great…

What Is Your Single Favorite Piece Of Video Game Music?

It’s Monday, and that means it’s time for Ask Kotaku, the weekly feature in which Kotaku’s rank and file weigh in on the burning questions of our times. Sometimes they’re serious, sometimes they’re less so, but mostly it’s just another excuse for us to talk vidya games. You down? This week on Ask Kotaku, to…

James Might Actually Be Looking At You In The Silent Hill 2 Intro

Silent Hill 2 is pretty damn creepy, but nothing prepared me for a possible new discovery in the game’s opening cinematic. A little over a week ago, an interesting image was posted to the Silent Hill subreddit. By brightening a screenshot of the iconic mirror scene in Silent Hill 2’s intro, the original poster said,…

Ubisoft Finally Puts Female Eivor In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Reveal Trailer

Last Friday, Ubisoft quietly put out a remixed version of the cinematic trailer it used to reveal Assassin’s Creed Valhalla back in April. The big difference? This version features the female Eivor, one of two versions of the game’s hero who had originally been shown-off via a collectible statue and a couple of screenshots. “Watch…

Grand Theft Auto V Kinect Mod Makes Plane-Flying Physical

Flying in video games with a controller is fine. It works well enough and it’s how many folks play. But what if you were the controller? What if you had to hold your arms out to fly and steer? Well wonder no more, for a YouTuber has made a mod for Grand Theft Auto V…

How’s It Going? Avengers Edition

Avengers assemble, I suppose. Welcome back to our daily open thread. Now that the weekend beta testing for Marvel’s Avengers is in full swing, I can finally share my bad screenshots of Ms. Marvel and big sweaty green man. While most of my weekend was eaten up by chores, I did attempt to get back…

Lego Super Mario Is A Weird New Way To Play With Lego

The partnership between Nintendo and Lego, two of the world’s most popular family-friendly entertainment brands, has born fruit. Lego Super Mario is an odd amalgam of gaming and building that requires a healthy imagination to be enjoyed to its fullest. The Lego Super Mario launch lineup is massive and hard to find. Since launching earlier…

The Week In Games: Another Battle Royale Comes To Consoles

Summer continues on and so too does the drought of big games. A good time to finish up some games on your backlog! I forgot Hyper Scape released in beta last month. I forgot it even existed. I’m not saying it’s good or bad, I haven’t played it yet, but that name and it being…

Axelay Honed SNES Music To Technical Perfection

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Every weekday at 8 a.m. ET you can look forward to hearing (and discussing!) a bit of game music that’s beautiful, rousing, technically interesting, or that we just think is worth a listen. Sometimes a…

Track: Black Sweat | Artist: Prince | Album: 3121

‘Shop Contest: Fall Guys

The internet has a new favorite game: Fall Guys. I’ve played a bunch and I’ve enjoyed it. And I’ve fallen in love with the little bean men you control. They should get a break from dying all the time in their game. Let’s help them out! Your challenge this week: Bring the bean boys from…

How’s It Going?: Dual Monitors Edition

Sundays are for relaxing and chatting. And this thread can help you do one or maybe even both of these things. Come on in! After years of wanting to do it and people telling me I should do it, I have finally set up my PC with two monitors. And now I feel like Batman…

Sunday Comics: Sweaty Armpits

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 Aug. 3. Read more of Corpse Run Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published Aug 3. Read more of Awkward Zombie Clueless Hero by…