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ReviewsYear in ReviewThe Biggest Video Game Disappointments Of 2020
God, this year sucked. Video games were supposed to be a reprieve from that, and in many ways they were. But in other ways they were just as messy, ill-fated, and broken as the year itself. Some of 2020’s big video game disappointments were minor setbacks or run-of-the-mill annoyances—the type of thing that might loom…
By Ethan Gach Published December 24, 2020 -
ReviewsMultiplatformCyberpunk 2077: The Kotaku Review
It’s been two weeks since Cyberpunk 2077 officially released. In my initial impressions, I wrote that I was ready for everyone—developer CD Projekt Red, the studio’s PR people, fans—to stop talking about the game and just let me play it. I’ve been playing steadily since before launch, but weeks later, it feels like there’s barely…
By Riley MacLeod Published December 24, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewJohn Walker’s Top 10 Games Of 2020
The eternally burning tire fire that is 2020 hasn’t exactly been a laugh riot. And yet, as I reflect on what have been some of the most gruelling times I can remember, it’s interesting how much video games have played a part in getting me through. As pure colorful distraction, or even daily pursuits completed…
By John Walker Published December 24, 2020 -
CultureI Wanna Be The Guy Has Been Remastered
A group of fans have remastered I Wanna Be the Guy, improving the notoriously difficult platformer’s performance for those still willing to subject themselves to its dastardly tricks. “This is a mostly faithful remaster of the original I Wanna Be the Guy, trying to balance the spirit of the original game with the desire for…
By Ian Walker Published December 23, 2020 -
CultureCyberpunk 2077’s Latest Patch Resolves The PC Save File Size Limit
It’s no secret that Cyberpunk 2077 is plagued by a raft of technical issues, particularly on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Today, CD Projekt Red released another hotfix for the troubled game, aiming to address some of those issues, including the seemingly arbitrary filesize limit placed on PC save files. As Kotaku Australia reported,…
By Ari Notis Published December 23, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe Biggest Video Game Surprises Of 2020
Every year, we run down the best annual surprises from the world of video games. Needless to say, 2020 was not like previous years. That’s why, this year, we’re reorienting our annual tradition to focus on the biggest—not necessarily the best—ones. 2020 was full of shockers. This was the year Sony held a virtual event…
By Ari Notis Published December 23, 2020 -
CultureOdds and EndsHappy Holidays, Everyone
Here’s a 12-hour, 4K yule log in the style of Hades, courtesy of Supergiant Games: Happy holidays.
Kotaku Staff Published December 23, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewIan Walker’s Top 10 Games Of 2020
This is the first time I’m doing one of these…well, professionally, at least. I was hired at Kotaku right before the world went to shit, and despite a tumultuous year, I’m still here. I broke news. I reviewed the PlayStation 5. I wrote about a digital dog’s butt Here are my favorite games of 2020,…
By Ian Walker Published December 23, 2020 -
CultureTrump Pardons War Crimes, Illegal Steam Spending
The White House announced a new round of presidential pardons yesterday, granting clemency to several controversial figures. Among them were the perpetrators of the Nisour Square massacre and Duncan Hunter, a former California congressman who was indicted for illegally using campaign funds to purchase, among other items, video games on Steam. Hunter, who was first…
By Ian Walker Published December 23, 2020 -
CultureCD Projekt Red Estimates Cyberpunk 2077 Has Sold Over 13 Million Copies, Despite Being A Potato On Consoles
After a week of refunds, apologies, and patches, CD Projekt Red announced yesterday that its open world scifi RPG Cyberpunk 2077 nevertheless sold over 13 million copies total since its December 10 release. This despite the game’s busted performance on last-gen consoles and some low-end PCs, as well as the reportedly overtime-fueled labor conditions that…
By Ethan Gach Published December 23, 2020 -
CultureThe Best Games Of 2020 That You’ve Never Heard Of
There are so many games. The Nintendo Switch sees 30 releases a week. More than 50 PC games come out a day on Steam. Fifty. A day. And yes, most of them are shovelware or just plain drivel, but that only makes things worse for the little gems that are hidden within. In such a…
By John Walker Published December 23, 2020 -
CultureOdds and EndsYou Can (Carefully) Pet The Zombie Dogs In Black Ops Cold War
I love when games give me the option to pet dogs, and surprisingly, you can pet the Plaguehounds in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Zombies mode. But unless you use a specific weapon effect, you’d never even know you had the option to pet them. Die Maschine’s Plaguehounds are special round-based enemies that…
By S.E. Doster Published December 22, 2020 -
CultureRare Gokus Possibly Lost At Sea After Major Shipping Accident
Goku collectors are left wondering what fate awaits their beautiful sons after a bad storm caused the massive One Apus container ship to potentially lose over $200 million worth of cargo in the Pacific Ocean northwest of Hawaii late last month. The ship was hit by a massive storm on November 30 that, according to…
By Ethan Gach Published December 22, 2020 -
CultureOdds and EndsMarvel vs. Capcom 2‘s Iron Man Infinite Combo Makes For A Great Beat
Musician Akito Bass recently shared a great video showing how the iconic Iron Man infinite in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 can be used as the foundation for a catchy track. A big part of learning even basic fighting game combos is getting the rhythm down. You don’t always need to count frames or learn concepts…
By Ian Walker Published December 22, 2020 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewAsh Parrish’s Top 10 Games Of 2020
Ahh! My first “Top 10 Games” post for Kotaku, so exciting! Arriving here has fundamentally changed my relationship with gaming. I have a lot more time to play a lot more brand-spankin’ new games, versus the slow arrival to already well-beloved titles that was typical of my pre-Kotaku life. So if you see some non-2020…
By Ash Parrish Published December 22, 2020 -
CultureHere’s January 2021’s Xbox Live Games With Gold
Writing “2021” in a headline is giving me more feelings than I expected, so thanks for that, Xbox. January’s Games with Gold lineup is a mix of horror and fighting games; as always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold Subscription. January’s Games with Gold are: Little Nightmares (Jan…
By Riley MacLeod Published December 22, 2020 -
CultureThe PS5 Now Warns You If You’re About To Play The Last-Gen Version Of A Game
After a month of some players accidently playing the older version of new games on their PS5, Sony’s next-gen console now has a feature that fires off a warning if you’re about to load up the PS4 version of a PS5 game. Originally spotted by VGC, the console now asks players to “confirm game version”…
By Ethan Gach Published December 22, 2020