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CultureKotaku Game DiaryMy Favorite Casual Game Became My Hardcore Obsession
We all have games that we play to relax. They’re waiting for us when we get home, with low stakes and a casual atmosphere that invites us to unwind and forget our worries. For my mom, that’s Solitaire. For me, it’s Hearthstone. But its latest expansion has changed how I approach my long-time relaxation game.…
By Heather Alexandra Published December 26, 2019 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewGita Jackson’s Top Ten Games Of 2019
I hate writing top ten lists. At the end of a year, I’m so exhausted that I can barely remember which games came out that year. I’ll start writing a list and then realize that half the games on it came out in 2012. Luckily, I played a lot of great games that stuck in…
By Gita Jackson Published December 26, 2019 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe Year In Video Game Skies, 2019
Despite video games’ best efforts to make me spend my time staring down at the floor and picking up random junk, I keep looking up to the skies above and the stars beyond. 2019 was full of lovely depictions of both. This is the third annual collection of video game skies, and each year I’m…
By Ethan Gach Published December 26, 2019 -
ReviewsToysCyberpunk 2077’s Keanu Action Figure Is Mildly Breathtaking
Today McFarlane Toys announced a three-year agreement to produce action figures based on CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077. The first wave includes two different sizes of Keanu Reeves’ character Johnny Silverhand, because who cares about any other Cyberpunk 2077 character at this point? Oh, and there’s a generic male figure as well. Retailing for $24.99…
By Mike Fahey Published December 26, 2019 -
UncategorizedFortnite Has Blizzards Now
Fortnite has gotten into the winter spirit. Snow covers sections of the map, there are Christmas trees to dance in front of, and the Winterfest event features a cabin with presents to open. As of today, blizzards are occasionally whiting out portions of the map. I didn’t encounter any blizzards during the inexcusable amount of…
By Riley MacLeod Published December 26, 2019 -
UncategorizedTips For Playing The Video Games You Just Got
The end of the year is gift-giving season for many people, so chances are good that you, dear reader, just received at least one brand new video game. You’ve installed that thing, and you’re ready to dive right in. You just have a couple of questions about, uh, how to play it. We’re here to…
By Maddy Myers Published December 26, 2019 -
UncategorizedI Can’t Get The Song From Netflix’s The Witcher Out Of My Head
I’ve always been fascinated by Christmas music. It’s incredibly odd that we have a whole genre of popular music dedicated to the last month of the year, some of it awful, some of it charming, most of it involving sleigh bells. I like the oddball tunes most of all: “Last Christmas” by Wham!, “Don’t Shoot…
By Joshua Rivera Published December 26, 2019 -
CultureThe 20 JRPGs You Must Play
There comes a time when every person must sit back, think about their life’s accomplishments, and wonder, “What JRPGs should I play?” Worry not. I’m here to help. This is a list of Japanese role-playing games that deserve your time. Some are new; some are old; all are excellent. Each of these is worth playing…
By Jason Schreier Published December 25, 2019 -
CultureWhat’s The Worst Gaming Present You’ve Ever Gotten?
Did Santa leave a shiny new Ouya under your tree this morning? Or maybe aNanica Smitch? Inspiring! Tell us—if you can manage to somehow navigate the ads and actually get our comments to load—what’s the worst gaming present you’ve ever gotten?
By Jason Schreier Published December 25, 2019 -
UncategorizedJRPGs Are Exponentially Better With Fast Forward
Longtime Kotaku heads will know that I’m a big fan of the Trails series, an ambitious set of Japanese role-playing games that tell a sprawling, epic story of love and warfare. This year, I fell behind on the series, but one thing’s helped me catch up: the fast forward button. Some backstory! I finished Trails…
By Jason Schreier Published December 25, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenStar Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Is A Lot Like A Video Game
The new Star Wars movie is full of fetch quests and clearly went through some sort of development hell. Sounds a lot like a video game! On this SPOILER-FILLED bonus episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, we discuss. Seriously, don’t listen or read any further until you’ve seen Rise of Skywalker! In this two-hour bonus episode, we…
By Jason Schreier Published December 25, 2019 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewRiley’s Top 10 Games Of 2019
My 2019 in games was weird. The year’s biggest offerings—games like Jedi: Fallen Order, Death Stranding, and Pokemon Sword and Shield—weren’t my style. My recent sobriety often pulled me away from my gaming PC, as my interests expanded to include running, rock climbing, and being in pain from getting into sports in my late 30s.…
By Riley MacLeod Published December 25, 2019 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewFahey’s Favorite Toys Of 2019
2019 was U.S. toy fans’ first full year without Toys’R’Us, or at least Toys’R’Us as we once knew it. Desperate Americans were forced to buy from non-dedicated toy sellers, with their lower prices and convenient one-stop shopping. It was a nightmare, but somehow we made it through with some pretty cool stuff. Let’s check it…
By Mike Fahey Published December 24, 2019 -
UncategorizedEVE Online Resource Changes Could Spark More War
Large groups of EVE Online players often band together for safety, security, and shared prosperity, which eventually leads to solidified power blocs that are so deeply entrenched in their positions that the game begins to stagnate. These massive player kingdoms can amass everything they need, so there’s not a lot of reason to leave and…
By Lee Yancy Published December 24, 2019 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewJason Schreier’s Top 10 Games Of 2019
It’s been a challenging year for many reasons here at Kotaku—well, really just one reason—and I don’t know what the future will bring, but I do know that 2019 had a lot of really cool video games. Let’s talk about them, shall we? From lightsabers to logic puzzles, here are my top ten games of…
By Jason Schreier Published December 24, 2019 -
CultureOuter Worlds Vs. Outer Wilds: The Comparison We Had To Make
2019 was a truly bountiful year for video games. We received countless games of peerless quality, some not falling far from the hoary old tree of Genre, with others inventing new genres all by themselves. It is not difficult to draw lines between some of these standouts: Dota Underlords and Teamfight Tactics, Sekiro and Jedi:…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 24, 2019 -
UncategorizedNintendo Instagram Photo Triggers Splatoon 3 Freakout
If you woke up this morning, checked Twitter (sorry), and saw that Splatoon 3 was a top trending topic, you might have wondered if Nintendo was delivering an inky Christmas miracle. Sadly for squid lovers, it was all just a big misunderstanding. It started with a simple post: Where is Marina indeed? The mystery of…
By Jason Schreier Published December 24, 2019 -
UncategorizedThe Rise Of Skywalker Update Shows How Far Battlefront II Has Come
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker is upon us, ending the sequel trilogy and sparking plenty of debate. The final chapter of Rey and Kylo Ren’s story brings new locations and evil goons, some of which have been added to Star Wars Battlefront II. This batch of content rounds out what was initially a troubled…
By Heather Alexandra Published December 23, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsThe X-Men Update Adds Friendly Competition To Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
Rise of the Phoenix, the second installment of paid downloadable content for Switch exclusive Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, is now live. The level cap has been upped to 200; Iceman, Phoenix, Cable, and Gambit join the fray; and the new Danger Room mode gives players a cool new way to team up and compete. As…
By Mike Fahey Published December 23, 2019 -
ReviewsYear in ReviewEthan Gach’s Top 10 Games of 2019
It’s been a bad year for great games, but a great year for good ones. I say that not to disparage any particular game, big or small, but rather to help explain why this was the hardest list of games I’ve put together since I started writing for Kotaku three years ago. While a few…
By Ethan Gach Published December 23, 2019