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Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Director Says ‘We Missed The Mark’ With Controversial DLC Relationship [Update]
A day after apologizing for surprising Assassin’s Creed Odyssey players with a mandatory in-game relationship that seemed to contradict the game’s pre-release promise to let players define their character’s own sexuality, the game’s creative director offered a fuller apology and explanation of what his team was trying to accomplish and what they got wrong. “Reading…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 16, 2019 -
UncategorizedZelda, Banjo Kazooie Levels Modded Into Super Mario Odyssey
Perhaps to give Odyssey that Smash Bros/Nintendo Museum feel, modder ItzSkahas been importing custom levels into the Switch platformer, like Clanker’s Cavern from Banjo Kazooie and the exterior of Wind Waker’s Dragon Roost Island. It’s not just the textures, either; both levels have custom collectables as well. Here’s Clanker’s Cavern: And here’s Dragon Roost: If…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 16, 2019 - Uncategorized
Artists Are Making Awesome “Paintings” In Source Filmmaker
Source Filmmaker is famous for the Saxxy Awardsand other machinima, but there’s a vibrant and fascinating scene using the program for “scenebuilding” (2D art) as well. Given the vast array of other, more popular options out there for digital painting, this might seem an odd and even counter-productive way to make art. After all, SFM…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 16, 2019 - Uncategorized
Valve’s Card Game Artifact Is Running Out Of Players
The collectible card game Artifact released on November 28, and had 60,740 concurrent players that day. A good start—but it was all downhill from there. Last night, its total concurrent players dipped just below 1,500 for the first time ever—a 97.5 percent drop from launch. Yes, many online games struggle to find an audience on…
By Ethan Gach Published January 16, 2019 -
UncategorizedK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Beautiful
Korea, and the world at large, seems to be going through a bit of a retro music boom these days, focusing on the 80s aesthetic with both original and cover releases. Stella Jang’s Beautiful is perhaps one of the best executions of this trend I’ve listened to yet. We’ve seen Stella before in this column,…
By Seung Park Published January 16, 2019 - Uncategorized
Sea Of Thieves Update Will Cut Down On File Size
Sea of Thieves is a constantly evolving game with an expanding roster ofmonsters to battle and islands to explore. In a blog post yesterday, Rare announced that it’s nerfing a dangerous foe: file size. Executive Producer Joe Neate announced the changes in an official blog post. Following an update on February 6, Sea of Thieves’…
By Heather Alexandra Published January 16, 2019 -
UncategorizedThe Tension Between Remakes And Originals
With the spiffy Resident Evil 2 remake right around the corner, I got to thinking about remakes versus remasters. At what point should you just go back and boot up the original? It can be interesting to see a modern take with new mechanics that retains the original soul of the source material. Then again,…
By Paul Tamayo Published January 16, 2019 - Uncategorized
A Very Angry Capcom vs. SNK 2 Competition
Over the weekend, a monthly Capcom vs. SNK 2 tournament at Japan’s Club Sega Shinjuku held a special exhibition between three established competitors. The event had brought these three players together due to the similarities in how they play the game, particularly their use of a specific fighting style that rewards characters for getting hit…
By Ian Walker Published January 16, 2019 - Uncategorized
Final Fantasy XIV‘s New Blue Mage Class Is Limited But Fun
Final Fantasy XIV added Blue Mages to the game this week, allowing players to dress in their finest costumes and learn magical attacks from monsters. The “limited” job can’t do as many activities as others, but their addition creates fun opportunities for groups and solo players alike. Blue Mages were announced during the Final Fantasy…
By Heather Alexandra Published January 16, 2019 - Uncategorized
Yesterday, Riot Games updated its company manifesto, which, according to Kotaku’s report, was a contributing factor to its sexist culture. Released in 2012, Riot’s values “served us well for many years, but didn’t evolve along with us,” the website reads. The new manifesto has removed points like “Take Play Seriously” and “Challenge Convention” and added…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published January 16, 2019 -
UncategorizedThe Division 2‘s story trailer shows a Washington, D.C. overrun by “ruthless hyenas,” “religious outcasts” and “depraved fascists.” Wasn’t this game supposed to be a work of fiction? Publisher Ubisoft is also saying the game’s private beta kicks off on February 7, a little over a month before its March 15 launch.
By Stephen Totilo Published January 16, 2019 - Uncategorized
EA’s Troubled Decade Of Star Wars Games
On May 6, 2013, Disney and Electronic Arts announced that the two companies had signed a ten-year deal to make Star Wars games. It was an industry-changing deal that, in retrospect, looks like a big mistake for both parties. The deal, which was largely put together by EA Labels president Frank Gibeau, came just four…
By Jason Schreier Published January 16, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryYIIK Is A Throwback 90s RPG I Just Can’t Get Into
Alex, the protagonist of YIIK: A Postmodern RPG, is a burned out liberal arts major who returns home after graduating college just as the year 2000 is looming. The player explores his small town of Frankton, stumbles upon a stray cat in the woods, and is soon plunged into a rabbit hole of creepypasta-inspired mysteries…
By Ethan Gach Published January 16, 2019 - ReviewsSwitch
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes: The Kotaku Review
Goichi “Suda51″ Suda loves video games. Oh, sure, I love video games, and you probably do too. But when you play one of the games from Suda51 and his studio Grasshopper Manufacture, you can’t fail to come away with the impression that he lives and breathes this stuff—the passion for games, players, the culture around…
By Chris Kohler Published January 16, 2019 - Kotaku EastJapan
Japan Getting Kingdom Hearts Themed Hotel Rooms
Starting this March, the Disney Ambassador Hotel at the Tokyo Disney Resort is rolling out special Kingdom Hearts themed rooms. And yes, you can open the door with a Keyblade shaped key. The rooms are limited to three adults and come with two regular sized beds and one trundle bed. Prices are from 46,100 yen…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 16, 2019 - Anime
Sasuke From Naruto Is The First Anime Meme of 2019
It’s mid-January, and we have our first anime meme of the year, with a Naruto still being reworked for internet fodder. The above image is from a fight between Itachi and Sasuke and shows th elder Itachi choking his younger brother. The meme has caused “Sasuke” to start trending.
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 16, 2019
