- CultureE3
Next February Is Gonna Be Lit
If you like playing a lot of big new video games at the same time, next February is going to be your month. As the flood of E3 press conferences washed over us these last few days, I and many others started to notice we kept hearing the same release month: February 2019. Seemingly every…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 12, 2018 - Uncategorized
Splatoon 2‘s Octo Expansion DLC will be available tomorrow evening, June 13, Nintendo said at E3 today. The expansion lets you play as an Octoling in multiplayer, but first, you have to make your way through a series of tricky single-player challenge levels. It’s $19.99.
By Chris Kohler Published June 12, 2018 - Uncategorized
One Destiny 2 Fan Worked Out The New Trailer’s Twist Way Ahead Of Time
The new trailer for Destiny 2: Forsaken hints at a shocking story twist, but at least one player saw the whole thing coming days ago. Last night at Sony’s E3 press conference, Bungie debuted a brief story trailer for Destiny 2’s upcoming Forsaken expansion. The trailer indicated that a beloved character is going to die,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 12, 2018 -
CultureE3The Division 2 Is Political, Despite What Its Developers Say
The Division 2 shifts the setting from New York City to a ruined Washington D.C. While the gameplay aims to fix issues players had with the original, statements from one of the game’s creative directors about the narrative are frustrating. The goal, we’ve been told, is not to make a political statement, but in this…
By Heather Alexandra Published June 12, 2018 - CultureE3
Cyberpunk 2077 Is A First-Person RPG
We got a peek at Cyberpunk 2077 during Microsoft’s E3 press conference, but other than verifying that the cyberpunk setting will, in fact, have mohawks and buildings that appear to have been smuggled out of Blade Runner while nobody was looking, we didn’t actually learn much. Today, CD Projekt divulged some real details. The open-world…
By Nathan Grayson Published June 12, 2018 - CultureE3
Podcast: We React To Sony And Nintendo At E3 2018
The E3 press conferences are over, and there’s a lot to talk about. Maybe not as much as we were hoping for, but still a lot. On this third episode of Kotaku Splitscreen’s E3 coverage, Jason and I talk through our feelings on Sony’s big show last night and Nintendo’s Smashstravaganza this morning. We also…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 12, 2018 -
CultureE3Swinging Through New York City As Spidey Feels Effortless
The New York Insomniac created for Spider-Man is just about everything I’ve hoped for since the 2001 Sam Raimi movie with Tobey Maguire. The buildings are all very tall, divided between glass skyscrapers and old brick high rises. In between, there are alleyways bathed in the warm glow of a setting sun that never seems…
By Ethan Gach Published June 12, 2018 - CultureE3
Nintendo’s E3 Booth Is Full Of Amazing Smash Bros. Props
Nintendo’s E3 2018 booth is mostly full of increasingly-sweaty attendees playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it’s also home to a veritable museum of real-life custom props drawn from Smash, and therefore from the company’s rich history of games. Kotaku EIC Stephen Totilo is on the show floor, and couldn’t help but snap a bunch…
By Chris Kohler Published June 12, 2018 - Culture
Steam’s New Chat Is A Lot Like Discord
For the longest time, Steam’s built-in chat functionality has not been what I would call good. Today, though, Valve revealed a much-needed modern makeover, and you can try it now. Steam’s new chat functionality makes friends lists more flexible, allowing you to see what friends are up to and organize people in a variety of…
By Nathan Grayson Published June 12, 2018 -
CultureE3Forza Horizon 4‘s British Setting Makes It Feel Like Racing In A Witcher Game
The Forza Horizon games are great non-racing games. You try to drive really fast along a predetermined path, but they’re not about hugging turns or calibrating tire pressure the way the main Forza Motorsport games are. Forza Horizon 4 is no different, but it’s a little more beautiful. It’s better in some ways, as all…
By Ethan Gach Published June 12, 2018 -
CultureE3Fortnite On Switch Has Built-In Voice Chat, No App Required
Fortnite on Switch will support voice chat through the headphone jack and not through some stupid phone app, just like a normal-ass game. It’s not currently available in the Switch version of Epic’s popular battle royale game that launched today, but will be on Thursday. Competitive games like Fortnite benefit greatly from players being able…
By Gita Jackson Published June 12, 2018 -
CultureE3The Donkey Kong Expansion For Mario + Rabbids Is Tricky And Apparently Very Long
Donkey Kong can throw allies and enemies around, making for some interesting new tactics in the expansion to the Mario +Rabbids Switch crossover coming out near the end of the month. I played it and have footage of an early level for you all to watch. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle players are going to…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 12, 2018 - CultureE3
The Last Of Us 2 Actors Recount Their Motion-Capture Kiss
The Last of Us 2 actors Ashley Johnson (as Ellie) and Shannon Woodward (as Dina) described the motion-capture experience of their smooch scene at an E3 Coliseum panel this afternoon. The mo-cap cameras made the kiss unexpectedly tricky, according to Woodward: “There was a lot of sticking. I’d be in the middle of it and…
By Maddy Myers Published June 12, 2018 -
CultureE3The Internet Reacts To Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is bringing back everyone—literally everyone—from every Smash game, and the internet is losing their damn minds over this. Since Smash was teased for the Switch, I’d been saying it was definitely just going to be a port. Oh past-Gita of little faith, how wrong you were. Not only is this a…
By Gita Jackson Published June 12, 2018 - CultureE3
Sekiro, The Next Game From The Makers Of Dark Souls, Looks Impressive
One of E3’s highlights so far is Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the next game by From Software, makers of Bloodborne and Dark Souls. With Souls-style combat and a grappling hook that lets the player zip around like a goddamned ninja, this game looks impressive so far. In an Activision hotel suite on Sunday, I watched…
By Jason Schreier Published June 12, 2018 -
CultureE3Everything Nintendo Showed At E3 2018
Today Nintendo closed out the 2018 E3 press gauntlet with a streamed conference that was largely focused on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, with only a few other announcements peppered in for flavor. We got news of a couple of anticipated ports (Fortnite and Hollow Knight), a couple neat indie sequel announcements, and a trailer for…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 12, 2018 - CultureE3
Yoshi Game For Switch Is Skipping This E3
The Yoshi side-scroller for Switch that Nintendo announced a year ago and let people play at E3 is missing in action at this year’s show, despite being originally slated for a 2018 release. After noticing its wasn’t in the company’s E3 Nintendo Direct, we inquired about its absence with Nintendo of America director of product…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 12, 2018 -
CultureE3Everything We Know About Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Super Smash Bros. has traditionally cast a wide net across a divided audience who demand contradictory things from the blockbuster platform fighter. For its party-game fan contingent, Smash rains down Bob-ombs and Party Balls. For its fiercely competitive fan contingent, it flattens stages and removes platforms. In the past, Smash has catered to its split…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published June 12, 2018 -
CultureE3
Smash Bros Fans Have Spent A Decade Begging For Ridley, And Now It’s Actually Happening
Samus is no longer the only playable Metroid character in Smash. She’s now joined by Ridley, a menacing space dragon who refuses to die no matter how many times he gets owned. To the casual observer, this is just a neat little thing. To Smash diehards, though, it’s the culmination of years of requests. And…
By Nathan Grayson Published June 12, 2018 -
CultureE3Fire Emblem Comes To Switch Next Year, Looks Very Different
Our first real look at Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which is coming to Switch next year, shows all the classic tactical combat, now with the graphical capabilities to give everyone feet. It is remarkable to see these sweeping battles on a screen bigger than your 3DS or your phone, and the darker tone of Three…
By Gita Jackson Published June 12, 2018