- ReviewsBoard Games
Whitehall Mystery: The Kotaku Review
In 2011, the board game Letters from Whitechapel put detectives on the hunt for Jack the Ripper. In 2017, that game has been stripped down to all but its most essential systems, and has become better for it. Whitehall Mystery is the name of the new offering. Made for 2-4 players, it puts one person…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 27, 2017 - Culture
Battlegrounds Cheat Makers Are Advertising Their Hacks In-Game
The era of the door-to-door salesman might be over, but purveyors of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds cheats are happy to bring their wares directly to you for a personal demonstration. Which occasionally involves owning the crap out of you. Players selling PUBG cheats and hacks have popped up in the game itself in recent months, demonstrating their…
By Nathan Grayson Published November 27, 2017 - Uncategorized
How To Make Money Quickly In Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
Making money isn’t the point of Animal Crossing as a series. It’s more about taking it easy and making friends in the forest. But if you are interested in making some quick cash in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, here’s what you should be doing. Talk To All The Villagers At Your Camp You might already…
By Gita Jackson Published November 27, 2017 -
UncategorizedPlanet Of The Apes: Last Frontier Has Great Apes, But That’s About It
There’s no confusing Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier with a Telltale-style adventure game. There is no exploration, no dialogue trees or puzzles to solve. It’s a three-hour movie peppered with simple A or B choices that influence how events play out. It’s about as basic as interactive fiction gets. Set a year after the…
By Mike Fahey Published November 27, 2017 -
UncategorizedThe Dystopian Journey Of Streets of Rage 2
Streets of Rage 2 is one of the greatest 2D action brawlers ever made and joins the pantheon of classic games like TMNT, The Simpsons, Double Dragon, and Final Fight. While Streets 2 has smooth controls, gritty bright environments, and outstanding music, it’s the narrative that gets expressed through the levels that makes it compelling…
By Peter Tieryas Published November 27, 2017 -
UncategorizedOne of Ultra Sun and Moon’s Pokémon Encounters Is Some Creepypasta Shit
Guzzlord the Ultra Beast may have appeared in the original Sun and Moon, but the latest games introduce this monster in one of the creepiest scenes in modern Pokémon games. Guzzlord, as many of you know, is a creature famed for devouring everything. To wit, here are his Pokedex entries in Sun and Moon: Sun:…
By Patricia Hernandez Published November 27, 2017 - Uncategorized
The Evil Within 2‘s Open World Is What Makes It Terrifying
Last night, I played The Evil Within 2 on Kotaku’s Twitch channel. I expected a linear series of monsters and scares but instead found a loose, semi-open world structure that made me feel anxious and helpless. It’s a chaotic, freeform take on horror that make every encounter unique and scary. The Evil Within 2 follows…
By Heather Alexandra Published November 27, 2017 -
UncategorizedDemon’s Souls Servers Are Shutting Down, Removing Part Of What Made The Game Great
Today, Sony Entertainment and Atlus announced that the online servers for Demon’s Souls will shut down next year on February 28th. The game, which mixed online and single-player elements, will transform into something completely different. This asks the question: how do we preserve experiences tied to online features? FromSoftware initially entered into the fantasy RPG…
By Heather Alexandra Published November 27, 2017 -
UncategorizedGetting A ‘Haircut’ In Splatoon 2 Seems Like It Would Hurt
One moment my Squid Girl is sporting the same side tentacle she’s been rocking since Splatoon 2 launched, the next her gorgeous glistening appendage is sliced, chopped and tied off into a pair of wriggling pigtails. Sounds painful, doesn’t it? At first I was excited about the four new hairstyles added to Splatoon 2 in…
By Mike Fahey Published November 27, 2017 - Esports
Ryus, Ranked
Some Ryus are better than other Ryus. Here is the official Compete ranking of the following notable Ryus. Hot Ryu Ryū ga Gotoku, a.k.a. Yakuza (for the Wii U, PS2 and PS3) A dragon Young Ryu (from the Street Fighter V tutorial) Ryu Hayabusa (from Ninja Gaiden) Ryu Hyun-jin Ryu Ryu (from Breath of Fire)…
Maddy Myers & Eric Van Allen Published November 27, 2017 - Uncategorized
As Destiny 2 Players Rage, Bungie Struggles To Respond
Throughout three years of Destiny and its sequel, several things have remained consistent. The shooting has always felt great. The aliens have always been fun to kill. And Bungie has always been unable to communicate with players in a way that doesn’t piss them off. On Friday, Bungie announced plans to change the game’s experience…
By Jason Schreier Published November 27, 2017 -
UncategorizedPeople Are Making Cults And Prisons In Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has a couple weird rules about furniture, and players are using those to make some really creepy camps. There’s a couple quirks to how furniture works in Pocket Camp. If you place a lamp down, villagers will stand in front of it and turn it on and off. If you put…
By Gita Jackson Published November 27, 2017 - Uncategorized
Ultra Sun and Moon Shouts Out The Time Iwata Helped Save Pokémon
Last week, fans discovered that the latest Pokémon games reference beloved Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, who died in 2015. The easter egg is touching, but it’s also kind of brief. Here’s the full story behind how Iwata saved Pokémon—and a closer look at why the man became so legendary. Joe Merrick, proprietor of Pokémon site Serebii,…
By Patricia Hernandez Published November 27, 2017 - Uncategorized
What Did Black Friday Make You Buy? 2017 Edition
Black Friday and its numerous extensions (Cyber Monday, Just Buy Our Damn Stuff Thursday) are a magical time in retail, when the veil between wallet and willpower is at its thinnest. Which games, gadgets and gear made it past your defenses this year? I’ll start. First up we have the special Poké Ball version of…
By Mike Fahey Published November 27, 2017 - Uncategorized
Our Reviews Of Fall 2017’s Biggest Games
It’s Thanksgiving time, which (hopefully) means a long weekend to play some games. If you’re not sure what to play or are wondering what you missed, here are Kotaku’s reviews of some of the fall’s biggest games, in no particular order. This piece originally appeared 11/22/17.
By Riley MacLeod Published November 27, 2017 - Culture
The Week In Games: Xenoblade Strikes Back
Xeno is Greek for “foreigner,” though Xenoblade Chronicles 2 hardly seems like a stranger at this point. A cult classic in the PS1 era with Xenogears, a lackluster trilogy of vague prequels with the PS2’s Xenosaga, and then a series stumbling toward renewed JRPG greatness across three different Nintendo platforms in the modern era. Clearly…
By Ethan Gach Published November 27, 2017 - Uncategorized
Why Japanese Actors Star In The Live-Action Fullmetal Alchemist Movie
The Fullmetal Alchemist movie was filmed in Italy. It stars two brothers named Edward and Alphonse. Yet, the cast is Japanese, and the characters speak Japanese. Director Fumihiko Sori recently explained why he thought the actors needed to be Japanese. On Twitter, Sori writes that while the location and the names were Western, the characters’…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 27, 2017
