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OpinionImpressionsGraven Looks Great, But Right Now It’s A Bit Boring
Graven is the latest game from resurrected publisher 3D Realms. Like its recent releases Ion Fury and Wrath, Graven is a throwback to 1990s PC first-person shooters, this time being a spiritual successor to Hexen and Heretic. It’s a visual delight to run around the world of Graven, kicking bad guys and exploring a creepy…
By Zack Zwiezen Published May 28, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsBackbone Is A Noir Adventure About Racism In Anthropomorphic Vancouver
Backbone, a noir adventure game set in an anthropomorphic version of Vancouver, is coming out on June 8. I have already played the free Steam demo, Backbone: Prologue, six times. Now, the Steam algorithm knows I’m a sucker for noir detective stories and that is, indeed, what Backbone is. It’s got all the usual clichés,…
By Jonathan Lee Published May 28, 2021 -
OpinionYou Still Don’t Need A PlayStation 5
It’s been six months since the PlayStation 5 came out, and yet the Seto Kaiba action figure that can also run high-end video games remains comically hard to come by. For a while, this irked me. I wanted to be part of the new console generation—the zeitgeist. So I obsessively watched a Twitch channel dedicated…
By Nathan Grayson Published May 27, 2021 -
OpinionAssassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Expansion Has A Great Throwback To Older Games
The change of direction Assassin’s Creed took between Syndicate and Origins has long divided fans, some of whom aren’t as into open world adventuring as they were the series’ older, sneakier trademarks. If you’re in the latter camp, you might be interested to know that Valhalla’s new expansion Wrath of the Druids has something for…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsKnockout City Is Actually Pretty Damn Fun
Dodgeball sucks. I recall, during some school recess years ago, getting beaned in the face with a dodgeball. Blood, everywhere. Across the pitch, some kid stood, sneering, as all the other kids laughed. I think he broke my glasses? The specifics are lost to the fog of memory, but the feeling—total, abject humiliation—remains tattooed on…
By Ari Notis Published May 24, 2021 -
OpinionAsk KotakuAre You A Mass Effect Paragon Or Renegade?
It’s Monday and time for Ask Kotaku, the weekly feature in which Kotaku-ites deliberate on a single burning question. Then, we ask your take. This week we Ask Kotaku: Are you a Mass Effect Paragon or Renegade? Nathan I play Paragon. I do this for one reason: I don’t enjoy being mean. Most people don’t,…
By Lisa Marie Segarra Published May 24, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsBlack Ops Cold War’s Multi-Team Elimination Is Almost Blackout 2.0
A lot of new stuff arrived with Call of Duty’s mid-season “Reloaded” update last week. It’s easy to get distracted by the ‘80s Action Hero event’s challenges and modes, but hidden in the mix is “Multi-Team Elimination,” a Fireteam mode for Black Ops Cold War that’s worth checking out. Most of Reloaded arrived on May…
By S.E. Doster Published May 24, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsMiitopia On Switch Completely Ate My Weekend
I had things to do this weekend that weren’t running through endless random encounters in the console port of a ridiculous four-year-old 3DS role-playing game. The problem I encountered was that none of those other things were as simple and easy as picking up my Pro Controller and popping back into Miitopia for a battle…
By Mike Fahey Published May 24, 2021 -
OpinionRockstar Games Presents Table Tennis Released 15 Years Ago Today And I Still Want A Sequel
A lot of people are currently waiting on Rockstar Games to announce the next Grand Theft Auto. And look, I’m excited about a new GTA game. But I also know it will happen one day. I’m far less certain we will ever get a sequel to Rockstar’s amazing table tennis game. 15 years later, I’m…
By Zack Zwiezen Published May 23, 2021 -
OpinionI Thought Resident Evil Village’s Dollhouse Was A Chill Time, Actually
The internet has been filled with folks sharing their thoughts about the dollhouse section in Resident Evil Village. Many call it scary or even terrifying. But, I didn’t find the location all that scary at all. In fact, I found the whole section rather calming and even fun. After you arrive in the titular village,…
By Zack Zwiezen Published May 20, 2021 -
OpinionI Have Nothing But Shame: I’m Trying To Trick Pokémon Go [UPDATE]
I have reached my lowest ebb. As I write these words, out the corner of my left eye I can see the eternal rocking motion of my cell phone as it sways within its cradle. I have become all things terrible. I have fallen. I’m trying to trick Pokémon Go into thinking I’m far less…
By John Walker Published May 19, 2021 -
OpinionAsk KotakuWho Are The Best And Worst Resident Evil Heroes?
It’s time for Ask Kotaku, the weekly feature in which Kotaku-ites deliberate on a single burning question. Then, we ask your take. This week we Ask Kotaku: Who are the best and worst Resident Evil heroes? Alexandra I’m a pretty light Resident Evil player, having spent a lot more time reading wiki dumps of all…
By Lisa Marie Segarra Published May 18, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsMass Effect Legendary Edition Makes The First Game Required Playing
Mass Effect Legendary Edition is out today, remastering BioWare’s space trilogy with 4K HD graphics and other kinds of tweaks and twinges to bring the games into the current generation. Of the trilogy, the original Mass Effect stands out as the game benefiting the most from graphical updates and quality of life enhancements. From what…
By Ash Parrish Published May 14, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsThese Famicom Detective Club Games Have Aged Surprisingly Well
There’s nothing about the art, animation, voice work, or music of Nintendo’s new Famicom Detective Club games that betray their origin as a pair of Japan-exclusive Family Computer Disk System adventures from the late 1980s. The dated gameplay, however, is a dead giveaway. Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and its prequel, Famicom Detective Club:…
By Mike Fahey Published May 14, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsAssassin’s Creed Valhalla First DLC Is Good, But Feels A Bit Lonely
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla was a big game. (Maybe too big.) But I still found myself wanting to explore and conquer more after the credits rolled. Today’s new DLC, Wrath of The Druids, is mostly what I wanted: While it adds a big new map and storyline, it lacks the smaller side stories and characters that…
By Zack Zwiezen Published May 13, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsSilicon Dreams Is Blade Runner Meets Papers, Please
Silicon Dreams is something rather special. I almost feel bad reducing it to an elevator pitch, but honestly it captures the game so perfectly, and communicates exactly what you need to know: It’s Blade Runner meets Papers, Please OK, that’s not quite perfect. This android interrogation simulator is actually an awful lot more involved than…
By John Walker Published May 12, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsHood, A New Multiplayer Heist Game, Is Fine
What if Robin Hood but moodier than a mid-2000s Warped Tour ticket line? That’s the premise of Hood: Outlaws and Legends, a class-based multiplayer heist game based on a dark and stormy version of the Robin Hood folk tale, officially released yesterday for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. (Over the weekend, those who pre-ordered were able…
By Ari Notis Published May 11, 2021 -
OpinionUncharted 4 Has The Perfect Video Game Ending
It’s the fifth anniversary of the release of Uncharted 4, and while the developers are reminiscing over on Naughty Dog’s site, I thought I’d revisit this 2016 story I wrote about the perfect video game ending. There are two endings in Uncharted 4, one right after the other. The first is fairly typical. The second…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 10, 2021 -
OpinionAsk KotakuWhat’s A Favorite Childhood Game That Demands A Remake?
It’s Monday and time for Ask Kotaku, the weekly feature in which Kotaku-ites deliberate on a single burning question. Then, we ask your take. This week we Ask Kotaku: What’s a favorite childhood game that demands a remake? Luke We had enough trouble getting EA to bring back Skate, let alone Skitchin’, but a man…
By Lisa Marie Segarra Published May 10, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsClimb Roblox‘s Giant Man, If You Dare
From Terry Cavanagh, the man behind Super Hexagon, Dicey Dungeons, and VVVVVV, comes a Roblox level about climbing a giant guy that you can play for free right now Anyone can make their own game in Roblox, even celebrated indie developers. Fascinated by the free-to-play game development platform that’s enchanted children of all ages around…
By Mike Fahey Published May 10, 2021