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OpinionImpressionsWerewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood Is Dumb Fun ‘90s Me Would Have Loved
A man walks into a room filled with armed employees of an evil corporation that profits off harming the planet. Heavy-metal music kicks in as the man transforms into a fur-covered whirlwind of claws and fangs. One murder-filled moment later the music fades and the beast reverts to human form, quietly exiting the now egregiously…
By Mike Fahey Published February 4, 2021 -
OpinionHere’s How Video Game Embargoes (And Other Restrictions) Work
The recent Cyberpunk 2077 review fiasco has people asking (again) why reviews of big budget games are what they are. Let’s talk about it. This won’t be the first time I’ve covered the topic here. About eight years ago, halfway through the Obama administration, I wrote about the strings attached to many major video game…
By Stephen Totilo Published February 4, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsLatest Division 2 Patch Brings Bland Resident Evil Items And A Beautiful New Next-Gen Framerate
On February 2 The Division 2 received its latest update, Title Update 12.1, which added a bunch of Resident Evil-themed items as part of a new apparel event. More importantly, it updated the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions to run at 60 frames per second, allowing console players to experience The Division 2 at…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 4, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsHelp, I’m Stuck Between Two Very Good New JRPGs
Two new games from two of my favorite Japanese role-playing game series have dropped at the same time, and I am driving myself up a wall trying to give them equal time. It feels like I’ve entered into a polyamorous relationship with Ys IX: Monstrum Nox and Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret…
By Mike Fahey Published February 3, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsDestruction AllStars, A New PS5 Exclusive, Is Fine
You’ve played Destruction AllStars a thousand times. You’ve also never played something like Destruction AllStars. The new multiplayer derby battler from Lucid Games—out today exclusively for PlayStation 5—is both immediately familiar and refreshingly new. After taking it for a spin, my initial feelings for the game are all over the place. Let’s start with the…
By Ari Notis Published February 2, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsControl’s Next-Gen Edition Finally Does Justice To Remedy’s Shooter On Consoles
Control left like it was pushing the last generation of consoles to their breaking points, with loads of performance issues on the old machines. Despite these problems it was a great game, my favorite of 2019. Now, with the next-gen release of Control, many of these problems are gone, and an already-great game is improved…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 2, 2021 -
OpinionAssassin’s Creed Valhalla Gets History Right Where It Matters
If Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is indeed based on historical events like its intro screen says,it is based very loosely. Yet for all its simplification and misrepresentation of the Viking invasions of Britain, there’s one thing the game depicts really well: the idea that England’s history is one of immigration. This hasn’t been a great decade…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 1, 2021 -
OpinionGameStop’s Stock Can’t Save You
GameStop’s rollercoaster ride through the absurd machinery of the stock market has been fun to watch. It sent some of CNBC’s finest minds scrambling to Wikipedia to find out what Reddit is and allowed for Very Serious Thought Leaders to peddle all sorts of pet theories, like blaming GameStop’s unlikely rise on young men not…
By Ethan Gach Published February 1, 2021 -
OpinionAsk KotakuWhat Games Do You Keep Replaying Over and Over?
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 games do you keep replaying over and over? Fahey As I sit here pondering this latest Ask Kotaku question, World of Warcraft is running in…
By Alexandra Hall Published February 1, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsImmortals Fenyx Rising’s First DLC Is Mostly New Puzzles And Not Much Else
On January 28, Immortals Fenyx Rising’s first DLC, A New God, was released. Set after the events of the main game’s original ending, A New God is an odd expansion and epilogue that fans of Immortals might enjoy, but only if you really need more puzzles. Also spoiler warning: I’m going to be talking about…
By Zack Zwiezen Published January 31, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsIt’s A Little Rough Going Back To Older Yakuza Games
We’ve been absolutely spoiled for Yakuza games lately, especially if you’re a newcomer to the series who has been able to leap effortlessly from 0 to the Kiwamis to Like a Dragon. But now that some of the older games are out on PC, those interested in reaching back into the series’ history need to…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 28, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsAssassin’s Creed Valhalla Is Too Damn Long
I finally got around to finishing Assassin’s Creed Valhalla this week. And while I had a great time with the game I also parted ways on a pretty sour note, because like its predecessor, it is just too damn long. There’s a cynical precision to the way modern Ubisoft games are developed. Assassin’s Creed and…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 27, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsThere’s A Lot Of Sonic And Nights In Balan Wonderworld‘s Trippy Demo
Want to spend an hour or so wandering colorful cartoon dreamscapes crafted by the creators of Sonic the Hedgehog? Do you enjoy the sensation of being pleasantly bewildered? If you answered yes to either of those questions you’re going to want to play the demo for Balan Wonderworld. It’s something else. That something else is…
By Mike Fahey Published January 27, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsI Hope Bowser’s Fury Is The Future Of Mario
Bundled with the enhanced port of 2013’s Super Mario 3D World coming to the Switch on February 12, Bowser’s Fury is an open-world side-story that pits Mario against the scariest damn Bowser ever. So far it’s the most fun I’ve had with Mario since Odyssey Bowser’s Fury is a 3D Mario sandbox adventure that would…
By Mike Fahey Published January 27, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Sims 4 Is Now A Horror Game, Thanks To The Paranormal Stuff Pack
Apparently it’s Halloween in winter because The Sims 4 just released its latest DLC, the Paranormal stuff pack, which some fans are calling the Luigi’s Mansion pack. It brings more supernatural elements to the game in the form of haunted houses and a medium skill that allows you to talk to the dead and perform…
By Lisa Marie Segarra Published January 26, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsImmortals Fenyx Rising’s New Netflix Tie-In Quest Isn’t Much, But The Rewards Are Good
Immortals Fenyx Rising received a new, free quest late last week as part of yet another media crossover. This time, it’s with an animated Netflix show called Blood of Zeus. The added quest isn’t very good, but it does have some nice rewards. But you’ll have to act soon to get them. It seems Ubisoft…
By Zack Zwiezen Published January 25, 2021 -
OpinionAsk KotakuHow Did Your Parents Feel About You Playing Video Games?
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: How did your parents feel about you playing video games? Brian My parents had no problem with video games. Granted, they did have a Pong machine…
By Alexandra Hall Published January 25, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsCyber Shadow Is Another Fantastic Homage To Classic NES Games
What 2D side-scroller Cyber Shadow is missing in personality it makes up for with amazing visuals and action sequences that challenge your timing and reflexes without ever feeling tedious or cheap. I’ve been loving my time with its pastiche of classic NES games, even if, so far, its story hasn’t measured up to everything else…
By Ethan Gach Published January 25, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsResident Evil Village’s Demo Made Me Scared Of My Own Footsteps
We got our first bloody taste of Resident Evil Village yesterday courtesy of the Maiden demo, and let me tell you, it does some great things with footsteps. Maiden puts you in control of an unnamed prisoner trying to escape from the dungeons of the foreboding Castle Dimitrescu. This journey to freedom opens with a…
By Ian Walker Published January 22, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsThe End Of My Covenant’s Campaign Is A Good Stopping Point For World Of Warcraft: Shadowlands
After a month and a half of conquering quests, leveling alt characters, and exploring every inch of World of Warcraft’s afterlife, my whirlwind romance with the Shadowlands expansion is starting to fizzle out. Now that my main dwarf Stu has completed his covenant story campaign I’m not finding much motivation to keep playing. To understand…
By Mike Fahey Published January 21, 2021