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OpinionAsk KotakuWhat’s The First Setting You Change In Any Game?
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 the first setting you change in any game? Riley I always immediately turn down the mouse sensitivity in any game I play. I’m weird about…
By Alexandra Hall Published March 8, 2021 -
OpinionMario Is Making Animal Crossing Weird For Me
Before Animal Crossing: New Horizons added Mario items on March 1, my island was a pleasant place that was not being stalked by a dead-eyed plumber cosplayer with an axe. I must admit I scoffed when Kotaku contributor John Walker posted about how wrong Animal Crossing villagers looked dressed up in Mario costumes. Surely he…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsPyra Is My New Favorite Sword Main In Smash Bros. Ultimate
I greeted Pyra and Mythra’s announcement last month with a big sigh. Ugh, more sword fighters? It’s my preferred class in Smash Bros. Ultimate, but even I was beginning to get sick of them. After a couple hours with the new duo, however, I’m pleased to announce my initial skepticism was misplaced. Pyra and Mythra…
By Ethan Gach Published March 5, 2021 -
OpinionThank You, Persona 5 Strikers, For This Adult Who Doesn’t Suck
Persona 5 Strikers has been out for a little more than a week, so I feel pretty comfortable saying this: Thank God for Wolf! Wolf (née Zenkichi Hasegawa) is the newest and only adult member of the Phantom Thieves. There are adults who help the Phantom Thieves and keep their secret, but until Strikers, there’s…
By Ash Parrish Published March 5, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsQueen: Rock Tour Is Packed With Great Music, Not Ads And Microtransactions
Queen: Rock Tour is a mobile game that isn’t filled with nasty microtransactions, ads, “energy” timers, or make-believe currencies. Instead, it’s a fun rhythm game that replaces that crap with a ton of classic Queen songs. Released earlier this week for Android and iOS, Queen: Rock Tour is a rhythm game in the same vein…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 5, 2021 -
OpinionPerhaps I Treated You Too Harshly, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Deus Ex: Human Revolution was one of my favourite games of the past decade, a combination of stealth, adventuring and some incredible art design. Yet when its sequel Deus Ex: Mankind Divided hit five years later, I only spent a few hours with it before writing it off and getting on with my life. And…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 4, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsLoop Hero Is A Wonderful New RPG About Overcoming Despair
Loop Hero is a lot of things: an RPG, a roguelite, an auto-battler, a card game, a city builder, an evocative visual novel. It’s also excellent, and I can’t stop playing it. Developed by Four Quarters (maker of 2015’s brilliant behavioral experiment Please, Don’t Touch Anything) and out today on Steam, the appropriately titled Loop…
By Ethan Gach Published March 4, 2021 -
OpinionHey Nintendo, A Few More Requests For That Fancy New Switch
As the latest rumors about the Switch Pro/Super Nintendo Switch fly all about us, everyone is focused on the potential for that Samsung 7″ OLED screen, and just how well it’ll pull off its 4K resolution in docked mode . But if Mario HQ is currently piecing together components, we have a few other requests…
By John Walker Published March 4, 2021 -
OpinionBlockchain Losers Are Spending Millions On What Are Basically Useless Loot Boxes
While gamers rail against loot boxes, and governments around the world edge ever closer to regulating them, connoisseurs of blockchain bullshit are falling over themselves trying to buy digital highlights of basketball players from a platform called “NBA Top Shot”. In effect they’re spending their money on a form of loot box that is even…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 3, 2021 -
OpinionSorry PS5, Xbox Series X Has Unexpectedly Become My Preferred Console
I started this new generation of game consoles with the expectation that I would be playing most games on the PS5, like how I played most stuff on PS4 last gen. But nearly five months later, I’m spending most of my time on the Xbox Series X and now I feel bad, like I’m ignoring…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 2, 2021 -
OpinionTrans Inclusion Means More Than Just Adding Potential Gender Options To Hogwarts Legacy
Upcoming Harry Potter game Hogwarts Legacy will feature some customization options related to gender, according to a report by Bloomberg. It’s a step toward trans inclusion in a game mired in controversy, even if it still shows the limitations of video games’ handling of trans people. Hogwarts Legacy players will reportedly be able to choose…
By Riley MacLeod Published March 2, 2021 -
OpinionAsk KotakuWhat’s Your Favorite Video Game Boss Encounter?
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 your favorite video game boss encounter? Ash Spoilers for Undertale follow. In my hierarchy of the best video game boss fights of all time, nothing…
By Alexandra Hall Published March 1, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsSorry Crazy Taxi Fans, Taxi Chaos Ain’t It
Taxi Chaos is not Crazy Taxi. But it’s trying to be, and it succeeds in some important ways while completely failing in many others. Consider this a warning: Don’t buy Taxi Chaos. But if you do, I can help make the game a bit better. I get why some folks might be tempted to buy…
By Zack Zwiezen Published March 1, 2021 -
OpinionNow That’s How You Do A Damn Game Reveal
After being utterly underwhelmed by BlizzCon, last week’s Nintendo Direct, and yesterday’s PlayStation State of Play, I wasn’t expecting much out of today’s Pokémon 25th Anniversary presentation. But it feels like The Pokémon Company took a good look at the competition and said, “Alright, now watch a master work.” No shade at all to those…
By Ash Parrish Published February 26, 2021 -
OpinionSquare Enix Is Finally Making The Final Fantasy VII Cinematic Universe Playable
Yesterday’s most important Final Fantasy news wasn’t delivered at the end of Sony’s lackluster State of Play livestream presentation but was instead casually tweeted out afterward: a new mobile game called Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is coming. This latest FFVII remix will tell the story not just of the original game but also of…
By Ethan Gach Published February 26, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsBlack Ops Cold War’s Large-Scale ‘Outbreak’ Mode Shakes Up Zombies
Season Two of Black Ops Cold War arrives today, with a new 6v6 multiplayer map, new weapons, more challenges to complete, and another 100-tier battle pass to grind. It also brings the most unique Zombies experience we’ve seen in a while, in the large-scale “Outbreak” Zombies mode. As a part of Black Ops Cold War’s…
By S.E. Doster Published February 25, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsBravely Default 2 Is Another Fun But Flawed Old-School JRPG
Bravely Default 2 is a trip, man. Going in, I thought I knew exactly what this game was, and it turns out I pretty much did—except for all of the tiny moments that occasionally delight, and just as occasionally elicit big, heaving sighs. Every time the familiar old-school JRPG wins me over it follows that…
By Ethan Gach Published February 25, 2021 -
OpinionAsk KotakuWhat Was Your Best-Ever Year For Gaming?
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 was your best-ever year for gaming? John Walker There is only one correct answer to this question, and then there are egregiously wrong ones. The…
By Alexandra Hall Published February 22, 2021 -
OpinionIt’s Weird To See Ryu Use A Gun In Fortnite
Yesterday, after some hints and leaks, Street Fighter characters Ryu and Chun-Li came to Epic’s mega-popular battle royale game, Fortnite. Watching Ryu run around shooting people with an assault rifle is weird. It’s also just one more example of how Fortnite consumes popular characters and franchises without much care or celebration. Guest characters have been…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 21, 2021 -
OpinionIt Would’ve Been OK To Skip This One, Blizzard
Tonight’s keynote for BlizzConline, Blizzard’s virtual showcase, was a tepid hour of previously leaked reveals for World of Warcraft and Diablo, some Hearthstone news, a passing mention of Diablo Immortal, and no Overwatch 2. As we’re fond of saying these days, it could have been an email. To be clear: I get it. 2020 was an…
By Riley MacLeod Published February 19, 2021