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CulturePersona 5 Strikers Got Siri’s Original Voice Actor To Play Its In-Game AI
Artificial intelligences like Apple’s Siri have become so ubiquitous in many people’s lives that it’s no wonder the story of Persona 5 Strikers (out today on Playstation 4, Switch, and PC) features its own AI assistant in the form of EMMA. But what you might not immediately notice is that EMMA is played by the…
By Ian Walker Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsInternet Unites For Amazing Mii Channel Song Jam Session
Composer, musician, and YouTuber Alex Moukala let loose a funky, bass-tastic remix of the Nintendo Wii’s Mii Channel theme music on Twitter yesterday and then invited other artists to do the same. The result is an impromptu jam session full of super-talented people showing their love for one of gaming’s quirkiest songs. Moukala, whose music…
By Ethan Gach Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureHitman 3‘s Latest Patch Fixes Incorrect Arabic Text
IO Interactive released the first major patch for Hitman 3 today, bringing with it a raft of changes to the assassination game, including some much-needed updates to the environment. The patch also corrected some Arabic text in the game’s opening level, which was written incorrectly. Shortly after Hitman 3 was released last month, players spotted…
By Ari Notis Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureValheim, As Told By Steam Reviews
I’m getting the impression that maybe, just maybe, Valheim’s five-person development team might be onto something. Since the Viking survival game’s Steam release earlier this month, it’s sold 3 million copies. Over the weekend, more than 500,000 people played it at once. But what do players actually think? That you should avoid falling trees, mostly.…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Will Cost $10 To Upgrade To PS5 And Xbox Series X/S Versions
Last year’s remaster of the first two Tony Hawk Pro Skater games is heading to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch, Activision announced today. Unfortunately, those looking to upgrade their existing copy of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 to the next-gen version will need to shell out an extra $10. The PS5 and Xbox Series…
By Ethan Gach Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureHere’s March 2021’s Xbox Live Games With Gold
It’s going to be March again, or it’s still March—it’s hard to say, but you can mark the impossible passage of time with a new batch of Xbox Live Games with Gold games. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold membership. March’s Games with Gold are: Xbox…
By Riley MacLeod Published February 23, 2021 -
CulturePS4-Exclusive Days Gone Coming To PC This Spring
Open world zombie slaughter sim Days Gone will be the latest first-party Sony game to get ported to PC, British GQ reports in a new interview with Sony Interactive Entertainment boss Jim Ryan. The news was later confirmed on Twitter by Days Gone maker Sony Bend Studio. “What about PlayStation games on PC? A whole…
By Ethan Gach Published February 23, 2021 -
CulturePlayStation’s ‘Play At Home’ Program Returns, Ratchet & Clank Free Next Month
Last year, Sony kickstarted the Play At Home initiative, a program that provided free games to PlayStation players in the hopes of promoting social distancing. Next month, Sony will bring the program back. Play At Home is fueled by a simple logic. The most surefire way to prevent the spread of covid-19 is to keep…
By Ari Notis Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureSony Finally Announces Next-Gen VR For PS5
Fans of Sony’s virtual reality efforts have been wondering what was to become of console-based VR with the launch of the PlayStation 5. Today the company announces that a next-generation virtual reality system is in the works for the PS5, but it’s not going to launch this year. There are no images of fancy next-gen…
By Mike Fahey Published February 23, 2021 -
ReviewsMultiplatformPersona 5 Strikers: The Kotaku Review
It’s now or it’s never, and I’ve got to Make my decision This time it could be my moment Is this a mirage or a chance to fulfill my mission? Between Persona 5 and its Royal variant, I’ve sunk over 200 hours into the Atlus role-playing game series that pits Japanese teenagers against malevolent, would-be…
By Ash Parrish Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureVampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 Delayed Past 2021, Developers Removed From Project, Preorders Halted
The troubled development of the sequel to Vampire: the Masquerade just got a lot more troubled, with publishers Paradox announcing tonight that not only will the game not be released in 2021 as originally planned, but that developers Hardsuit Labs have also been removed from the project. In a statement made as part of Paradox’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2021 -
CultureThe Half-Life 2 RTS Is Finally “Out” After 13 Years Of Development
For over a decade now, a group of fans have been working on Lambda Wars, a real-time strategy game set in the Half-Life universe. Originally a Half-Life 2 mod, and later a standalone beta, the thing is now finished, or as finished as a game ever gets these days, anyway. Having begun development in 2007,…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2021 -
CultureDon’t Worry: There Are Enough Analogue Pockets For Everyone
Last August, many of us missed out on pre-ordering a Pocket, the beautiful all-in-one handheld console from Seattle-based hardware manufacturer Analogue. With a restock now confirmed for 2021, the company has promised to beef up its servers and crack down on resellers to help ensure folks are able to buy the coveted system rather than…
By Ian Walker Published February 22, 2021 -
CultureIncredibly Rare Sega Arcade Game Found Rotting In A Field
Sega’s R360 was perhaps the most bombastic example of the company’s arcade 1980s arcade flex–a cabinet that only supported two games and of which only 200 units were ever made. Those two games were 1990’s G-LOC: Air Battle, followed by Wing War in 1994. While most of of the surviving R360s are being preserved in collections…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2021 -
CultureEpic Settles Real Lawsuit With Fake Money
Fortnite players who purchased one of Save The World’s randomized Loot Llamas will receive 1000 V-Bucks, developer Epic announced today. The move comes as part of a preliminary class action settlement regarding loot boxes. “Whether you were a fan of random item Loot Llamas or not, with preliminary approval for a class action settlement, we’re…
By Riley MacLeod Published February 22, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsHacker Rewrites Crappy SNES Racer To Improve Its Framerate Sevenfold
Brazilian software engineer Vitor Vilela has, for almost a decade, sung the praises of Nintendo’s SA-1 enhancement chip, but never before have the benefits of the souped-up Super Nintendo processor been more obvious than when applied to Race Drivin’, the lackluster 1992 SNES port of Atari Games’ 3D arcade racer that originally ran at a…
By Ian Walker Published February 22, 2021 -
CultureLumines: Electronic Symphony Was Almost Daft Punk Lumines
Daft Punk, the famed French electronic music duo formed in 1993, has broken up. While many of their fans are obviously upset by the news, Q Entertainment producer (and ex-game journalist) James Mielke took the opportunity to share his own fond memories of the musicians, explaining that they were meant to be part of a…
By Ian Walker Published February 22, 2021 -
CultureWhy Diablo IV Is So Obsessed With Ears
Ears. If you watched the debut trailer for Diablo IV’s rogue class, that was your main takeaway—at least, if you’re anything like me. The rogue showed up to “confession” with a big ol’ bag of ears. The priest had a whole darn trophy case of ears. This might have struck you as strange—most regular people…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 22, 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
