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CultureSplitscreenThe Cyberpunk 2077 Hype Is Just Too Much
In less than one week, everybody in cyberpunk future year 2020 will be playing Cyberpunk 2077. Or at least, that’s the impression I get, based on the fact that it’s all anybody is talking about. Such is the nature of the hype surrounding the robo-armed role-playing sensation: Hardly anybody has played it yet, but they’re…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 4, 2020 -
Tips & GuidesHow To Make Short Work Of Any Enemy In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla isn’t a difficult game. If you venture at all off the beaten path, you’ll quickly accrue enough experience and gain enough Power levels to become an unstoppable Viking tank. Still, some boss fights—and other high-level enemies, like zealots—can be a pain. That is, unless you’ve equipped the best ability in the game:…
By Ari Notis Published December 4, 2020 -
CultureReport: Metal Gear Solid Movie Taps Oscar Isaac To Play Solid Snake
Sony Pictures’ upcoming Metal Gear Solid movie will feature Star Wars and Ex Machina star Oscar Isaac in the lead role of Solid Snake, according to Deadline A silver-screen adaptation of Metal Gear Solid has been in the works for well over a decade. Series creator Hideo Kojima first announced the project at E3 2006,…
By Ian Walker Published December 4, 2020 -
CultureWhat Are You Playing This Weekend?
The weekend is for figuring out what my children want for Christmas aside from “a toy” and “get the fick out of my bedroom.” It’s also for playing video games, and it turns out there are quite a few to play. I find myself with a glut of games I want to play as we…
By Mike Fahey Published December 4, 2020 -
CulturePersona 5 Strikers Comes West On February 23, With A Surprise PC Port
According to an unlisted video on Atlus’ YouTube channel, since pulled, the Dynasty Warriors-style sequel to Persona 5 is finally coming to North America and Europe on February 23, including a release on Steam for PC, along with PS4 and Switch. That’ll wake you up, get you up, and get you out there. Released in…
By Mike Fahey Published December 4, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicStar Ocean: The Second Story’s Killer Final Song Comes Out Of Nowhere
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today we’re listening to “We Form In Crystals,” an absolute banger of a credits song that is way better than it had any right to be. “We form in” what? Yes, “we form in crystals.” I’ve…
By Ethan Gach Published December 4, 2020 -
Kotaku EastSouth KoreaSadly, Atelier Ryza 2 Won’t Get A PlayStation 5 Upgrade In South Korea
Originally announced for the PlayStation 4, Atelier Ryza 2 is also coming to the PlayStation 5 via a free update. In South Korea, as of writing, it’s not. According to the game’s South Korean publisher Digital Touch (via tipster Sang), the company does not have the publishing rights to the PlayStation 5 version. Rather, Digital…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 4, 2020 -
Kotaku EastJapanDitto Makes For An Excellent Pokémon Sofa
When you see that purple amorphous Pokémon blob, don’t you just want to sit on it? Good news, now you can! Ditto (aka Metamon in Japan) has been transformed into a sofa, which makes sense because it can transform into anything. The sofa looks very soft. The Ditto cover can be removed and put in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 4, 2020 -
CultureOdds and EndsThe Monster Hunter Movie Was Inspired By A Metal Gear Solid Collab
When the first trailer for the live-action Monster Hunter movie debut, some fans might have been surprised by the soldiers and military hardware. For director Paul W.S. Anderson, this was not out of left field. It was, he said, organic. During a recent Sony Pictures chat, filmmaker Paul W.S. Anderson was asked why Milla Jovovich’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 4, 2020 -
CultureCross-Platform Gaming Has Been Great
While I’ve already bemoaned the lack of real technological advances in the past console generation, not every innovation of the PS4/Xbox One era had to do with visuals or framerate. One of the quieter revelations, and one of the most forward-thinking, has been the slow adoption of cross-platform gaming, aka crossplay. For as long as…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 3, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsNew Mars Game Isn’t A City-Builder, It’s A Planet-Builder
Per Aspera is a new PC game out this week that has you playing as an AI responsible for terraforming Mars. You’re tasked transforming it from a big cold rock into somewhere humans can walk their dogs outside in a grassy green park. It’s a city-builder in spirit, in so far as you build buildings…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 3, 2020 -
CultureYou Can All Get This Ugly Suit In Arkham Knight Now
Today, Rocksteady Games announced that two obscure skins will finally be obtainable again in its five-year-old superhero adventure Batman: Arkham Knight. The suits in question are the Anime Batman suit and the Zur En Arrh suit, and starting today, after you update Arkham Knight, the suits will be unlocked and playable for free, without any…
By Zack Zwiezen Published December 3, 2020 -
CultureBioWare Studio Head, Dragon Age Producer Both Leave Studio
Casey Hudson is leaving BioWare, again. In a blog post announcing his departure, the creative director of the Mass Effect series and now former studio general manager of BioWare wrote, “I’m incredibly fortunate to have had a career where I’ve been able to work with brilliantly talented people, create entire worlds from our imaginations, and…
By Ash Parrish Published December 3, 2020 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryArdenweald Is The Best Shadowlands Zone And It’s Not Even Close
My Shadowlands experience has been an interesting curve. It started poorly in Bastion, picked up in Maldraxxus, and now, in Ardenweald, I’m at the top of the curve. Everything in this zone—the story, the questing, just being in Ardenweald is WoW at its best. Of all the new zones in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, I…
By Ash Parrish Published December 3, 2020 -
CultureMarkiplier Fans Celebrate His Bowel Movement
Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach is one of the biggest YouTube stars in the world. At almost 30 million subscribers, he’s afforded a level of celebrity that can make even a mundane activity, like taking a dump, a big deal. After a recent stay in the hospital for an intestinal blockage, Markiplier updated his fans on his…
By Ian Walker Published December 3, 2020 -
CultureDemon’s Souls Was Filled With Rubber Duckies During Development
Just like the PlayStation 3 original, the Demon’s Souls remake on PlayStation 5 is a moody, atmospheric game with very little in the way of brightness or joy. But that wasn’t always the case. The staff at Bluepoint Games frequently made use of a rubber ducky model to evaluate aspects of the Demon’s Souls engine…
By Ian Walker Published December 3, 2020 -
CultureRecently Teased Division 2 Mode Won’t Happen After All, ‘A Casualty Of A Tough Year.”
Yesterday, Ubisoft confirmed that an upcoming gameplay event in The Division 2, Codename Nightmare, has been canceled and will not be released as planned this year, Yannick Banchereau, the Associate Creative Director on the game, explained the situation in the latest State of The Game livestream. Codename Nightmare was a planned upcoming special Division 2…
By Zack Zwiezen Published December 3, 2020 -
ReviewsMultiplatformImmortals: Fenyx Rising: The Kotaku Review
Immortals: Fenyx Rising isn’t the game I was expecting. I was prepared for a big Ubisoft open-world action game filled with colorful vistas, Greek gods, and some elements inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild. It is all of that, but it’s not just Assassin’s Creed: Hyrule. It’s a welcome streamlining of…
By Zack Zwiezen Published December 3, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsWorld Of Warcraft Shadowlands’ Alt-Leveling System Is A Refreshing Change
Unlike World of Warcraft’s Legion and Battle For Azeroth expansions, which gave players a choice on which zones to level up their characters, Shadowlands’ story campaign is very linear. Fortunately you only have to play through it once. With the new Threads of Fate mode, players who’ve reached max level can skip the story with…
By Mike Fahey Published December 3, 2020
