Bloodstained Is Goth Fun In An All-Too-Familiar Package

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a very good solution to a problem we haven’t really had for years: a dearth of side-scrolling exploration games with role-playing bells and whistles. The long-gestating, Kickstarted return of celebrated developer and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night mastermind Koji Igarashi, Bloodstained, does fans of haunted cathedrals and combat whips…

Final Fantasy XV‘s Lead Designer’s New Game Is A Love Letter To Live Music

No Straight Roads is a rhythm game inspired by the strong visual storytelling of Psychonauts. Playing it feels like rocking out in front of a surreal, vibrant crowd. At E3 last week, I was able to play a short demo that included the first boss fight, and as someone who also loves live music, I…

Telltale’s Minecraft Currently Costs $700 On Xbox 360 (But You’re Not Supposed To Buy It)

If you really think about it, all video games—dazzling feats of technical mastery assembled over the course of countless man hours—are priceless. But if you think about it even harder, you probably still won’t want to pay $100 for a single episode of the soon-to-be-delisted Minecraft: Story Mode Currently, each episode of the eight-part narrative-driven…

Breath Of The Wild Is Getting A Sequel Because The Team Had Too Many DLC Ideas (And Other Info From Zelda‘s Producer)

Breath of the Wild is getting a sequel because the team had too many ideas for downloadable content, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma told me last week in Los Angeles. We also talked about how the Link’s Awakening remake came about, why Zelda games haven’t offered button remapping, and work conditions at Nintendo. Aonuma spoke…

Astral Chain Director Says It Actually Can Be Two-Player, But It Makes The Game Harder

Platinum Games’ upcoming Nintendo Switch exclusive, Astral Chain, involves controlling two characters at the same time during combat. The game is not necessarily designed to be played by two people at once, but according to Astral Chain director Takahisa Taura, there is a way to do it that he described as both “challenging” and “really…

The Most Comfortable Gaming Headset I’ve Ever Worn

Audio-Technica’s ATH-ADG1X open-air gaming headset has a lot going for it. It’s designed and built by one of the most respected brands in audio. It’s got big 53 mm drivers that create a lovely, large soundstage. It’s even got a decent microphone for a gaming headset. But the best thing about the ADG1X is how…

Fortnite Competition Hosts Help Deaf Teen Player Feel Welcome

During last weekend’s Fortnite Summer Block Party, 13-year-old Deaf streamer Soleil “Ewok”Wheeler played in the event’s Celebrity Pro-Am and met some of her favorite streamers. While it was cool to see a young player have an awesome time, it was even cooler to see a high-profile example of accessibility in gaming. As reported by Dexerto,…

Konami is patching its arcade, Castlevania, and Contra collections today to add Japanese versions of most of the games. It’s also adding button remapping to Castlevania and Contra. Now you can play Castlevania III with the better music.

Here Is What Happens When You Try To Create A 3D Pokémon In 5 Minutes

Here is the number of important things I can do in five minutes: zero. There are zero things that will truly matter to me or anyone else that I can do in five minutes. This is probably true for a lot of people, but it hasn’t stopped Pokémon fans from trying. But Natalie, you might…

The Division 2‘s Developers Have A Plan For Overcoming The Backlash

The people making The Division 2 always expected that their fans would start grumbling about the game. “When we had the very positive feedback at launch, we knew there would be a moment where the honeymoon would be over and people would start scratching beneath the surface,” the game’s live content manager, Yannick Banchereau, told…

Preparing For Final Fantasy XIV’s Upcoming Expansion Has Killed Me

Final Fantasy XIV’s next expansion, Shadowbringers, is available for early access next Friday. In the short time left from now to then, I’ve been furiously sprinting to level characters and blaze through story content so that I can have everything perfectly in place for the launch. It’s a process that’s pushed me to my limits,…

King of Fighters veterans Mai Shiranui and Kula Diamond are now available as DLC fighters for Dead or Alive 6. The pair fit perfectly into the game, though so far I prefer the quick strikes of the blue-haired Ice Doll to Mai’s fiery fan attacks. Both are free for season pass owners, $7.99 apiece to…

How One Large Game Studio Avoids Crunch

How does the Chicago-based studio Iron Galaxy maintain a healthy work-life balance for all of its employees? On Kotaku Splitscreen, we talk to founder and Giant Bomb jokeman Dave Lang about his leadership philosophies and how Iron Galaxy avoids crunch. Last week in Los Angeles, I sat down with Lang to talk about founding Iron…

In Planet Zoo, You Can Only Get Good By Learning Facts About Animals

Planet Zoo is the latest simulator from Frontier Developments, the creators of Roller Coaster Tycoon and the recent Planet Coaster. In this one, you’re building a zoo and making sure all the animals are well cared for, which comes with unexpected challengers for players used to making theme parks. Modern zoos have a strong focus…

Shark Role-Playing Game Maneater Is Like Grand Theft Auto, Of All Things

“Picture Grand Theft Auto, but as a shark,” game designer Bill Munk said near the end of a demonstration of Maneater at E3 in Los Angeles last week. Well, not quite. There are no cars to jack. There are no radio stations. Although, the designers have considered letting the shark get drunk, if it eats…