QUOTE | “We really don’t like making money off players who are in denial of their addiction. And that’s what a large part of free-to-play gaming is all about.” – Clicker Heroes developer Playsaurus explains why it’s abandoning the free-to-play model for Clicker Heroes 2 QUOTE | “What occurs with ‘loot boxes’ does constitute gambling…
Bungie has announced that it’s changing how Destiny 2 handles experience points. The move comes in response to players who have been raising questions about it over recent days, with a growing consensus that the system was rigged. For a while after starting a new character in Destiny 2, experience points (XP) are what you…
I recently finished the main plot of The Witcher 3. You might have been following my love affair with it through my stories on the topic, or my weekly “What Are You Playing” posts featuring Geralt in various states of undress. My reward for 110 hours of hard work? Accidentally being a terrible dad. This…
A few weeks ago, Kotaku’s community-run blog, TAY, had a theme week with a question, what is your favorite video game world? I’ve always loved the world of Phantasy Star II. It’s a utopian vision of a future where everything is provided for. A big AI computer called Mother Brain has created peace and harmony…
I don’t think a game ever made me laugh so hard. Conker’s Bad Fur Day was developed by Rare in 2001 for the N64 and felt like a satirical middle finger to gaming and film that revels in mocking many of its tropes. It could only come from the creator of platforming classics like Banjo…
Every David Cage game is an experience, from the eerie Indigo Prophecy to the twisted murder mystery of Heavy Rain and the flawed but ambitious Beyond: Two Souls. Released in 2013 for the PS3, Beyond is an interactive drama action-adventure game about Jodie Holmes (played by Ellen Page) who has supernatural powers. This is largely…
The journey of StarTropics was as varied as it was challenging, taking players from the tropical islands of the Coral Sea to the spaceship of an alien conqueror. In many ways, the game is what you’d get if there was an 8-bit version of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker fused together with Indiana Jones,…
Gamers often talk about the convergence of film and games. But in Life Is Strange, some of my favorite moments are the literary allusions because they make the world feel richer and more authentic. That starts with Max’s last name, Caulfield, which is a reference to Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, the…
Gunstar Heroes is side-scrolling shooting sublimated, chaos synchronized into a bullet symphony that makes the game feel very addictive. Created by Treasure, a cove of ex-Konami developers who wanted to develop unique games and follow the philosophy of “anything goes,” Heroes covers the adventures of the Gunstars as they fight against an evil organization that…
In Persona 3 and 4, reality outside of the world of shadows was high school life, social links, and excursions that, for the most part, were enjoyable and light-hearted. In Persona 5, every day life is bleak. Warning, spoilers abound. High School Blues From the opening, the main protagonist is threatened, talked down to, and…
There are many scenes in Terranigma that challenged my notions of morality and how even our well-intentioned decisions can impact a society in ways we couldn’t imagine. It’s arguably one of the most compelling JRPGs ever developed because of those ambiguities, standing as the finale in the Quintet trilogy that includes Soulblazer and Illusion of…
Track: Dead In The Water (Live at RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin) | Artist: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds | Album: Who Built The Moon? Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.
VR Zone Shinjuku, Namco Bandai’s virtual reality arcade in Tokyo, is getting a four-on-four Ghost in the Shell team-based multiplayer shooter. Dubbed Ghost in the Shell Arise: Stealth Hounds, the game straps a PC on players’ backs and outfits them with VR markers, VR googles and an arcade gun. Battles go down in a dedicated…
Earlier in the new Pokémon TV anime series, Pokémon: Sun Moon, Ash was shown as a wimp. He’s always been superhuman strong, so this depiction was a break from tradition. Good news! The most recent episode is a return to form. Herculean Ash is back and stronger than ever. Over the years, the Pokémon anime…
Cabugao Sunset. Ilocos Sur, Philippines. By Martin Tan. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!
Jon Juarez is a freelance artist and illustrator from Spain. You can see more of Jon’s work at his personal site and ArtStation page. You can also buy prints of some of his pieces at his online store To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner.…
DialVision is an unofficial app for the excellent X-Wing miniatures game that works as targeting computer, using augmented reality to project firing arcs and range limits onto the table so you don’t have to fiddle with those rulers all the time.
A team of researchers from the University of Lyon, Purdue and Ubisoft have published a paper showing what may well be the future of creating video game worlds: an AI that is able to construct most of its own 3D landscapes. Similar to Nvidia’s work that is able to conjure its own celebrity mugshots, the…
There are two ways to unlock stuff in Battlefront II. You could pay for it, which sucks, or you could build a sense of pride and accomplishment by constructing a robot to grind progression for you. Lowberg has opted for the latter, whipping up this cute lil’ joke robot that obviously can’t play the game…
Super Mario Galaxy 2’s gameplay is superb, having some of the most creative level design I’ve experienced. Discovering the new rules and parameters of each galaxy is a joy. Yoshi is back. There’s a variety of suits that are available like the Cloud Mario and Rock Suit that mix up the control scheme and the…
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