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ReviewsMultiplatformThe Brilliant Outer Wilds Breaks Many Of Gaming’s Unwritten Rules
In the indie sci-fi exploration game Outer Wilds, you play as a four-eyed alien setting off in a rinky-dink rocket on an outer space mission. That’s all very exciting, at least until the sun explodes and demolishes your galaxy. That galactic destruction kicks off a mysterious time loop that brings you back to 22 minutes…
By Maddy Myers Published October 15, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformKiller Queen Black Brings A Perfect Arcade Game Home, With Some Issues
Since its 2013 release, the 90 Killer Queen arcade cabinets scattered across the states have become one of those underground sensations in urban gaming circles and among in-the-know indie connoisseurs. The 10-player competitive game has amassed a cult following, and is often breathlessly described as “perfect” to anyone who asks, “What’s Killer Queen?” If you…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published October 10, 2019 -
ReviewsBoard GamesDetective: City Of Angels: The Kotaku Review
It was raining a hell of a storm outside, windows rattlin’ so hard I thought my teeth were gonna’ shake out. I was halfway through a whisky, thoughts spinnin’, when my office door creaked open. It was her. The dame. The trouble. “Luke,” she said huskily, “I need your help.” Oh. Sorry about that. I…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 9, 2019 -
ReviewsHeadsetsThese Headphones Change Sound Based On Where Your Head Is
The $330 HyperX Cloud Orbit S delivers some of the most impressive sound I’ve ever experienced in a gaming headset. It’s outfitted with Audeze’s 100mm planar magnetic drivers instead of conventional cone drivers but it’s the weird head tracking trick it does that’s impressed me the most. Yeah, the Cloud Orbit S has head tracking,…
By Mike Fahey Published October 9, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformGhost Recon Breakpoint Is An Infuriating Mess
I have never played a game as inconsistent as Ghost Recon Breakpoint. In its finest moments, when the stars align, it delivers stealth action on par with the best in the genre. When it falls apart, as it usually does, a tangled weave of glitches and half-baked systems reveal a game compromised by bland AAA…
By Heather Alexandra Published October 8, 2019 -
ReviewsPS4Concrete Genie Takes Too Long To Get To The Fun Stuff
When I started Concrete Genie, a new PlayStation 4 exclusive out now from Pixelopus, I was swept into its world. The game’s setting is lush and alive, its narrative heartwarming: A latchkey kid named Ash constantly revisits the ruins of Denska, the once-thriving port town he grew up in, to doodle. Denska has been abandoned…
By Natalie Degraffinried Published October 8, 2019 -
ReviewsToys‘My Partner Pikachu’ Is A Cold Hard Plastic Pokénomaton, But I Still Love Him
My Partner Pikachu is not a soft stuffed animal. He is not warm nor is he snuggly. He is an electronic interactive toy. He is plastic, stuffed with circuits, batteries, LED lights, and speakers, all held together with cold metal screws. He makes Pikachu noises while his arms and ears wave and his cheeks glow.…
By Mike Fahey Published October 4, 2019 -
ReviewsPCMagic: The Gathering Arena: The Kotaku Review
Magic: The Gathering Arena isn’t the same as ripping open Magic packs with your childhood best friend on a sunny park bench, but it is the next best thing. The digital card game, available on PC, smooths down the coarser aspects of paper Magic games, making for an easy landing pad for newbies and a…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published September 26, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformFIFA 20 vs PES 2020: Which Is Better?
I can’t remember the last time both of these games so underwhelmed. In recent years both have had their individual highs and lows. FIFA’s last pre-Frostbite seasons were rough, and PES has long been walking a knife’s edge between eccentric brilliance and outright embarrassment. Every time one stumbled, though, the other was there to carry…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 24, 2019 -
ReviewsToysStart Off Your Day With A Bowl Of Legend Of Zelda Lego Cereal
Lego artist Baron Von Brunk, builder of transforming Game Boys and massive working NES controllers, is pioneering a new method of stop-motion animation featuring a mix of custom-built Lego puppets and live-action shots. This new project begins, appropriately enough, with a complete The Legend of Zelda breakfast. Instead of using the iconic Lego minifigure, as…
By Mike Fahey Published September 24, 2019 -
ReviewsPCI Love You, Colonel Sanders!: The Kotaku Review
The difference between I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin’ Good Dating Simulator and the dating sims I’ve enjoyed is sincerity. That’s hard to come by in a game that’s actually about making its players fall in love with the idea of buying fried chicken. Dating games and visual novels in general often find…
By Gita Jackson Published September 24, 2019 -
ReviewsETCFinding A Snake In Your House: The Kotaku Review
I don’t have a problem with snakes, spiders, scorpions or any other small and potentially dangerous creatures that lurk outside. That’s their territory. I get it. But when one of these things comes into my apartment, I find it annoying. It also is a terrible thing to come home to in the middle of the…
By Zack Zwiezen Published September 21, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformBorderlands 3: The Kotaku Review
Take a bag of potato chips—any brand, anywhere—and you more or less know what you’re going to get. Crispy, greasy salt and oil delivered via thin layers of starch, they make a mess of crumbs and grease, and they’re terribly delicious, extremely difficult to stop eating once you’ve caved into the first, and likely to…
By Joshua Rivera Published September 20, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformUntitled Goose Game: The Kotaku Review
The way Untitled Goose Game’s goose moves, I think, is what makes it so endearing. Its self-assured waddle. The way it leans its feathered neck forward, with an almost innocent inquisitiveness, before turning on some poor guy’s sprinklers and drenching him. How it flaps and flutters after its plans have been thwarted by a human,…
By Nathan Grayson Published September 20, 2019 -
ReviewsHardwareGame SystemsNintendo Switch Lite: The Kotaku Review
The Nintendo Switch Lite is one of the finest handheld gaming devices I’ve ever used. It’s sturdy, stylish, and comfortable. It launches with a library that’s already over 2,500 games strong. If all you’re looking for from the Nintendo Switch is personal, portable play, it’s perfect. But is that all you’re looking for? From its…
By Mike Fahey Published September 19, 2019 -
ReviewsSwitchThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening: The Kotaku Review
The best feeling you can possibly feel while playing a video game is the act of swinging a sword in Zelda. I came to this conclusion recently, while playing the new remake of Link’s Awakening and trying to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes me love Zelda games so much. The answer, I think,…
By Jason Schreier Published September 19, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformSayonara Wild Hearts: The Kotaku Review
Sayonara Wild Hearts is a shining example of using a game’s design to say something meaningful while also making it look cool as hell. The game controls simply with the analog stick and a single button. What makes it stand out is its music, its look, and its mood. Sayonara Wild Hearts tells the story…
By Paul Tamayo Published September 18, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformNBA 2K20 MyCareer: The Kotaku Review
NBA 2K20 is one of the best sports games I’ve played in a long time. It’s also a giant scam that is perpetually gross, and sometimes even terrifying, to be around. This might sound weird considering this is a sports game, but 2K’s basketball titles are some of the hardest things I ever have to…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 17, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformGreedfall: The Kotaku Review
In many ways, Spiders’ latest, Greedfall, does what it sets out to do. It provides a role-playing adventure comparable to BioWare’s most compelling narratives, with companions to meet and recruit, quests to discover, and more. But Greedfall’s tendency to settle for the barest possible option constantly weakens it. Whether that is an unwillingness to reckon…
By Heather Alexandra Published September 17, 2019 -
ReviewsControllersBig, Beefy Switch Controllers For Big, Beefy Hands
Joy-Cons are small. They are designed so that Switch can be a sleek, nearly-seamless handheld gaming device. Hori’s Split Pad Pro is what happens when ideas like “small” and “sleek” and “not ridiculous” are tossed out the window. The more I play with them, gripping them in my larger-than-average hands, the less I mind their…
By Mike Fahey Published September 16, 2019