-
ReviewsMultiplatformFinal Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers: The Kotaku Review
Shadowbringers, the latest expansion to Final Fantasy XIV, released two months ago, and I cannot begin to fathom the amount of time I have spent in the worlds of Eorzea and Norvrandt. Shadowbringers is one of Final Fantasy’s finest stories, buoyed by powerful music and sweeping gameplay changes that make job classes sleek and enjoyable.…
By Heather Alexandra Published September 13, 2019 -
ReviewsToysI Have Several Issues With This Year’s Halloween Pokémon Toys
Pikachu as Mimikyu. Charmander as Cubone. Lucario and Celebi as live-action role-players. This year’s batch of special Halloween-themed “Pumpkin Parade” plushies from The Pokémon Company are adorable at first glance. But if you look closely, the cute facade begins to crumble. Let’s start with Charmander wearing another Pokémon’s dead mother’s skull as a costume. Depending…
By Mike Fahey Published September 13, 2019 -
ReviewsSwitchDaemon X Machina: The Kotaku Review
Daemon X Machina, out September 13 from Marvelous, is a game about gigantic customizable mechs. Here is another way to describe it: the worst filler episode of your favorite anime series. It is a mess of a game, with a story mode chock full of unintelligible cutscenes, repetitious anime tropes, and a core of mech…
By Natalie Degraffinried Published September 13, 2019 -
ReviewsToysLego’s Gingerbread House Holds Disturbing Secrets
Every year around this time, Lego unveils the latest expansion to its ever-growing Winter Village line of sets and I bemoan not having a massive basement to deck out in blocky holiday cheer. This year’s addition, the $100 Gingerbread House, looks like the perfect standalone piece for brick fans with limited room. Whereas sets like…
By Mike Fahey Published September 12, 2019 -
ReviewsHardwareGame SystemsSega Genesis Mini: The Kotaku Review
Sega was always more loved than it was successful. At no point was the maker of the Genesis and Dreamcast the worldwide leader in video games. When it succeeded in America, it fell short in Japan, and vice versa. The Genesis Mini is an encapsulation of that moment when it came closest to victory—a reminder…
By Chris Kohler Published September 12, 2019 -
ReviewsXBoxGears 5 Campaign: The Kotaku Review
Gears 5 has the longest and most ambitious campaign that Gears of War has ever done and, for the most part, that ambition pays off. In a series first, the story focuses on a female character, putting the player in a woman’s shoes for the majority of the game. Gears 5 heroine Kait Diaz’s journey…
By Maddy Myers Published September 10, 2019 -
ReviewsToysThis Fallout Vault Boy Figure Is A Whole Mood
Good Smile Company’s newly announced Nendoroid Vault Boy action figure includes four different faces and several arm and leg pieces for Fallout’s famous mascot. Seems like a waste to me. They had me at angry middle finger. Just look at that face. The brow. The frown. The entire posture just screams sass. I am not…
By Mike Fahey Published September 10, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformMonster Hunter World: Iceborne: The Kotaku Review
2018’s Monster Hunter: World was a successful update to the long-running beast-slaying series. Fully functioning ecosystems and updated combat crafted an experience where each battle was a unique challenge even after hundreds of hours. World’s latest expansion, Iceborne, is massive. Building up a solid framework, it brings dozens of new monsters and ups the difficulty…
By Heather Alexandra Published September 6, 2019 -
ReviewsBlair Witch: The Kotaku Review
You can find an explainer for just about anything these days. Search for the title of any game, movie, or TV show in recent memory plus the word “ending” and you’ll find a video of someone explaining it. It doesn’t even have to be an ambiguous work like Bloodborne: This summer’s Spider-Man: Far From Home,…
By Joshua Rivera Published September 5, 2019 -
ReviewsSwitchAstral Chain: The Kotaku Review
“Action game.” That’s what Astral Chain’s publisher Nintendo calls it. That’s what its developer Platinum Games calls it. That’s what we called it when we first reported on its existence. But Astral Chain is so much more than just an action game. I’d go as far as saying that “action game” is the least of…
By Mike Fahey Published August 30, 2019 -
ReviewsControllersThe Scuf Prestige Is The Next Best Thing To The Xbox Elite Controller
In 2015, Atlanta-based Scuf Gaming licensed its patented controller technology to Microsoft, resulting in the creation of the outstanding Xbox Elite Wireless Controller. Scuf’s new Prestige controller for the Xbox One and PC incorporates a lot of the same technology, as well as the option for customization. It’s quickly become my second favorite Xbox One…
By Mike Fahey Published August 29, 2019 -
ReviewsPCEliza: The Kotaku Review
Eliza, a visual novel from development studio Zachtronics, revolves around a therapy service of the same name, powered by machine learning. At one point in the story, an old woman who visits Eliza—mostly to have someone to talk to—unknowingly signs over access to her emails and text messages. As Eliza’s proxy, Evelyn Ishino-Aubrey, I read her…
By Gita Jackson Published August 29, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformMan Of Medan: The Kotaku Review
Man Of Medan is a perfect game to play while huddled around with friends during Halloween, but pacing issues and technical problems keep it from being truly great. Man of Medan is a horror game about a group of rich idiots going somewhere they’re not supposed to go. Alex and his nerdy brother Brad are…
By Gita Jackson Published August 28, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformAncestors: The Humankind Odyssey: The Kotaku Review
If this is where humanity came from, no wonder we’re so messed up. Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is designer and director Patrice Désilet’s first published game since he left the Assassin’s Creed series—which he played a massive role in creating—almost a decade ago. It is also one of the most ambitious games I’ve ever played,…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 27, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformKnights And Bikes: The Kotaku Review
Knights and Bikes follows two young girls growing up in the ’80s, but it’s not about a specific generation’s childhood as much as childhood in general. Its two young characters aren’t immune to the grim reality that swirls around their fantasy of heroes and monsters. It celebrates childhood without stumbling into nostalgia, and it’s earnestly…
By Riley MacLeod Published August 27, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformControl: The Kotaku Review
Control is the latest game from the makers of Max Payne, Alan Wake, and Quantum Break. It’s a twisted, haunting odyssey through an old post-WWII office building under siege by parasitic beings from another dimension. Control has all the standard elements of a regular third-person shooter, but its exhaustive world building and all-consuming eeriness make…
By Ethan Gach Published August 26, 2019 -
ReviewsHardwareComputersLook At This Gosh-Darn Pretty Gaming PC
If I wanted to, I could put together a gaming PC with many of the same parts as this desktop by boutique system builder CLX, but I could never make it look as good. From the striking patterned pink outer shell to the gleefully glowing innards, CLX knows how to make a gaming rig look…
By Mike Fahey Published August 22, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformOninaki: The Kotaku Review
When I first played the demo for Oninaki, an action role-playing game out tomorrow from Lost Sphear and I Am Setsuna creators Tokyo RPG Factory, I was optimistic. The gameplay wasn’t particularly captivating, but the story seemed unique and dark enough for me to push through the repetitive combat. Unfortunately, by the time I finished…
By Natalie Degraffinried Published August 21, 2019 -
ReviewsToysI Love Designing My Own Controllers
A couple of weeks ago, my go-to Xbox One controller got into an altercation with a 470-pound electric wheelchair and lost. After spending hours browsing online stores for the perfect pre-built replacement, I decided to return to Microsoft’s Xbox Design Lab and make my own. It’s blue, pink, and yellow and uniquely mine. I love…
By Mike Fahey Published August 20, 2019 -
ReviewsToysLego’s Motorized Disney Train Set Looks Like It Just Pulled Out Of The Park
Chugging onto store shelves on September 1, the Lego Disney Train and Station set is more than just a $330 piece of buildable Disney memorabilia. It’s a working train set made up of 2,925 Lego bits and controllable via a smartphone app. The Lego Disney Train and Station are part of Lego’s “Powered Up” line…
By Mike Fahey Published August 13, 2019