Reviews Archives - Page 42 of 129

Lord Of The Rings: Journeys In Middle Earth: The Kotaku Review

I’ve been playing a few board games that use an app lately, but Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle Earth is the first one I’ve played that’s been designed from the ground-up with a digital companion in mind. Funnily enough it’s published by Fantasy Flight, source of most of the other app-based games I’ve…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 30, 2019

ReviewsKeyboards

My New Favorite Keyboard Is Cute, Compact, And Completely Customizable

This is the Kira, a lovely 99-key keyboard designed by the passionate independent enthusiasts at Input Club. It’s got a striking, space-saving layout. It’s got per-key RGB lighting. It’s fully programmable. On top of all that, its mechanical switches can be swapped out on the fly without soldering. It’s an everything keyboard that’s been a…

By Mike Fahey Published April 29, 2019

ReviewsSwitch

BoxBoy + BoxGirl: The Kotaku Review

The fourth installment of Hal Laboratory’s puzzle game series about box-shaped characters who can emit boxes from their bodies is tricky to recommend to series veterans, but it is a cinch to suggest to newcomers. For those who haven’t BoxBoy’d before, it should take about 16 to decide if BoxBoy + BoxGirl is something you’ll…

By Stephen Totilo Published April 29, 2019

ReviewsPC

Imperator: Rome: The Kotaku Review

I’ve been wondering for years what a Paradox grand strategy game would look like if it was designed for regular humans, and in Imperator: Rome I have my answer. As long-time readers may know, I’m a big fan of Paradox’s grand strategy games, Crusader Kings II and Hearts of Iron IV especially. They’ve got a…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 25, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

SteamWorld Quest: The Kotaku Review

I never know exactly how I’m going to approach each new battle in SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech. No matter how much I plan and prepare ahead of time, I can’t control the cards that end up in my hand in this turn-based role-playing card game. Perfect optimization is always a few steps out of…

By Ethan Gach Published April 25, 2019

ReviewsPS4

Days Gone: The Kotaku Review

It’s worthwhile to think about the number of people around you who are waiting for the world to end. There are people who must do it for a living: government employees who specialize in disaster relief and crisis response, civil engineers, military personnel—people who must imagine the end to make sure it never comes. But…

By Joshua Rivera Published April 25, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Mortal Kombat 11: The Kotaku Review

2015’s Mortal Kombat X signaled the beginning of an evolutionary turn for Netherrealm Studios’ storied fighting game series, featuring fresh new characters, a compelling story and the ability to select different fighting styles for every combatant. Mortal Kombat 11 continues this evolution, but not every aspect of the game is moving in the right direction.…

By Mike Fahey Published April 24, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Cuphead: The Kotaku Review

Cuphead turns players into perfectionists. The long-awaited hand-drawn action game is full of cartoony boss battles that demand enough precision and focus that even a single hit of damage feels unacceptable. Playing Cuphead is like a stage performance; every mistake is embarrassing, but the curtain call of each defeated boss is like nothing else. This…

By Heather Alexandra Published April 18, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Heaven’s Vault: The Kotaku Review

“Stories don’t have tidy beginnings,” says the main character of Heaven’s Vault, outer space archaeologist Aliya Elasra, at the beginning of the game. “The past is always present.” I was immediately enthralled. I often see people hyper-simplifying history in bad faith and weaponizing it as propaganda, so I was excited to play a game that…

By Nathan Grayson Published April 16, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

The Division 2: The Kotaku Review

A few days after The Division 2 first went on sale and after an initial wave of positive reactions, the game’s players discovered a big problem. Some of the gadgets in this giant Ubisoft game about shooting bad guys in a ravaged Washington DC weren’t working correctly. In battle, I could crouch my pseudo-soldier hero…

By Stephen Totilo Published April 16, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Fortnite Battle Royale: The Kotaku Review

It’s hard to say how Fortnite is turning out because it keeps turning into something else. Skins and storylines come and go. Landmarks appear and disappear. Weapons are added and removed. Recently, a mysterious excavation site appeared, but it was dug up and abandoned by the time I got there the next day. As I’m…

By Riley MacLeod Published April 8, 2019

ReviewsSwitch

Yoshi’s Crafted World: The Kotaku Review

I think I fell in love with Yoshi’s Crafted World when I discovered the costumes. You don’t know cute until you’ve seen Yoshi running around the place in a little shonky cardboard cow outfit. My heart melted. This piece was first published on March 27, 2019. We’re bumping it today for the game’s release. Sweet…

By Keza MacDonald Published March 27, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice: The Kotaku Review

In Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the thread between life and death is tenuous. As the One-Armed Wolf, a loyal shinobi seeking to save a young noble with a cursed bloodline, you traverse a feudal Japan so saturated with the remnants of war that the idea of mortality becomes fickle: dead bodies blending in with the…

By Natalie Degraffinried Published March 26, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Devil May Cry 5: The Kotaku Review

Devil May Cry 5 is a wild mess of demonic magic, blood, brooding twinks, butt rock music, kung-fu homage, and joyous gameplay. By the end of it, I had killed literally thousands of demons and watched struggles of Biblical proportions. The experience itself is a blur, but I know two things for certain. The first…

By Heather Alexandra Published March 8, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Apex Legends: The Kotaku Review

I don’t try to be the best in battle royale games. I don’t troll or anything, but I’m not as concerned with skillful wins as I am with having fun or coming away with an exciting story. But Apex Legends makes me want to try. I also get some great stories in the process. Apex…

By Riley MacLeod Published March 1, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Dead Or Alive 6: The Kotaku Review

Despite several years of being best-known for its sexiness, Dead or Alive has always been a genuinely good fighting game franchise. With a focus on bringing new players into the fold and downplaying its more provocative features, Dead or Alive 6 serves as a strong reminder of the solid gameplay that has always remained at…

By Mike Fahey Published March 1, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Anthem: The Kotaku Review

Every once in a while, a game comes along that that does something surprising, different, memorable. Anthem is not one of those games. Much of this PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC game feels incomplete, while other portions are borrowed from games that did it better. The things that make Anthem special, like flying through…

By Ethan Gach Published February 25, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Trials Rising: The Kotaku Review

I look at my watch. It’s 9:48pm. I’ll do one more Trials Rising track, I think. After that, since I’m only two levels away from the next stadium challenge, I do a few more. The stadium challenge turns out to be a tough bastard that makes me want to bite my controller in half, but…

By Keza MacDonald Published February 25, 2019

ReviewsMultiplatform

Metro Exodus: The Kotaku Review

I take my anxious first steps into a desolate post-winter wasteland. All around me, I hear mutants scratching and snarling. One sights me. Three more follow. I rise to fire my rifle. It jams. I feel frightened, vulnerable, out of sorts. But also, at home, like I’ve stumbled into a lucid dream shared by Far…

By Nathan Grayson Published February 20, 2019

ReviewsPS4

Yakuza Kiwami: The Kotaku Review

The Yakuza series combine deep melodrama with exploration through vibrant city streets. Yakuza Kiwami is a remake that recreates the feeling of the original game, adding new features to streamline the experience. It’s a glorious crime story that benefits from a fresh coat of paint. This piece was first published on August 28, 2017. We’re…

Heather Alexandra & Luke Plunkett Published February 19, 2019