Reviews Archives - Page 45 of 128

WarioWare Gold: The Kotaku Review

The first time I ever played a WarioWare game, I was drunk. Even so, I remember it pretty well. It was March of 2003, and I was living in Kyoto, Japan, about a 20-minute walk from the building where they made WarioWare. Every so often, I’d take the train down to nearby Osaka to meet…

By Chris Kohler Published August 2, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

Chasm: The Kotaku Review

I went into Chasm searching for something that would knock me on my ass. What I found was entertaining, but nothing more. Plenty of secrets, hidden dangers, and mysterious evils lurk deep within Chasm’s side-scrolling labyrinth, which is made lively and vibrant thanks to some truly amazing pixel art. Halfway through 2018 though, there’s almost…

By Ethan Gach Published August 1, 2018

ReviewsPS4

Yakuza 0: The Kotaku Review

You no longer have an excuse not to play a Yakuza game. I’ve been telling people for years to try this series, all the while knowing deep down that I was asking the impossible. I mean…jumping into such a lore-heavy franchise at its 4th and 5th entry, hundreds of hours deep into conspiracies and personal…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 1, 2018

ReviewsSwitch

Octopath Traveler: The Kotaku Review

Eight people gather in a tavern, swapping stories and preparing for adventure. It’s not clear why they’re traveling together—there’s a pious cleric and a murderous dancer in this odd crew—but they’ve united nonetheless. As they wander across the world, each of these people gets their turn to take the reins. In one city the hunter…

By Jason Schreier Published July 12, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

Hollow Knight: The Kotaku Review

In Hollow Knight, looks can be deceiving. A sad little lamplit town may hide the entrance to a beautiful buried kingdom. A towering knight might turn out to be a sad, small thing in outsized armor. An onrushing green beast may actually be a wee creature disguised by a pile of leaves. And a simple-looking…

By Kirk Hamilton Published July 5, 2018

ReviewsBoard Games

Terraforming Mars: The Kotaku Review

Mars is inhospitable. Let’s change that. Terraforming Mars is not a new game, having been released in 2016, but I still thought it was worth reviewing here in 2018 because a) I just played it and b) it’s so damn good A game for 1-5 players, Terraforming Mars puts players in control of futuristic corporations…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2018

ReviewsBoard Games

Giant Killer Robots: Heavy Hitters: The Kotaku Review

I’ve played plenty of board games that are better than GKR, but I don’t think I’ve ever played one that’s cooler than GKR Giant Killer Robots: Heavy Hitters is the first board game designed by the guys at WETA, the art and effects house you probably know from stuff like Lord of the Rings, Mad…

By Luke Plunkett Published May 31, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

Chrono Trigger: The Kotaku Review

In the mid-nineties, at the approach of the millennium, the creators of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest combined their considerable talents in the hopes of creating the ultimate Japanese role-playing game. What resulted was Chrono Trigger, considered not only one of the best games of the era but also one of the high-water marks for…

By Chris Kohler Published May 31, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

Pillars Of Eternity II: The Kotaku Review

Toward the end of my time with pirate RPG Pillars of Eternity II, one of my crew members, foul-mouthed furball Serafen, presented me with a gift. It was a garment meant to be worn by a captain, he said, but after witnessing me pass so many difficult moral tests with flying colors, he’d decided captaining…

By Nathan Grayson Published May 29, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

Dark Souls Remastered: The Kotaku Review

When Dark Souls released in 2011, it helped solidify a new genre of action RPG. Since then, players have held onto the game, with fight clubs and massive, yearly revisitations. Dark Souls is more ritual than game at this point, and it was only inevitable that we’d get a remaster. I think I’m okay with…

By Heather Alexandra Published May 29, 2018

ReviewsPS4

Detroit: Become Human: The Kotaku Review

The PS4’s latest blockbuster moviegame Detroit: Become Human is like something my Alexa would come up with, were I to ask her to write a story about androids with feelings. As I imagine it, the vaguely sinister, sporadically helpful digital assistant that currently resides on my desk would quickly synthesize a bunch of pop sci-fi…

By Kirk Hamilton Published May 24, 2018

ReviewsXBox

State Of Decay 2: The Kotaku Review

It’s easy to get in over your head in the open-world zombie survival game State of Decay 2 A call for help came in over the radio, and my follower and I set out for a nearby farmhouse. We had plenty of ammo, full health, and brand new melee weapons. The sun was shining brightly.…

By Stacie Ponder Published May 22, 2018

ReviewsSwitch

Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition: The Kotaku Video Review

Hyrule Warriors came out for the Nintendo Wii U in 2014. It came out for the Nintendo 3DS in 2016. In 2018, Nintendo finally looked “Hyrule Warriors” up in the dictionary. That’s my joke about the word “definitive”! Don’t worry. I, uh, I won’t make another one, much as I would like to. A Musou…

By Tim Rogers Published May 16, 2018

ReviewsPC

Spy Party: The Kotaku Early Access Review

Someone is a spy and you need to take them out. There’s only thirty seconds left for them to bug the ambassador and complete their mission. You see movement out of the corner of your eye? Is that balding man reaching towards the ambassador’s pocket? You take the shot and the party goers scream. Over…

Gita Jackson & Heather Alexandra Published April 20, 2018

ReviewsSwitch

Nintendo Labo: The Kotaku Review

The first question you might have about Labo is: what’s so special about a box of cardboard and some mini-games? And the first thing to understand about Labo is that what’s actually in the box is only part of the appeal. What’s more valuable is what this tiny cartridge and its accompanying sheets of cardboard…

By Keza MacDonald Published April 20, 2018

ReviewsPS4

God Of War: The Kotaku Review

There’s a telling scene very early on in the new God of War, in the denouement of an exhausting battle sequence that ends with Kratos and his young son Atreus taking down a massive troll. Dad’s done most of the work, with the arrows fired from Atreus’s bow only contributing a bit of damage to…

By Chris Kohler Published April 20, 2018

ReviewsPS4

Yakuza 6: The Kotaku Review

Yakuza 6 is a game of firsts. It’s also a game of lasts. It’s a first because, having creaked along using outdated tech for a number of recent releases, Yakuza 6 is the first game in the series to feel truly “next-gen” thanks to its new “Dragon” (of course it’s called that) engine. You might…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 17, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

Sea Of Thieves: The Kotaku Review

Playing Sea of Thieves feels a bit like working in a theater before the set has been completely built. There’s plenty of space to goof around and a few swords in the wings to have mock fights with, but none of its quite ready for show time. A lack of features and polish has frustrated…

By Heather Alexandra Published April 6, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

A Way Out: The Kotaku Review

A Way Out merges narrative games with couch co-op, and the result is a smart and emotional experience so good that it had to be reviewed by two Kotaku writers. We’ve never played a cooperative experience like it. The game cannot be played alone. It takes two players to guide a pair of convicts, a…

Heather Alexandra & Gita Jackson Published March 26, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

Far Cry 5: The Kotaku Review

I’ve spent a long time trekking across Far Cry 5’s fictional Hope County, Montana fighting the members of an apocalyptic cult led by a man called Joseph Seed, and I’m still not sure what their deal is. They drive around blasting weird Christian synth and shooting non-members on sight. It’s weird and terrifying and unsatisfyingly…

By Ethan Gach Published March 26, 2018