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Developer Releases Vita Game With Easy Trophies So ‘A Lot Of People Buy It’
Little Adventure on the Prairie released last February on both PS4 and Vita. It’s not good. The game consists of walking from left to right, pressing the X button to swing a sword at everything you run into, and occasionally hopping over invisible snags in the level geometry. Its creator didn’t need it to be…
By Ethan Gach Published July 27, 2018 -
CultureShadow Of The Colossus Player Rips Through 16 Giants In 36 Minutes
Shadow of the Colossus battles are supposed be dangerous clashes against massive foes, but a new boss rush world record highlights some intense climbing tricks and AI foolery that turns the game’s iconic beasts into pushovers. The boss rush speedrun was completed by ChurchNEOH using the current-gen HD remake, but many of the techniques work…
By Heather Alexandra Published July 19, 2018 -
Top Gaming People Say Streaming That Frees High-End Games From Requiring High-End Hardware Is The Next Big Thing
Whenever I’ve interviewed a games industry executive over the past few months, I’ve asked them what single thing will revolutionize video games in the next five years. I was expecting a range of answers: game development becoming more accessible, perhaps, or games finding bigger markets in the developing world, or a technology innovation like VR/AR…
By Keza MacDonald Published July 19, 2018 -
Hands-On With Days Gone: Fun, But Kind Of Generic
Yesterday, I checked out a handful of upcoming PlayStation games and finally got to play Days Gone. Zombie apocalypses seem a dime a dozen these days, and while the setting and characters felt generic, the teeming zombie hordes are some of the most terrifying I’ve ever faced. Days Gone is an upcoming action-survival game by…
By Heather Alexandra Published July 18, 2018 -
PSN is experiencing outages related to online gaming and social features. A notice on the official status page reads “You may have some difficulty launching games, applications, or online features.” According to some, games affected include Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, and others. [Update – 10:44pm]: It’s working.
By Ethan Gach Published July 12, 2018 -
Did You Know That Uncharted’s Damage Meter Is Actually ‘Luck’?
A tweet from a Naughty Dog animator helps explain how the heck Uncharted’s Nathan Drake can survive getting shot at so much. Pointing back to a little-known design factoid reminds players that Drake isn’t a massive bullet sponge—he’s just really lucky. Naughty Dog animator Jonathan Cooper brought up this piece of gaming trivia on Twitter…
By Heather Alexandra Published July 9, 2018 -
Heavy Rain Headlines July’s PlayStation Plus Lineup
I’ve never actually played a David Cage game; I end up watching them on YouTube since they’re already so cinematic. Could Heavy Rain’s inclusion in July’s PS Plus lineup change my trend? (Probably not.) As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active PlayStation Plus subscription. July’s PlayStation Plus lineup is: PlayStation 4…
By Riley MacLeod Published June 27, 2018 -
CultureE3The Upcoming Painting Platformer Concrete Genie Comes From A Different Kind Of PlayStation Studio
As with most games shown at E3 a couple of weeks ago, it’s too soon to say if Concrete Genie will be what its demo hints that it can be. But it’s clear that it’ll be an easy game to root for. There’s the good: It’s a magical-looking game featuring a boy named Ash who…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 25, 2018 -
OpinionThis PlayStation-Inspired Arcade Game Is Scarier Than It Looks
OK/NORMAL is an experimental arcade game by Toni Kortelahti that embraces the visuals of early PlayStation games. The game, which captures the strange and abstract worlds of mid-90s 3D, is one of several new indie titles that embrace a new form of “retro” aesthetics. It’s an oppressive, bizarre, and overwhelming game whose glitch spaces are…
By Heather Alexandra Published June 20, 2018 -
Skull & Bones Is More Of A Pirate Version Of Destiny Than It Initially Appeared
For the last year, I’ve been confused about Ubisoft’s upcoming pirate game. Perhaps you have been as well. Skull & Bones, to be released in 2019 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, debuted at last year’s E3 as an apparent offshoot of the pirate adventures in 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, except without the…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 20, 2018 -
CultureE3Ghost Of Tsushima‘s Director On The Risks Of Making Something New
In an room in need of air conditioning in the Los Angeles Convention Center last week, game developer Nate Fox held out his left hand, palm down, paused and then slapped the top of it with his right. “Do you know—[slap]—that?” he asked. He wasn’t sure the name of the playground game he was referencing,…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 18, 2018 -
CultureE3Seeing The Resident Evil 2 Remake In Action Soothes My Skeptical Heart
When Resident Evil 2 released in 1998, it had to follow up on a game that defined a new genre of horror. Not only did it manage to improve the formula, it went on to be what many people consider the best game in the series. After a long stretch with no new information besides…
By Heather Alexandra Published June 15, 2018 -
CultureE3Ubisoft’s Starlink Is Surprisingly Cool, With Or Without Star Fox
Starlink: Battle For Atlas isn’t a Star Fox game. Nintendo’s furry pilot and his famous Arwing fighter are in the Switch version and—I hope you’re sitting down—not in the Xbox One and PS4 versions. It’s not even fully a toys game, a la Skylanders or Disney Infinity, because it turns out you don’t even need…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 13, 2018 -
CultureE3Overcooked 2 Lets You Crash A Restaurant Into Another Restaurant
The co-op cooking game Overcooked 2 was one of the featured third-party announcements during Nintendo’s E3 presentation this year. After playing it, I understand why. While others on the Kotaku team have been praising the first Overcooked for a while, I hadn’t had the time (or, sniff, the friends) to play it. At E3, after…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 13, 2018 -
Nike’s PlayStation Sneakers Are Back [Update]
Nike’s original and super-limited 2006 release of some PlayStation-branded AF1s became something of a cult classic, so this week they’re bringing them back. Update June 12 – Added official images from Nike. I always thought they looked like clown shoes myself, and they’re not a patch on Nike’s other PlayStation effort for 2018, the light-up…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 12, 2018 -
CultureE3
Podcast: We React To Sony And Nintendo At E3 2018
The E3 press conferences are over, and there’s a lot to talk about. Maybe not as much as we were hoping for, but still a lot. On this third episode of Kotaku Splitscreen’s E3 coverage, Jason and I talk through our feelings on Sony’s big show last night and Nintendo’s Smashstravaganza this morning. We also…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 12, 2018 -
CultureE3Swinging Through New York City As Spidey Feels Effortless
The New York Insomniac created for Spider-Man is just about everything I’ve hoped for since the 2001 Sam Raimi movie with Tobey Maguire. The buildings are all very tall, divided between glass skyscrapers and old brick high rises. In between, there are alleyways bathed in the warm glow of a setting sun that never seems…
By Ethan Gach Published June 12, 2018 -
CultureE3Everything Sony Showed At E3 2018
Tonight at Sony’s PlayStation E3 press conference, they showed off a handful of games including The Last of Us Part II, some more Spider-Man, and the gorgeous-looking Ghost of Tsushima. They also announced Nioh 2. Good night for samurai games! The show was logistically odd, as attendees were herded through a couple of different locations…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 11, 2018 -
CultureE3Samurai Game Ghost of Tsushima Is Gorgeous
Sony showed the first gameplay of the upcoming samurai action game Ghost of Tsushima at their E3 2018 press conference this evening. It was a beautiful ballet of swords and arrows. First announced at last year’s Paris Games Week, Ghost of Tsushima is the next game from Infamous studio Sucker Punch Productions, and it’s looking…
By Eric Van Allen Published June 11, 2018 -
CultureE3Watch Sony’s E3 2018 Press Conference Here, Live [Update: Over]
We’ve got more E3 with Sony’s press conference at 6pm PT/9pm ET. We’re looking forward to more Spider-Man, The Last of Us Part 2, and maybe some Death Stranding You can watch at YouTube, below, or on Twitch
By Riley MacLeod Published June 11, 2018