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OpinionBig Game Publishers Are Retreating Into The Safety Of Hollywood’s Back Catalog
This week, the video game industry got a fresh infusion of boomer energy with the announcement of a new Indiana Jones game. Meanwhile, there’s also a James Bond game in the works, and Ubisoft announced it’s working on an open world Star Wars game—the first in a possible flood of new games taking place in…
By Ethan Gach Published January 14, 2021 -
CultureUbisoft Massive Is Making An Open World Star Wars Game
Ubisoft is partnering with the the newly launched Lucasfilm Games to make an open world game based in the Star Wars universe, Wired reports. This apparently signals the end of EA’s previous exclusivity deal regarding the development of Star Wars video games. Ubisoft Massive, the studio behind The Division, will be leading development on the…
By Ethan Gach Published January 13, 2021 -
From Pokémon To Studio Ghibli, Here Are Excellent Snow Sculptures
In the Northern hemisphere it’s cold! Some places are seeing snow, which might mean snowball fights and snowmen. For one Twitter user in Japan, the freezing precipitation means excellent sculptures. Each winter, Twitter user Mokomoko_2015 turns into a yuki daruma shokunin (雪だるま職人) or “snowman artisan.” The creations are typically anime, game, and movie-themed. Check out…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 13, 2021 -
CultureThe Lucasfilm Games Name, At Least, Is Back
LucasArts is dead, but for some reason, the powers behind The Brands have decided that the company’s previous name—Lucasfilm Games—is something that needs to be resurrected, so will now be on the box and the ends of trailers for every Star Wars game going forward. The announcement of the brand’s return means it is “now the…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 11, 2021 -
CultureStar Wars: Squadrons Is Getting A New Map And More Ships
While definitely not a live service game, Star Wars: Squadrons is getting more DLC this holiday season, including a ship called the TIE Defender. The game’s development team announced two more free updates coming to the game over on EA’s website, and provided preview of what players can expect to find added to the game…
By Ethan Gach Published November 18, 2020 -
CultureStar Wars: Squadrons Is Getting Baby Yoda Bobbles And Not Much Else
True to EA Motive’s word, there doesn’t seem to be any big DLC on Star Wars: Squadrons’ horizon. Instead, the space fighter will be getting a handful of cosmetics later this week, including a Baby Yoda bobblehead. The new dashboard décor was revealed in today’s Mando Monday livestream, a digital showcase full of interviews and…
By Ethan Gach Published October 26, 2020 -
ReviewsToysThe Mandalorian Season 1, Retold With Action Figures
With the second season of The Mandalorian about to start, maybe you need a refresher on what went down in the first season. And maybe you need it in the form of…action figure dioramas? Sure, why not. These photos are the work of Matthew Cohen, who you might remember we featured earlier in the year.…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 20, 2020 -
CultureStar Wars: Squadrons Players Want Star Wars: Squadrons Players To Stop Ramming Ships
Crashing spaceships into each other is fun, but some Star Wars: Squadrons players would rather you focus on completing the mission than recreating your childhood fantasies. Star Wars: Squadrons features large fleet battles between small fighters, mid-ranged frigates, and large capital ships. It has its problems, but the game is full of small touches in…
By Ethan Gach Published October 12, 2020 -
OpinionStar Wars: Squadrons Is Exactly What I Needed
In 2013, Electronic Arts signed a deal granting them the exclusive rights to develop and publish Star Wars video games. For most of that time, sitting on the most lucrative licensing on the planet, they managed to release…three games, and cancelled at least three more That’s a terrible return! After years of neglect from a…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 8, 2020 -
Tips & GuidesTips For Playing Star Wars: Squadrons
Star Wars: Squadrons is here and it’s pretty damn good, especially if you enjoy space combat and yelling out Star Wars references in the middle of battles. But it can also be a hard or frustrating game to wrap your head around at first, so here are some tips I’ve picked up after playing and…
By Zack Zwiezen Published October 3, 2020 -
ReviewsMultiplatformStar Wars: Squadrons: The Kotaku Review
While plenty of games over the last few years have let lightsaber and blaster fans live out their dreams, it’s been a while since a big Star Wars game focused exclusively on starships and space combat. Thankfully for more dogfight-obsessed fans, the newly released Star Wars: Squadrons lets you become an ace pilot for both…
By Zack Zwiezen Published October 2, 2020 -
The Sims Fans Really Wanted Kylo And Rey To Make Babies
The new Star Wars content for The Sims 4 looked good, but there was a catch: you couldn’t smooch the Star Wars characters. Or at least, you couldn’t officially. Modders have found a way around this so quickly you’d think their lives depended on it. As Eurogamer report, modders on The Sims forums have approached…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 9, 2020 -
CultureOdds and EndsFinally, You Cowards Put Yaddle In A Star Wars Game Trailer
And so, nearly two years after I first lamented the absence of the great Yaddle from ALL the Star Wars games, my suffering has ended. Finally, those cowards have released the first in-game footage of Yaddle from 2021’s LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. During Gamecom’s Opening Night Live event today, we got a bunch…
By Zack Zwiezen Published August 27, 2020 -
Star Wars Comes To The Sims 4 September 8
Come September 9, scouring the mod scene to turn your Sims into Jedi and Stormtroopers becomes a thing of the past. The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu game pack will give players the chance to officially make their own Star Wars story. Your Sims will jump into the conflict between the Resistance and…
By Mike Fahey Published August 27, 2020 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Has The Best ‘Squeezing Through Narrow Passage’ Moments
I, uh, have to make a confession: I like those moments, now ubiquitous in modern gaming, where you squeeze through narrow passageways that obviously exist just to hide asset loading. Not sure why, to be honest. Maybe it’s Freudian? In any case, what I do know is that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has the…
By Ian Walker Published August 10, 2020 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Hate This Rope In Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
I don’t think I’ve ever been as frustrated with an inanimate object in a video game as I have with this goddamn rope in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order I’ve been messing around with Fallen Order in brief spurts since it launched last November, but only recently set my mind to a serious playthrough. It’s…
By Ian Walker Published August 5, 2020 -
ReviewsBoard GamesAssault On Hoth: The Empire Strikes Back: The Kotaku Review
Let’s go back in time. Not to 1980, when Empire Strikes Back came out, that’s too far. We’re going to 1988, when West End Games, a company famous at the time for its RPGs and hardcore wargames, released a two-player board game called Assault on Hoth, which I have just played in 2020 and will…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 20, 2020 -
CultureOdds and EndsThe Last Jedi’s Director Made A Pokémon Go Trailer
Pokémon Go has made over $3 billion since launching back in 2016, and that kind of money means you can just walk out and hire Star Wars director Rian Johnson to direct a 30-second commercial for your phone game. Specifically it’s for Pokémon Go Fest 2020, and if you’re wondering whether this was a flex…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 7, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Star Wars Episode I: Racer Remaster Is A Little Ugly, But I Love It
The excellent 1999 racing game Star Wars Episode I: Racer received an HD re-release for Switch and PlayStation 4 last week. It’s hideous in the unique way that only sharpened-up ‘90s-era 3D games can be, and I adore it. Episode I: Racer expanded upon one of the few shining moments in Star Wars: Episode I…
By Mike Fahey Published June 29, 2020 -
CultureHere’s Our First Look At Star Wars: Squadrons Gameplay
Today at EA Play, the publisher revealed the first look at gameplay from the upcoming Star Wars: Squadrons. Squadrons is being developed by EA Motive, the same studio that worked on the singleplayer campaign featured in 2017’s Star Wars: Battlefront II. The game is set during the aftermath of the second Death Star’s destruction and…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 18, 2020