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Battleborn Beta Impressions: It’s Alright
A name similar to Battlefront, Battlecry and even Bloodborne hasn’t helped next month’s Battleborn stand out. Descriptions of the game place it in an overflowing stew of team shooters and MOBA-influenced games. This week, at last, there’s an open beta which allows us to at least judge the game on its pre-release merits. And the…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 13, 2016 -
The Gamble To Make A Video Game About Infiltrating A 1970s Cult
“You’re sort of buying a lottery ticket,” the game developer Richard Rouse recently told me while explaining the mindset of trying to make an indie game after spending many years doing big budget stuff for Microsoft, Ubisoft and others. “It might be really successful,” he said. “I certainly hope it is. But you shouldn’t go…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 8, 2016 -
ReviewsQuantum Break: The Kotaku Review
A new console generation starts, and you wait for something special. The launch games are okay, but they are really just shinier versions of last-gen releases. Eventually, though, you play a game that hadn’t been done before, couldn’t have been done before. For this generation, for me, that game is Quantum Break, which is imperfect…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 5, 2016 -
Destiny Is Getting A Bunch Of Cool New Gear In April
Bungie just showed off some really nice-looking new armor sets and some other little additions coming next month to Destiny, a sci-fi shooter video game whose biggest fan picked the wrong week to go on vacation. The star of Bungie’s sneak-peek livestream was the new Desolate armor. It was teased last week and is modeled…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 30, 2016 -
Spelunky’s Journey From Pixel Game To Console Classic
It’s rare that gamers ever get to hear the full story behind how (and why) a game was made. So it’s awesome that Derek Yu, the creator of Spelunky, has written a book that does just that. Published by Boss Fight, Spelunky is Yu’s autobiographical, full-blown account of the making of the game, going very…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 21, 2016 -
Xbox Survey Wonders If You’d Trade In Your Digital Games For Store Credit
Refunds notwithstanding, digital video game purchases are normally a one-way street, but what if they weren’t? A question from a recent Xbox survey asks gamers if they’d part with their digital acquisitions for 10 percent store credit. The image belowpopped up on Reddit yesterday, and the hypothetical it presents is interesting. Trading in a $60…
By Mike Fahey Published March 20, 2016 -
Xbox One Gets Another ‘Limited’ Price Drop
The Xbox One will drop to $300 for a “limited time” next week, Microsoft said today. In other words, don’t ever plan to spend more than that on the console. See, Microsoft has a habit of announcing “limited” hardware discounts that transform into permanent ones, which is bad news for anyone who buys at the…
By Jason Schreier Published March 18, 2016 -
A Few Hours With Adrift, The Astronaut Survival Game Born From Trauma
“Everyone has done something and disappointed someone–or hurt someone–whether it’s a small thing or a big thing,” the game designer Adam Orth was telling me a couple of Fridays ago, after I played a few hours of his newest game. “And recovering from that, everyone has had that. It’s a universal truth. It’s a universal…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 14, 2016 -
Reviews
Hitman Episode One: The Kotaku Review
I’ve often noticed a conflict between the way games tell me I’m a master assassin/spy/soldier and the more bumbling, experimental way that I play. One moment I’m panicking and shooting the wrong person in the face, the next I’m coolly walking away as a chandelier drops on a target behind me. The new Hitman, the…
By Riley MacLeod Published March 11, 2016 -
Epic Games Founder Slams Microsoft For Trying To ‘Monopolize’ PC Gaming [UPDATE]
This week, Microsoft has touted a new initiative that they’ve said will unify platforms, making it easier to for developers to release games on both PC and Xbox One. But at least one major developer isn’t thrilled with Microsoft’s plans. In an opinion piece published in The Guardian this morning, Epic Games co-founder Tim Sweeney…
By Jason Schreier Published March 4, 2016 -
Reviews
Far Cry Primal: The Kotaku Review
Far Cry Primal is frequently violent and occasionally, unexpectedly sweet. The caveman action game is an excellent concept best experienced by people who haven’t been playing every entry in Far Cry, another of gaming’s perpetual franchises. It’s an iteration. It’s a tweak. It’s another reprise of 2012’s Far Cry 3 formula of first-person open-world hunting…
By Stephen Totilo Published February 29, 2016 -
Kotaku East
One of the Rarest and Most Beautiful Xbox Ones Ever Made
Apparently, there are only two of these consoles in the whole world. They are official, from Microsoft, and given out this month to two lucky winners in South Korea. Earlier this month, Microsoft Korea held a contest for these very limited-edition Xbox Ones. As tipster Sang points out, these traditional Korean style mother of pearl…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 25, 2016 -
The Dangerous Animals I’ve Pet In Far Cry Primal
Who needs guns in a video game when you can tame and command bears and saber-toothed tigers to kill for you? That’s what I’ve been doing in Far Cry Primal, though there’s something to be said for just stopping and petting these furry four-legged instruments of death. I made a video of my favorite new…
By Stephen Totilo Published February 23, 2016
