Kotaku
Starfield’s Shipbuilding Seems Like A Frustrating Experience
Starfield has at least partially fulfilled its galaxy-sized ambition, some initial reviews suggest, but its shipbuilding is holding it back.
KotakuKotakuNier Automata's Latest Video Game Crossover Is Its Horniest One Yet
Nier: Automata, a fatalistic video game about attractive androids fighting to save a doomed humanity, is a franchise that’ll never say no to making a guest appearance in another video game regardless of how nonsensical the crossover might be. In the six years since its release, the sci-fi roleplaying game has…
KotakuArmored Core VI: How Does It Run On Steam Deck?
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon launched on August 25, and folks have been loving it. If you haven’t yet taken it for a spin, know that satisfying, explosive combat, gorgeous visuals, and the thrill of building your very own mech to go out and earn some money for corporations is yours to have. But can you take it on…
KotakuBaldur's Gate 3's New Karlach Ending Is A Small But Meaningful Improvement
Larian Studios recently announced it would be altering some aspects of Baldur’s Gate 3’s ending in order to flesh out parts that some fans (rightfully) argued felt a bit undercooked compared to everything that preceded them. The first of these updates came out today, August 31, as part of the game’s second big patch,…
KotakuStarfield Seems Like A (Mostly) Bug-Free Journey Through Space
Starfield is nearly out on PC and Xbox consoles for those who have early access to the space-faring RPG, and reviews are officially popping up online. The game’s currently garnering favorable marks among critics, with most shook by how (mostly) bug-free Bethesda’s game surprisingly is.
KotakuEmbracer Shuts Down Saints Row Studio Volition After 30 Years
Volition, the studio behind Red Faction, Saints Row, and countless other games, is closing its doors after 30 years. The decision was made by parent company Embracer after the sprawling conglomerate announced cuts earlier this year following the loss of $2 billion in funding that was reportedly supposed to come from…
KotakuFirst Tech Review Of Starfield Is Positive, Praising Performance On Xbox Series S
After years of hype and teasing, Starfield…isn’t out yet. But the embargo on reviews is up and with it, the first technical review of the game is here. The big takeaway is that Starfield seems to be running solidly on both the Xbox Series X and the smaller, less powerful Series S. This is a bit shocking considering…
KotakuEarly Starfield Reviews Are Generally Positive, From Mild Disappointment To Glowing Praise
Starfield has been shouldering enormous expectations from both longtime fans of Bethesda’s open world RPGs and devoted Xbox players desperate for a hit exclusive. Now, initial reactions to the sprawling sci-fi shooter are finally here, and the early reviews are mixed. Some critics are championing Starfield as the…
KotakuBeyond Good & Evil Remaster Spotted, While Sequel Remains A Ghost
The ESRB seems to have revealed that Ubisoft is planning a Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition. News on the BG&E front has been a little quiet as of late, so fans of the classic adventure title might be in for a nice revisit. That notoriously truant sequ—err, prequel, however? Well, who knows?
KotakuStreet Fighter 6’s New Character Looks Like A Slithering Nightmare
After briefly teasing the character during EVO 2023, Capcom has finally unveiled the poisonous fangs of Street Fighter 6's newest combatant, A.K.I., who will slither her way into the popular fighting game on September 27.
KotakuSuper Mario Bros. Wonder Gets Its Very Own, Very Plain Nintendo Switch OLED
An August 31 Nintendo Direct gave us a lengthy look at the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder game, with an added surprise at the end of the presentation: A brand-new, limited edition Nintendo Switch OLED. The console will release on October 6, two full weeks before Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s October 20 release date.…
Kotaku$300,000 In Stolen Magic: The Gathering Cards Returned
Shortly before the public opening of this 2023’s annual board game convention, Gen Con, around $300,000 worth of Magic: The Gathering cards were reported stolen. Caught on security camera at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis, two suspects were seen carting out a large pallet of cardboard boxes…
KotakuSuper Mario Bros. Wonder Is A Whole New Approach To 2D Mario Games
During today’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder-centric Nintendo Direct, we got to see a new and far more detailed look at the upcoming side-scrolling platformer, including its amazing approach to online play, and how you can now play as a Yoshi carrying an elephant.
KotakuBorderlands Collection Includes 6 Games For Cheap, With Borderlands 3 Coming To Switch
Gearbox Entertainment loves bundles, so naturally it just announced Borderlands Collection: Pandora’s Box, which combines every game in the loot shooter series except for last year’s Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. It’ll be available on every console except Switch, which is getting a separate port of just Borderlands 3 by…
Kotaku‘Warriors’ Games Rule, And That’s A Hill I’ll Totally Die On
Musou games—the large-scale hack-and-slash games typified by series like Dynasty Warriors—often get a bad wrap, with detractors arguing that they’re just monotonous power fantasies lacking in depth. While there’s some truth to that, such a reductive reading misses the point behind games in this genre, which still has…
KotakuNetflix’s One Piece Live-Action Series Delivers More Than It Disappoints
One Piece is a series built on lofty promises. Chief among them: that its hallowed treasure, which still has yet to be revealed since the series began 26 years ago, will be worth the journey; that protagonist Monkey D. Luffy will someday fulfill his dream of becoming the king of the pirates; and that its long-running…
KotakuMark Zuckerberg's Avatar Legs Saga Ends With A Whimper, Not A Bang
Last year, Facebook (now known as Meta) announced that it was adding legs to its ugly virtual reality avatars. Some people were excited. Now a year later, after Meta promised the legs were coming soon, they are finally (sort of) working inside the company’s depressing digital “metaverse”. Should we…cheer?
KotakuCyberpunk 2077’s Only Getting One Expansion Because Its Old Tech Is Being Retired
Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red says its upcoming expansion, Phantom Liberty, will serve as the game’s one and only expansion because of its “technological decision” to move from CDPR’s own REDengine technology to Unreal 5.
KotakuRon Swanson Visits Half-Life 2’s Europe, Hates Every Minute Of It
Park and Rec_’_s own Ronald Ulysses “Ron” Swanson, the internet’s favorite small-government libertarian, is the latest television character to visit a video game in a new video from talented YouTube creator eli_handle_b․wav.
KotakuStarfield Fan Banned From Subreddit For Narcing On Leaker To Cops
Starfield leaks began blowing up across the internet last week after 29-year old Darin Harris allegedly stole dozens of copies of the game from a warehouse and started selling them online. One Reddit user immediately reported the leaks to Bethesda and Memphis police, and he’s now been banned from the…
KotakuThe 10 Best Call Of Duty Maps Of All Time
Call of Duty fans’ passions run hot when it comes to the series’ multiplayer maps, which have been the topic of discussion and controversy since United Offensive, the 2004 expansion pack that added multiplayer to the original Call of Duty. Maps are so integral to the Call of Duty experience, so important to each new…
KotakuStar Wars: Ahsoka Is Quietly Showing That Anyone Can Be A Jedi
Star Wars: Ahsoka on Disney+ is a TV series that feels like a lot of different things, including a sequel to the animated series Rebelsand a new live-action story about masters and apprentices. But what’s quickly becoming my favorite part of the show is its focus on a struggling padawan who doesn’t seem to “have the…
KotakuArmored Core VI, As Told By Steam Reviews
Armored Core VI is the first game in the long-running mech action series to get a PC release, and in its first weekend became the second most-played FromSoftware game ever on Steam at launch. Critics raved about it and fans have been elated to see the series finally return, but what are the Steam reviews saying about…
KotakuBaldur’s Gate 3’s Easiest Lockpicking Tool Is An Axe Or Bomb
Not every character you make in Baldur’s Gate 3 is going to be good at lockpicking. Hell, I don’t even run with a lockpicking-proficient rogue in my party because I’d rather my Warlock hang out with Gale, Shadowheart, and Karlach because one’s my boyfriend and the other two are my besties. Tons of treasure chests and…
KotakuAhsoka Episode 3 Review: Bizarrely Brief But Promising
Blink and you’ll miss the third episode of Star Wars: Ahsoka, which sped by so fast as I watched it that I worried my cat had sat on the remote and skipped forward several scenes (again). But the episode, titled “Time to Fly,” really is just over a half-hour long—a stark contrast to the two previous episodes, which…
KotakuYou Can Now Get Final Fantasy XVI For $14 Cheaper
Final Fantasy XVI, Square Enix’s monumental action role-playing game from earlier this summer, is experiencing a teeny tiny discount on the PlayStation store. There, both Standard and Digital Deluxe versions of the (as far as we know) PS5-exclusive game are on sale now through September 7 at 2:59 a.m. Eastern.
KotakuYou Should Give This Armored Core-Like Switch Game Another Look
FromSoftware’s Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon might be one of the most beautiful and exhilarating mech games to have come out in years, but it’s not the only one you could be playing right now. Because a few years ago, the Nintendo Switch got Daemon X Machina, a spiritual successor to the then dormant Armored Core…
KotakuSony Raising PlayStation Plus Prices By Up To $40 A Year
PlayStation Plus is about to get a lot more expensive. Sony announced that, beginning in September, the annual subscription price will go from $60 up to $80 for the lowest tier of the program. Meanwhile PS Plus Premium, which competes directly with Game Pass by offering a big Netflix-style library of games and cloud…
KotakuBaldur’s Gate 3’s Dark Urge Is Great For Your Second Run
When you boot up Baldur’s Gate 3, you can choose between creating a custom character, or playing as any of the party members who can join you throughout the game, like Astarion or Karlach. However, there’s one other option as well: it’s called the Dark Urge, and it’s kind of the best of both worlds. You get to make…
KotakuStardew Valley Fishing Minigame Makes A Surprisingly Good Wordle Clone
Free, fan-made browser game Pufferdle is an unexpectedly successful cozy mutant. Developer Abdullah Masud made it from sewing together some beloved parts—the fishing minigame from Stardew Valley, and Wordle’s streamlined hangman procedure—and ended up with a pixel fish-guesser many will find relaxing and familiar.