Kotaku: Posts

Kotaku

Two Popular Fallout 76 Builds To Stop You From Dying In The Wasteland

Fallout 76 isn’t like Bethesda’s previous open-world RPGs. While those single-player adventures were somewhat forgiving campaigns that let you build your character however you wanted, the multiplayer spin-off is full of bullet sponge-y enemies that require you to focus on a particular skill set in order to survive the…

Read more...

Kotaku

Embracer CEO Is Full Of Excuses

The past year or so has been a slow-moving trainwreck for Embracer Group, following the large company’s unprecedented studio acquisition spree. And, after announcing on April 22 that the company was planning to split itself up into three different companies, the CEO of Embracer is only filled with excuses as to why…

Read more...

Kotaku

Overwatch 2 Players Face Bans For Leaving Games They Never Did

Overwatch 2 outlined several new rules and penalties it would be implementing in season 10 to help curate a less hostile player environment on April 10. But since the season began last week, players have been reporting bans that would typically be applied to someone leaving a game early being implemented for seemingly…

Read more...

Kotaku

The 12 Best Stellar Blade Skills To Unlock First

Stellar Blade, the new PS5-exclusive character action game, has tons of skills to unlock like its genre siblings Bayonetta and Devil May Cry. Across protagonist Eve’s five skill trees, some abilities increase your damage, stun your enemies, dodge attacks entirely, let you double jump, and more. It can be daunting,…

Read more...

Kotaku

How To Make Fallout 76 Stop Running Like Crap On PC

So, you watched the Fallout TV show on Amazon, got excited about the franchise, maybe saw some folks playing Fallout 76, and decided that you were finally going to install Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic MMO and give it a real shot. But then you tried playing it on PC and discovered that it runs like garbage. Wait! Before…

Read more...

Kotaku

Ahead Of Dawntrail, Final Fantasy XIV Players Are Conflicted About Healers

Final Fantasy XIV fans are having a debate over what the healer role should look like going forward. The MMO’s next expansion, Dawntrail, releases this summer and will bring with it a myriad of new features and changes to how the game will play. Recently a benchmark for the expansion was released which, on top of…

Read more...

Kotaku

Why This Claymation Indie Game Is Like An Aquarium

Read more...

Kotaku

Overwatch 2's Mirrorwatch Event Is So Good It Has Me In Mourning

Overwatch 2 has had a lot of bad news since it launched, such as the gutting of its PvE suite, and now the reported cancellation of its story missions. Every seemingly good thing that’s introduced, like a store to buy rare skins, comes with a caveat, in that case being egregiously expensive. The limited-time…

Read more...

Kotaku

Sand Land’s Video Game Adaptation Is A Devilishly Good Time

Sand Land caught my attention as soon as I saw the game’s booth at New York City Comic Con last year, with its enormous recreation of the Royal Army tank. The game’s setting, character designs, and of course the tank, stuck with me, even though I wouldn’t consider myself familiar with much, if any, of Akira Toriyama’s…

Read more...

Kotaku

Fallout 76 Is Getting Something Rare: A Second Chance At A First Impression

Fallout is bigger than ever right now, thanks in large part to the recent live-action Amazon show. The show’s success has led to millions of players hopping into past Fallout games. And yes, that includes the franchise’s oddball MMO, Fallout 76. Thanks to the show and 76’s inclusion in Game Pass, a lot of people are…

Read more...

Kotaku

Stellar Blade: The Kotaku Review

In many ways, Stellar Blade is awesome. The action is awesome, the soundtrack is awesome, the world is awesome. However, when you peel back the curtain just a bit and peer behind all the flash and style, you find that Shift Up’s character action game can also be quite tedious. It’s a game of dichotomies, one that’s…

Read more...

Kotaku

Sony Removing Stellar Blade's Unintentional N-Word Reference

A juxtaposition of environmental elements that, taken together, can be interpreted as an allusion to the n-word will be removed from sci-fi action game Stellear Blade in a day one patch, Sony confirmed today. The company told IGN the offensive reference was “unintentional.”

Read more...

Kotaku

Deadpool & Wolverine’s Cassandra Nova Signals A Surprising Comic Influence

The latest trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine gave audiences their first good look at the movie’s big bad, Cassandra Nova. She’s an X-Men character with a weird history in the comics and no obvious connection to Deadpool. So how does she fit into the merc with a mouth’s introduction into the MCU? The trailer doesn’t…

Read more...

Kotaku

17 Essential Sand Land Tips To Get You Started

Sand Land, the video game adaptation of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama’s one-volume manga of the same name, arrives on April 26, 2024 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.

Read more...

Kotaku

League Of Legends Pro Suspended For Humping Teddy Bear On Stream

League of Legends pro Lu ‘Leyan’ Jue said he was just rocking out with his favorite oversized plushie. But Riot Games felt differently and fined the Invictus Gaming jungler nearly $7,000 and suspended him for two matches over footage of him humping a giant stuffed animal of Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear from Toy Story 3 during…

Read more...

Kotaku

Why Foghorn Leghorn Is Gassing Up Your Favorite Anime And Game Characters

If you’ve been on social media the past few days, you’re probably wondering why Foghorn Leghorn, the boisterous rooster from Looney Tunes, is giving pep talks to your favorite anime and video game characters. It turns out the joke has roots going as far back as 2021, but has gained new life in the past few days.

Read more...

Kotaku

Valve Closes Loophole Some Steam Users Were Exploiting For Refunds

Steam has an oft-exploited refund policy, whereby any player is able to request their money back for a game that they bought within the last 14 days, and played for less than two hours. (Selling a game that’s shorter than two hours? Sucks to be you.) But it seems that people buying games with so-called “Advanced…

Read more...

Kotaku

My Dumb Quest To Get A Backpack In Fallout 76 (And How To Avoid It)

When I started playing Fallout 76 in 2018 there were no backpacks. So I never thought about it. But when I learned from a random comment that backpacks had been added after that point and had been in the game for years, I felt stupid for never crafting one. And then I went to collect the recipe for a pack and felt…

Read more...

Kotaku

Helldivers 2 Players Absolutely Hate Hellmire And For Good Reason

Helldivers 2 players have strong feelings about the planets they’re fighting to defend in the game’s ongoing galactic war. First there was Malevelon Creek, which became a notorious hotspot for players, after it was dubbed “Robot Vietnam” due to its flame-spewing robots, jungle setting, and significant difficulty.…

Read more...

Kotaku

Rise Of The Ronin Hides A Cool Nioh Easter Egg

Read more...

Kotaku

Fans Divided After Learning Metaphor: ReFantazio Won’t Have Romance

Metaphor: ReFantazio, the upcoming RPG from developer Atlus’ Persona team, will bring in a lot of elements from its predecessor when it launches in October. This includes turn-based combat, social elements called “Bonds,” and a time management mechanic as you live out individual days. But one thing that won’t be…

Read more...

Kotaku

Destiny 2: How To Find Archie And Get The Blue Steel Shader

Everyone’s favorite Destiny 2 dog, Archie, is back in the tower with the new Into The Light update. However, he’s not in his usual spot, and we’re going to have to go on a hunt to find out what he’s up to. After all, there’s a triumph titled “Where in the System is Archie?” that rewards players with the Blue Steel…

Read more...

Kotaku

New X-Men Xbox Is X-Cellent (And Not For Sale)

Microsoft and Marvel have teamed up to create a new X-Men-themed Xbox console that looks awesome and comes with a Wolverine-inspired controller, too. Sadly, this new console isn’t for sale and can only be won via a limited-time sweepstakes.

Read more...

Kotaku

10 Games From The Palestinian Relief Bundle To Play First

The latest bundle on indie game storefront itch.io, known for donating some of its proceeds to a good cause, is the Palestinian Relief Bundle. With Palestinians suffering unspeakable loss, along with starvation, a massive shortage of healthcare resources, and other humanitarian issues, the bundle is raising funds for…

Read more...

Kotaku

Fortnite Festival's New Season Makes The Game Even More Like Rock Band

On April 23, Fortnite Festival Season 3 launched, adding new music, skins, features, and tweaks to the popular rhythm game mode that lives inside Epic’s popular online battle royale. The big news is that players can now use plastic guitars while playing Fortnite Festival, making the mode just a bit more like Rock…

Read more...

Kotaku

11 Things We Learned From The Metaphor: Refantazio Showcase

Metaphor: Refantazio is the next game from the Persona leads at Atlus, and while it has some similarities to the franchise (it’s a turn-based, social sim-driven RPG), it’s adapting a lot of those concepts into a medieval fantasy setting rather than a modern-day high school. On April 22, Atlus held a 25-minute…

Read more...

Kotaku

What Does FF7 Rebirth’s Luck Stat Do? (And How To Make Cait Sith Broken)

As an RPG, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has a number of character stats that influence various aspects of a battle. Luck is perhaps one of the less understood ones. Not only is it an attribute worth raising, but certain characters, like Cait Sith in particular, can benefit from a high Luck stat in some dramatic ways.

Read more...

Kotaku

I Played Fallout 76 All Weekend And Kind Of Loved It

I finally caved. After years of being petitioned by my friends and spurred on by the new TV show, I spent this past weekend largely playing Fallout 76, Bethesda’s survival MMO based on the open-world RPGs. When it first launched in 2018, Fallout 76 couldn’t have had more working against it. Not many seemed to want it…

Read more...

Kotaku

7 Days To Die Exits Early Access After A Decade, But Console Players Have To Rebuy The Game

Open-world zombie survival game 7 Days to Die launched in Early Access on Steam in 2013. Three years later, the game arrived on consoles. And now, over a decade after its initial launch, 7 Days to Die is finally leaving Early Access with its 1.0 update. However, console players will have to re-buy the game to see the…

Read more...

Kotaku

How To Get The Most Out Of Final Fantasy XIV In One Month

Final Fantasy XIV is a gargantuan experience, and that’s saying something for the series’ standard. The MMORPG is soon to welcome its latest expansion, Dawntrail, on June 28 for those who pre-ordered it. If you’re starting to get FOMO and you want to discover what all the fuss is about, there’s quite a bit of ground…

Read more...