Kotaku
Game Genres Are Completely Meaningless, And It's All Your Fault
Genres are broken. Broken, I argue, beyond repair. We need to crumple them up and throw them all away.
KotakuKotakuTake A Break From Murderous Revenge With Some Interior Design In Assassin's Creed Shadows
Customization is one of my favorite parts of just about any video game, followed closely by base-building elements. Assassin’s Creed Shadows features both, and you can even customize your base—otherwise known as your hideout—with cherry blossom trees, deer statues, intricate pathways, and so much more. Unfortunately,…
KotakuJack Black Became Obsessed With Lapis Lazuli While Playing 100 Hours Of Minecraft
I have a lot of questions about A Minecraft Movie, a film which, even if it’s not “for me,” has raised all sorts of red flags in its pre-release trailers and marketing. But one thing that doesn’t appear to be in question is star Jack Black’s commitment to the bit. He plays the crafting game’s iconic blue-shirted…
KotakuPlayStation RPG Classic The Legend Of Dragoon Sounds Like It Happened Almost By Chance
The Legend of Dragoon was Sony’s attempt to crack the classic turn-based RPG formula on the original PlayStation, but it wasn’t part of some grand push into new genres. The way ex-PlayStation Studios veteran Shuhei Yoshida talks about the cult hit, it sounds as if the ambitious fantasy adventure basically came about…
KotakuHow To Level Up Mad Fast In Assassin's Creed Shadows
While it’s completely viable to cut down your foes solely via stealthy assassinations and brute-force katana strikes as either Naoe or Yasuke, leveling up and investing in additional abilities makes combat far more enticing. You can Spartan kick your enemies as Yasuke and lurch forward in a lightning-quick strike as…
KotakuAssassin’s Creed Shadows’ 'Projects' Aren’t Quite Battle Passes, But They’re Close
You’d be entirely forgiven for thinking that the Projects screen in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is just a Battle Pass system. The gradual drip feed of rewards presented in a straight line evokes strong déjà vu of countless live service and free-to-play games like Fortnite or Genshin Impact. Additionally, Assassin’s Creed…
KotakuIndiana Jones Will Let PlayStation 5 Players Punch Nazis In Just A Few Weeks
Less than six months after it came to Xbox, sleeper 2025 GOTY contender Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will finally be playable on PlayStation 5 in a few weeks. The April release date was confirmed during a cheeky 90-second video sketch featuring voice actors Nolan North of Uncharted fame and Troy Baker, whose …
Kotaku14 Final Destination Deaths, Ranked From Ludicrous To Chillingly Plausible
Final Destination has always been less about death itself and more about the inescapability of it—especially when you’ve cheated it once. The series turns survivor’s guilt into a blood-soaked curse, punishing those who narrowly avoid tragedy with even more elaborate and grotesque ends. And what makes these deaths so…
KotakuSeverance Fans Are Divided By Season 2’s Finale For A Disappointing Reason
Severance fans have had a weekend to let the season finale of Apple TV’s dystopian workplace thriller sink in, and some are not handling it well. Make no mistake, “Cold Harbor” was a thrilling hour and change of television that ended the season on an incredible note. Some might argue it could have served as an uncomfor…
KotakuAssassin's Creed Shadows Uses Level Scaling, But You Can Exploit The Heck Out Of It
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is an open-world RPG through and through, complete with stats to level up and progressively more powerful gear to find. As you might expect, it employs a level scaling system, where the enemies and quests you encounter get stronger as you do. That is to say, if you’re level five, the enemies…
KotakuA.I. Ruins Everything Part #473: Online Recipes
Remember the science fiction of the 1950s, when people imagined the role robots and artificial intelligence could play, dramatically improving our lives by taking on menial tasks and unpleasant jobs so that we would have more spare time, not need to work every hour, and increase our personal luxury? Weird how, in the…
KotakuThe First Berserker: Khazan Is Way Better Than I Expected
If Blockbuster was still a thing, The First Berserker: Khazan would be the perfect weekend rental. Grab a two-liter, some pizza, and go to town smashing and stabbing your way through a dense arcade action-RPG that will kick your ass but not waste your time.
KotakuMinecraft Is Getting A Major Visual Upgrade, Flying Mounts, And My Favorite Quality Of Life Feature In Years
2025 is going to be a neat year for Minecraft. Not only is the survival crafting game moving to more frequent feature drops, it’s also getting flying mounts and a big boost to its more than decade-old graphics. Revealed during a special Minecraft Live, Vibrant Visuals will make every pixelated world full of new life…
KotakuYouTuber Removes GTA 6 Map Mod And Blasts Take-Two Over Copyright Strike
Earlier this year, modder Dark Space added a speculative version of Grand Theft Auto 6's map to Grand Theft Auto 5, based on details from the trailer and alleged leaks about the forthcoming sequel. He’s now removed links to download the mod from his YouTube channel after receiving a copyright removal request from…
KotakuHollow Knight: Silksong's Copyright Updated, Fans Enter Newfound Levels Of Excitement, Nation In Chaos
Did you feel it? A disturbance in the code? The very slightest shift in the metadata? Hollow Knight: Silksong acolytes all across the world all sat up at once, aware that something—something—has changed. What does it mean? Is the years-late game about to reveal something new?
KotakuHow To Start Off Strong In Assassin's Creed Shadows And More Of The Week's Top Tips
This week saw the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows (read our review here) and if you’re one of the many people flocking to feudal Japan this weekend, we’ve got an assortment of tips to help you get started. We’ve also got recommendations for honing your ground game in Civilization VII and some pointers for making…
KotakuA Great New City-Builder, A Terrific New Zombie Shooter, And More Of The Week's Recommendations And Opinions
Gamers are a passionate bunch, and we’re no exception. These are the week’s most interesting perspectives on the wild, wonderful, and sometimes weird world of video game news.
KotakuSome Great Games Are Dirt-Cheap On PSN, An AC Shadows Streamer's Response To Racists Goes Viral, And More Top Stories
This week, we take a look at FBC: Firebreak, the new multiplayer shooter and Control spin-off from Alan Wake 2 developer Remedy Entertainment. We also recommend some outstanding games you can grab for dirt cheap right now on PSN, report on how the market for artisanal, hardware-based Nintendo 64 clones is heating up,…
KotakuKotaku’s Weekend Guide: 5 Awesome Games To Transport Us To A Better Place
Happy Ostara to those who celebrate! For everyone else, happy Spring Equinox! Winter is finally friggin’ over, and while the world might still look a little dark and bleak, thank goodness we’ve now got longer days and warmer temps on the way.
KotakuThere's A Lot Of Cool Dinosaur Games To Be Excited About
A decade ago, in a poorly written post on my terrible old blog that I won’t link to here, I pondered why we didn’t have more dinosaur games. At the time I blamed it on technical limitations and a focus on zombie-filled wastelands, and the lack of good dinosaur games made me really sad. So I’m happy to report that in…
KotakuNetflix's Spirit Crossing Is A Gorgeous Cozy MMO With A Lot To Prove
Spirit Crossing is the next life sim from the Netflix-owned studio Spry Fox, makers of the beloved Animal Crossing-like Cozy Grove. Netflix announced the ambitious social MMO this week alongside some other games and a renewed commitment to investing in gaming for years to come. Spirit Crossing will be a big test of…
KotakuOkay, But What If Severance Ended Here?
The most surprising thing for me about the end of Severance’s second season was how few questions I still had when it was all over. Apple TV’s dystopian workplace thriller is a mystery box show, and yeah, there are still plenty of unsolved puzzles on the Lumon severed floor, but when the credits started rolling, I…
KotakuSplit Fiction Movie Rights Up For Grabs In Hollywood Bidding War
Just 15 weeks ago, EA and Hazelight announced sci-fi co-op game Split Fiction. Earlier this month, the game launched to rave reviews and is a massive success. And reportedly there’s now a bidding war between different studios all interested in turning hit game into a movie.
KotakuGet Rich Quick By Hunting Lowlifes In Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii
Upgrading stats and skills is one of the first mechanics you’ll learn in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. But it doesn’t come free. You’ll have to invest cash to improve your abilities. But since you have amnesia after crash-landing on a foreign island, naturally your wallet is a little light. Thanks to the…
KotakuPokémon TCG Pocket Is Getting Even Rarer Cards To Hunt For
Across Pokémon games, Shiny Pokémon are desired for their rarity. The most dedicated players spend hundreds of hours hunting for the variants to truly max out their collections. Pokémon TCG Pocket will now let the mobile card game’s players do the same with the introduction of the Shining Revelry set.
Kotaku9 New Game Reveals You Missed From The Future Spring Showcase
Spring has arrived and the equinox was marked by a marathon Future Games Showcase that included a bunch of new trailers for upcoming games and expansions. The event also included first-time reveals for previously unannounced games, of which many looked really neat. My personal favorite was a cozily bleak isometric…
KotakuOverwatch 2: The Best Perk Choices For Tank Heroes
Overwatch 2 introduced some big changes last in February, 2025. The all new Perk system is perhaps the most significant. It offers each hero two pairs of unique buffs to choose between. Some provide incremental buffs while others cover specific hero weaknesses or even adjust how you want to play them. Although they’re…
KotakuSeverance Renewed For Third Season, Surprising No One
In news that will surprise almost no one who watched Severance’s season two finale last night, Apple TV+ has renewed the dystopian workplace thriller for a third season. Yeah, it could have been a bold move to end the show at the season two finale, but this is also Apple TV’s most popular show, so they weren’t about…
KotakuAssassin's Creed Shadows Will Take You A Whopping 60 Hours To Finish, And That's If You Rush
You could easily spend hundreds of hours on a single playthrough for the past few RPG-oriented titles in the Assassin’s Creed series, those being Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. It’s been a a bit too much for those with too little free time to invest in such a sprawling storyline with dozens of objectives and other…
KotakuSilent Hill 4, Deus Ex And F.E.A.R. Among Latest Games To Enter GOG's Preservation Program
The disappearance and unavailability of classic titles is causing an existential crisis in all of video gaming. Last November, in response, online PC games store GOG announced a Preservation Program, where over 100 games are promised ongoing support to be sold and run on modern machines forever. It was announced last…