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Peter Tieryas’ Top 5 Games Of 2020
27.12.2020
I can’t believe the year is almost over. 2020 has felt interminable. Between work, taking care of my kid, a new book release, various writing assignments, and all that life has thrown at me, my free time has been really limited. I usually only get a chance to play games after my kid falls asleep...
I Didn’t Expect To Like Deadly Premonition So Much
27.12.2020
I crashed eight times during my playthrough of Deadly Premonition on the Switch, often at critical moments. In a game with long load screens, this seemed like an unforgivable sin. “So good it’s bad,” was testing my patience, even if I knew coming in that Deadly Premonition was a flawed cult...
Phantasy Star III Is A Flawed, But Ambitious, Entry Into The Series
27.12.2020
Phantasy Star III was a game I wanted to love, especially since its predecessor was a science fiction classic and arguably one of my favorite games on the Sega Genesis. I still remember when I first heard about Phantasy Star III, which released for the Genesis in 1991, I was blown away by the idea...
The Fascinating Visual Novel About Time Travel From One Of The Creators Of Suikoden
27.12.2020
In Time Hollow, time travel is a painful, convoluted, and sloppy mess that makes history worse with every intervention. A spiritual successor to another game I enjoyed called Shadow of Memories, it actually took me a while to track down this obscure Nintendo DS visual novel that was published...
Who’s The Strongest Video Game Character?
26.12.2020
If all the video game characters ever created got together in a big rumble, who’d come out on top? Kratos, the one who took down the gods of Olympus? What about Asura who fought off a deity the size of a planet? What about the ancients who wore Majora’s Mask and caused so much havoc, it was sealed...
The Brilliant 16-Bit JRPG About The Death And Rebirth Of The World
26.12.2020
Considered part of the Quintet Creation Trilogy, Terranigma was the culminating tour de force from the Japanese studio behind 16-bit games like Actraiser, Illusion of Gaia, and Robotrek. It was never released in North America (though it received a translated version in PAL), explaining why most...
7 PS4 Horror Games That I Hope Get PS5 Sequels
26.12.2020
The PS4 had some great horror games. The best had a way of creeping into my mind subconsciously, lingering until a vulnerable moment and striking terror when I least expected. It’s interesting that with the increase in graphical power, the games that scared me most last gen weren’t necessarily...
The Video Game Music That Helped Us Through 2020
26.12.2020
2020 was tough. There were nights we wondered where and how this year would end. Just when things seemed like they couldn’t get worse, they did time and again. On every level, it was difficult just to get through the day. One of the things that helped us through was music. Specifically, video game...
How A Dark Time-Traveling Fantasy Game Became the Original Fallout
26.12.2020
The end of the world was both darker and more humorous than anyone could have imagined, and in the original Fallout, released for the PC in 1997, gamers got to experience the apocalypse firsthand. The iconic, “War, war never changes,” introduction set the somber mood, which was written, strangely...
Ys VIII's Compelling Story Makes You Care About Every NPC
26.12.2020
I always approach classics with a certain sense of trepidation, especially if I’m playing them outside of their original release window. Games that might have truly been remarkable in their day and age might come across antiquated and difficult to endure in the present, especially with how much...
An Ode To The Games It Took Us Forever To Finish (Or How It Took Me Over Twenty Years To Finally Finish The First Suikoden)
26.12.2020
Hi Kotaku! The last time I was a weekend editor for Kotaku was way back in February and honestly, that seems like a lifetime ago. So much has happened since then that even looking back at my old articles feels like I’m peeking at a time capsule from a different age. Read more
Why Ice Levels Keep Showing Up In Video Games, Even Though Most Of Them Are Bad
25.12.2020
In games as in life, slipping and sliding on ice patches while torrents of snow transform your eyelashes into crystalline daggers can be frustrating, to say the least. And yet, ice and snow levels are a time-honored trope in video games. On this week’s episode of Kotaku’s Splitscreen podcast,...
Ari's Top 10 Games Of 2020
25.12.2020
The past year has been one endless, pitch-black night with a single burning, incandescent star: video games. I mean, can you imagine what 2020 would’ve been like without video games? I, for one, cannot. Better yet, it’s not like the annual release calendar was a dry spell, either. From tip to tail...
The Best Games For The Xbox Series X And S
25.12.2020
A new console generation usually means a new library of games. That’s not exactly the case with Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, at least not yet. There are few true next-gen exclusives. Instead, several recent Xbox games were released in both last-gen and next-gen versions.Read more
CD Projekt Red Faces Investor Lawsuit Over Cyberpunk’s Messy Launch
25.12.2020
Two weeks after the troubled launch of Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red is facing a class action lawsuit. But the filing isn’t on behalf of players who may feel burned over a pre-release cycle that hid the state of the game on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Rather, it’s on behalf of investors.Read more
The Best Games For The PlayStation 5
25.12.2020
Congratulations! You weathered the queues and were able to nab a PlayStation 5. You’ve somehow finagled the thing into your TV stand and turned it on without issue. So, what comes next? Of all the options at your fingertips, which games deserve your time and energy?Read more
I Went On Vacation And Ended Up In A Video Game
25.12.2020
On a trip to a state park, I’m pretty sure my partner, my dog, and I stumbled into a video game. My own personal isekai.Read more
The Biggest Video Game Disappointments Of 2020
24.12.2020
God, this year sucked. Video games were supposed to be a reprieve from that, and in many ways they were. But in other ways they were just as messy, ill-fated, and broken as the year itself.Read more
Cyberpunk 2077: The Kotaku Review
24.12.2020
It’s been two weeks since Cyberpunk 2077 officially released. In my initial impressions, I wrote that I was ready for everyone—developer CD Projekt Red, the studio’s PR people, fans—to stop talking about the game and just let me play it. I’ve been playing steadily since before launch, but weeks...
John Walker’s Top 10 Games Of 2020
24.12.2020
The eternally burning tire fire that is 2020 hasn’t exactly been a laugh riot. And yet, as I reflect on what have been some of the most gruelling times I can remember, it’s interesting how much video games have played a part in getting me through. As pure colorful distraction, or even daily...