Kotaku articles

Forza Horizon 5 Review

The implicit promise of Forza Horizon is in the name. You see something on the horizon, you can drive to it. Skyrim with cars. Far Cry with more cars and no guns. Forza Horizon 5 is even more beautiful than its predecessors.

Xbox Series X Review

The Xbox Series X is the most boxlike Xbox that Microsoft has ever produced. It's a cuboid: 12 inches tall, six inches deep, and six inches wide, all right angles and fine matte black plastic. I adore its simplicity.

Crusader Kings III Review

Crusader Kings III is an immense game, but also an immense achievement. There's really nothing else quite like it. It's a strategy game, and a good one at that, and like I've said if you only want to raise armies and conquer the world, this will let you do that and you'll have a good time with it.

Valorant Takes Aim at the King

I've been excited to play Riot's Valorant for a long time, and not just for the sake of the game itself. I'm a long-term Counter-Strike player and my hope with Valorant was not just that Riot would make a game I love, but one that would give another game I love a boot up the backside.

Half-Life: Alyx Review

In Half-Life: Alyx, you're not series hero Gordon Freeman. You are Alyx Vance, Gordon's BFF and fellow resistance member. But you're also you: Alyx is a game that can only be played in VR, which turns it into a distinctly more personal experience than previous Half-Life games. That's what makes it special. You can embody Alyx however you choose.

The State of PC Gaming in 2019

In 2019, more games flowed between PC and other platforms than ever before and we saw the titanic clash between Valve and Epic. PC gaming retains its unique identity through mods, hardware configurations, and its inextricable ties to Twitch and YouTube. Increasingly, though, the lines between these platforms are dissolving, and everybody's winding up back where so many series and genres started: on PC.

Death Stranding Review

There is no elevator pitch for Death Stranding. Every inch of the game teems with meaning or implication. Even the most pretentious developments build to create a multi-layered game. It is a story about fatherhood. It is a dig at the gig economy. It is deeply concerned with environmental disaster and American politics, old and new.

The Outer Worlds Review

Yes, The Outer Worlds mechanically resembles the Fallout series. It was made by the same team that worked on the first two Fallout games. It's built on the skeleton of Dungeons and Dragons. This is not dissimilar to what Fallout has become under the ownership of Bethesda, though I will say that I have not felt as motivated to finish Fallout 3 or 4 as I felt to finish The Outer Worlds.

Gears 5 Single Player Campaign Review

Gears 5 has the longest and most ambitious campaign that Gears of War has ever done and, for the most part, that ambition pays off. In a series first, the story focuses on a female character, putting the player in a woman's shoes for the majority of the game.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood Review

I am generally suspicious of games that people say are "better with friends," simply because most things are. Wolfenstein: Youngblood isn't really just better with friends; it requires them. That's not a ding against Youngblood. The game has always been positioned as a cooperative experience. It's a co-op shooter. To criticize it for not being something other than that is unreasonable.

Total War: Three Kingdoms Review

Ever since Rome 2's disappointing release back in 2013, it feels like the Total War series has been lost and in search of something. From Attila and Thrones of Britannia's tinkering to the Warhammer games' explosion of personality there has been wild experimentation between titles. Three Kingdoms is the culmination of that adventure – and this game is amazing.

Shady Numbers and Bad Business: Inside the Esports Bubble

The mainstream narrative of esports has been lovingly crafted by those who benefit from its success. There's big money in esports, they say. You've heard the stories. Yet there's a reason why these narratives attract lip-licking headlines in business news and have accrued colossal amounts of venture capital. More and more, esports is looking like a bubble ready to pop.