Kotaku's Reviews
It may be a hard game, but the temptation to improve was irresistible. I didn't want to stop playing.
Battles were raging and allies were calling for help, but for once the game offered me the option of deserting the fray and contemplating the larger world around it. It's a shame that everything else in the game works so emphatically against it.
The Longest Five Minutes presents its basic fantasy tale as a series of flashbacks experienced by its amnesiac main character during the game's final battle. It takes an otherwise generic retro turn-based RPG and turns it into something special—but it could have been so much more.
The game's Minecraft trappings are somewhat misleading. Dragon Quest Builders is less about creativity and more about strategy. It's a hand-crafted, charming video game that starts off slowly but never stops feeling delightful.
Rise & Fall gets its hooks in deep, showing that the enlarged game's greatest strength may not be its scale or its history, but the sense of togetherness it inspires, and the way it drags the player down to the surface of its gorgeous world.
EA UFC 3 is closer to nailing this whole UFC video game thing than the comparatively thin EA UFC 2, but while this one has plenty of meat on its bones, it lacks connective tissue.
The things that have been simplified are things that were needlessly time-consuming in the first place...What hasn't changed is hunting monsters with beautifully balanced weaponry, and that was always the point.
By lovingly recreating that feeling from scratch, this remake is not just a means for Sony to sell you Shadow of the Colossus again—it proves that its appeal is not rooted in mere nostalgia but is a lasting work of quality that transcends its era.
Arc System Works has created the most approachable Dragon Ball game ever, and one of the most accessible fighting games. Fans of either should be overjoyed to welcome newcomers to their ranks, and those newcomers get to experience two of the most accepting and supportive communities in fandom. Everybody wins.
I'll remember Celeste for a long time to come, thinking back on its mystical ruins and wind-swept peak. It's a joyous game brimming with hope and one of the best video game jumps ever.
Even though I knew I was playing a game, it meant a lot when I saw how I'd help these characters in their lives, and to be thanked for it.
In spite of technical flaws and the dreary mirror it holds up to us, Battlegrounds in consistently enjoyable and surprising. There is a reason why it is the battle royale game.
Breath of the Wild's latest adventure is well worth the time and effort, ending on on a triumphant high.
If you're planning to venture into the magical world of Nine Parchments, heed my words: It's tedious to go it alone. Take friends. Maybe wear some fireproof gloves.
In my time as queen in Reigns: Her Majesty, I was torn apart by my subjects, eaten by wolves, and burned at the stake. I had affairs with pagan women, barbarian queens from other lands, and rakish explorers of new worlds.
Like the world of Alrest, there's very little holding up Xenoblade 2. It is dull, dreary, overly complicated, and unconcerned with wasting the player's time. Life is just too short for that—even if you don't live on a sea of sinking clouds.
Hand of Fate 2 improves upon the original in every way.
Battle Chef Brigade delivered exactly what I wanted out of it: an engaging, but light game between visual novel segments with eccentric fantasy chefs. It's a delightful way to while away subway rides when, at home, mountains of heavy-lift AAA games are piling up.
Star Wars: Battlefront II frustrates me in ways I never knew I could be frustrated. It is both a lovingly crafted companion to the films and a tangled mess of corporate meddling. There is a strong heart at the center but finding it means peeling back layers of unnecessary and infuriating nonsense.
It's another Lego Marvel game with a so-so story leading to an immensely engaging open-world experience. That's fine if you primarily play Lego games to collect all the things.