Destiny 2 Hype, Dragon's Dogma 2 Hate, And More Of The Week's Gaming Opinions

Dragon’s Dogma 2 currently has everyone talking, and we’ve got our own thoughts on the game’s highs and lows. We’re also cautiously optimistic for the future of Destiny 2 and have opinions on a few of this week’s gaming-related April Fools’ Day shenanigans. Read on for more.

Image: Square Enix / Kotaku

Final Fantasy XIV’s next expansion, Dawntrail, releases on June 28 (for those who pre-order). I’m looking forward to it. There is just one problem—I still haven’t finished the last expansion, Endwalker. Yes, I know it came out at the end of 2021, but time just got away from me and I fell off in the middle of the expansion. At the time of this writing, the date is April 3. That gives me 85 days to complete Endwalker and its patches. This calls for a drastic change in strategy that I hope will help me in my mission: I am switching my platform of choice from PC to PS5. - Willa Rowe Read More

Image: New York Times / Apple / Kotaku

Just a few months ago, I was incapable of completing the New York Times’ Connections puzzles. Now, I can usually do the daily word-based puzzle without too much of a hassle—which is why today’s version has got me (and others) so irrationally angry. You see, today, April 1, 2024, I opened up the New York Times app to defeat Connections and was greeted by four rows of four emoji. This is blasphemous. - Alyssa Mercante Read More

Image: Bungie

Destiny 2 is a game I’ve gotten used to quitting on. For as long as I’ve played it, I’ve always found reasons to put it down. As much as it wants to be a game people keep coming back to, everything about the way it’s been built makes it bristling, thorny, and off-putting. The longest stretch I’ve spent comfortably playing the game was the months after the release of The Witch Queen, when my infatuation with it just so happened to dovetail with some of its most compelling narrative beats, as well as a smattering of events and activities that constantly reminded me of how fun Destiny 2 could be. It’s been a while since those days now. - Moises Taveras Read More

Screenshot: Pocketpair / Kotaku

April Fools’ Day is a nightmare for news writers. This morning, I woke up to an Overwatch Cavalry post about an Overwatch 2 x Valorant crossover, and it took my brain at least eight seconds to catch up to the date posted underneath the graphic. April Fools’ Day is the annual “make fun of dating sims” celebration for many brands, because it seems that the only way top-level executives will even entertain making a dating sim is if it’s as a joke. Such as Riot making mock-ups of a Valorant dating sim or Square teasing a hypothetical Nier one. - Kenneth Shepard Read More

Image: Molleindustria

The goal of The New York Times Simulator, a new, free game, is simple: keep readers happy and don’t get shut down. It’s a problem any modern media outlet knows well. But this new game doesn’t just make you any old journalist struggling to make a living in today’s fraught media landscape. No, it puts you in the shoes of the paper of record’s editor-in-chief. It’s a game about navigating the mission of publishing “all the news that’s fit to print” when your key demographic may not want to hear that news, or may want it softened or ideologically slanted for their comfort. It’s a radical work of games as satire that shines a light on the power of editorial angle and influence, illuminating just how important word choice can be in influencing public perception. - Willa Rowe Read More

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a game that’s all about holding players accountable for their actions. Capcom’s recently released RPG includes a lack of fast travel that requires methodical planning, a mysterious plague infecting pawns that you have to be mindful of, and an interconnected web of quests that can change depending on if certain NPCs die. Which is why (outside of defending against the game’s many monsters) I have refrained from killing NPCs. That is until I met Martin. I killed that man in cold blood. In my defense he had it coming, and I’m not the only player who thinks so. - Willa Rowe Read More

Image: Capcom / Kotaku

Off the beaten path of Dragon’s Dogma 2, away from the safety of the roads, lies a creature unlike anything else the game has to offer. The Sphinx is a unique beast in that she doesn’t challenge the player through combat; rather, she challenges you in a game of wits. It’s a series of riddles that test your knowledge of the game and encapsulate Dragon’s Dogma 2’s design, both its successes and its frustrations. I can’t help but love it. - Willa Rowe Read More

Enotria: The Last Song’s recent gameplay trailer shows off its intriguing mask mechanic

Out of Rebirth’s many mini-games, there’s one that hits a flat note with our writer