GTA 6 Price Predictions, Hades 2 Impressions, And More Hot Takes

Image: Rockstar Games / Kotaku

It’s only been about two years or so since the video game industry began charging $70 for big games instead of the usual $60, due to game development costs increasing (and greed). This shift, understandably, didn’t go over well with players as the cost to stay up-to-date with modern gaming continues to rise, but that might not stop Take-Two Interactive (the parent company of Rockstar Games) from trying to push it further with Grand Theft Auto VI—one of the few upcoming games that could probably sell for $80. - Zack Zwiezen Read More

Image: Supergiant Games

Playing Hades in the throes of the anguish that was 2020 was exactly the balm I needed. It was the rare roguelike that worked for me, marrying a story that toyed with a pantheon and mythos I’d loved since childhood with some of the most white-knuckle combat I’d experienced in a game. Whether I wanted to check out for 20 minutes or 20 hours, Hades was there, and it was replete with narrative twists and turns, excellent combat, and best-in-class art to pass the time and delight me. It truly was, and remains, one of the most brilliant things I’ve ever played. - Moises Taveras Read More

Image: Microbird / Curve Games

Dungeons of Hinterberg begins in an awfully familiar place: burnout. Luisa, the heroine of this adventure, is actually anything but. She’s a hard-working junior at a law firm who hits the books all day and rots all weekend. By the time she’s en route to the Austrian Alps to vacation, Luisa’s feeling pretty empty inside and hoping that a quick trip to the mountains will rekindle the magic in her life, and she does mean that quite literally. - Moises Taveras Read More

Image: Disney

There have been a lot of good X-Men games in the past, hell there’s even enough to make a whole list of them! But there is one thing I’ve always felt these past titles were missing that I think would make for the perfect X-Men game: They should be more like the Persona series. - Willa Rowe Read More

Image: Nintendo

Fans have been clamoring for Nintendo to bring back Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for years. Arguably the most beloved entry in the gonzo RPG series, it sounds like the Switch remaster has delivered on all of the magic of the original while sanding off a few of the rougher edges for modern audiences. - Ethan Gach Read More

Screenshot: Happy Broccoli Games / Kotaku

Released on May 23, 2024 for Switch and Windows (and it runs perfectly on Steam Deck), Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is an endearing indie puzzle game full of character. And while I didn’t totally vibe with its puzzles, the presentation made the experience more than worth its brief, silly two-hour experience. - Claire Jackson Read More

Image: Geography of Robots

There’s something uncanny about dancing in video games. It’s a fun activity, but once it’s put in an unexpected context, things start getting weird. The dancing village in Elden Ring is one example of that, but there are also real-world events like the dancing plague of 1518 (a thing you should read about) that are even stranger than fiction. Uncanny dancing is at the center of Silenus, the short, experimental demo for the new narrative-focused game from Norco developer Geography of Robots. In less than an hour, the experiential album masquerading as a typical game demo delivers an uncomfortable commentary on the rot of capitalism. - Willa Rowe Read More

Image: Newfangled Games

The first thing that will jump out to you when starting the new indie puzzle game Paper Trail is how damn good it looks. A gorgeous color palette, lovingly crafted characters and environments that look like an arts-and-crafts project, and an almost tangible feel to the visible fold lines on the screen are wonderful to behold. That’s a good thing for a game that will have you staring at the screen for minutes at a time due to its complex puzzles. And that’s the game—well-designed puzzles in a beautiful art style packaged into a roughly seven-hour experience that doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s as simple as that, and while there are some shallow elements to the game, it nails the most important part of enjoyable puzzle design. - Willa Rowe Read More