Video Game, Movie, and TV Reviews

The highly-anticipated sequel, Hades 2, entered early access and delivered on the promise of fighting through hell once more, while games like Animal Well, 1000xResist, and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes also won us over thanks to their imaginative gameplay and storytelling. All of these games received a 9, as well as numerous nominations in the IGN Awards. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is also the best-rated video game adaptation of all time, according to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The movie holds an 86% “fresh” rating, and an even better 96% audience score.

After over 50 hours with Path of Exile 2’s early access, I feel I’ve only scratched the surface of what could become one of the best ARPGs ever made. Marvel Rivals is a wildly entertaining hero shooter and one of the best games that the genre has to offer. Yet another update for Starry Studio’s Once Human is here, introducing substantial quality-of-life improvements and some other novelties.

There are guns, but limited ammo makes them more situational tools⁠—I only ever used Indy’s trusty revolver to help take down a particularly meddlesome boss. I’m reminded of how the Elder Scrolls games have bad stealth, bad combat, samey dungeons, and uneven skill systems, but sell a fictional world so well, so completely, they’re still some of the best RPGs around. Arrowhead Game Studios’ fun and hilarious shooter was the big breakout hit of the year, quickly enlisting millions of new recruits for its galactic space war. Even though it stumbled with some recent updates, it remains a massively popular game and PlayStation’s big live-service win of the year. Our reviews of the latest and upcoming games, movies, TV shows, and more.

October 16, 2023 • The new PlayStation exclusive has you play as two Spider-Men, Miles Morales and Peter Parker. Each boast amazing abilities, but its the human moments in the story that really shine. October 18, 2023 • Nintendo’s first side-scrolling Mario game since the success of the Super Mario Maker titles delivers exquisite twists and fresh multiplayer. February 14, 2024 • The new remake of Mario vs. Donkey Kong delivers ace animation and a welcome “casual mode,” but its two-player co-op can be more frustrating than fun. Players are not happy with some aspects of Fortnite’s alternative styles and point out what needs to be changed to improve quality of life. Marvel Rivals fans are comparing the game’s incarnation of the unbeatable Squirrel Girl to her virtual appearances in previous Marvel games.

Marvel Rivals Players Compare Squirrel Girl Design to Previous Version of the Character

This year, 27 games received a score of 9 or 10, and of that only one new game received a 10 (the other 10 was given to a re-review of a very popular game). This is a marked downturn from 2023 where 36 games received our highest review scores, including five games that received a 10. January 17, 2024 • An estimated one to two million people already work out while wearing a virtual reality headset. Other returning players include Lee Majdoub as Ivo’s loyal henchman Agent Stone and Adam Pally as Deputy Sheriff Whipple, the latter of whom has appeared in not only all of the films but also the Knuckles TV series spinoff. A significant newcomer is Krysten Ritter as a high-ranking officer of G.U.N. — if you don’t know what that is, you’re not the target audience — but she’s sadly not given much to do. Idris Elba, James Marsden and gleamplay.com Tina Sumpter all return for the latest adaptation of Sega’s blockbuster video game series, along with Ben Schwartz as the titular hero.

Persona 3 Reload – Episode Aigis: The Answer: The Kotaku Review

We’ll update our awards tracker whenever new awards and nominations are announced. A 2022 LEGO game with absolutely stellar reviews drops to its lowest-ever price across multiple storefronts—but only for a limited time. Thursday, November 7 is set to be a particularly rough day for fans of games published by EA. HardwareThe Razer Freyja doesn’t quite nail its brief where Sensa HD tech is concerned, but it’s its audio-to-haptic features are still a game changer. I wanted to punch the guy and shove him down a hill the second he showed up onscreen.

Destiny 2’s newest update, The Final Shape, is a worthwhile finale to Bungie’s long-running shooter, while World of Warcraft’s latest expansion, The War Within, kicks off a new start for Blizzard’s beloved MMORPG. That certainly doesn’t mean 2024 was a worse year for gaming – far from it. But one thing that is apparent is that they were spaced out, unlike last year when the hits just seemed to keep on coming. In 2024, IGN didn’t give out a single 9 or 10 between the end of June and beginning of September, which helps explain why it felt a bit barren for games on the whole. Nevertheless, the year began with a literal deluge of great games before the noticeable summer pause. Especially at a place like Kotaku, where we have a whole headline format meant to declare our “definitive” word on a game, movie, or show.

Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”

Local animal-lover and rancher Marnie is a great friend to have in Stardew Valley. The Billy Bob Thornton-led film inspired a television series of the same name. ReviewThe Glorious Series 2 Pro needs to appeal to competitive esports players to survive, despite its slightly lower price point. ReviewThe SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds are an incredible set of drivers, offering impressively wide audio with a rich texture and all the features you could ask for.