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Tips & GuidesXbox’s Quick Resume Might Mess Up Your Games’ Playtime Count
Last fall, while playing through Mass Effect 2 for the first time ever, I noticed that my endgame hour count tallied more than 87 hours. Weird, but whatever. Moving on. Turns out, Xbox’s ballyhooed next-gen Quick Resume feature appears to keep running the clock on some games. Of all the features introduced with the Xbox…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesSo, Is It Safe To Play Returnal Now?
Over the past 24 hours, Returnal, the PS5-exclusive action game about getting repeatedly bullied by space tentacle monsters, has weathered a serious patch of turbulence. Two patches in 12 hours. Myriad reports of corrupted save data. Me, getting killed over and over again by an irritating boss. Okay, fine, maybe that last one’s not Returnal’s…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesHow To Beat Returnal’s Early Bosses
Returnal, the PS5-exclusive action game about pretending you’re in the Tom Cruise film Edge of Tomorrow, is no cakewalk. The rank-and-file enemies are one thing, what with their tentacle laser beams and relentless volleys of neon death basketballs. But it’s the boss fights that will really give you a run for your money. Read: Kotaku’s…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesHow To Not Die (As Much) In Returnal
The science-fiction action game Returnal, out today for PlayStation 5, drops you all by your lonesome on a haunting, uncharted exoplanet. It’s a gorgeous, fresh, fascinating game that’s well worth sticking with. It’s also quite difficult. As with any game built around a live-die-repeat structure, you will die—a whole, whole lot—on your escapades through Atropos.…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesLet’s Hear It For ‘Death Chains,’ The Best Weapon Mod In Outriders
Like any loot-shooter, Outriders is based on chance. But you can sidestep luck by leaning on the game’s intricate network of gear mods, many of which can significantly change the way your guns and armor behave. Most are good, but none compare to Death Chains, a tier-two weapon mod that—and this is putting it lightly—fucks…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesTips For Playing Outriders
At first glance, Outriders might look like a game you’ve played one thousand times: a sci-fi third-person shooter in which you shoot stuff to get better gear in order to shoot more stuff. But there are plenty of quirks, making this loot-shooter more complex than you might think. Since the game’s early-April launch, a few…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesHow To Skip Monster Hunter Rise’s Pesky ‘Quest Complete’ Cutscenes
Once you get comfortable with the basics of Monster Hunter Rise, the real game of grinding out rare materials for high-level equipment can finally begin. While one would normally need to wait through a cutscene every time they finish a mission, a simple trick allows players to skip this brief vignette, reducing downtime between hunts.…
By Ian Walker -
Tips & GuidesFive Good Settings To Tweak In Outriders
As if there weren’t enough looter-shooters around, Outriders is out today. It’s a whole lot of game, with a whole lot of settings that can affect how you play. Some are obvious; some are not. It goes without saying that such things are a matter of taste, but I’ve found the following tweaks have made…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesPSA: If You’re Stuck On The Outriders Title Screen, Be Patient
Outriders is finally out today for all of the things (save for the Switch). But some players have reportedly found themselves unable to play, seemingly stuck on an infinite loading screen. Pro tip: Just stay in line. They have to count your login. A similar issue plagued the Outriders demo, which became available late February…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesIt’s So Easy To Carry Your Progress From The Outriders Demo To The Full Game
Following a delay and a month-long demo period, looter-shooter Outriders is out today for basically every platform but the Switch. If you played the demo, you can carry your progress over to the main game if on the same platform, something developer People Can Fly made clear from the jump. But it’s astonishing how seamless…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesIf You Pre-Ordered Kingdom Hearts On PC, Make Sure You Received Your Discount
The PC release of Kingdom Hearts offers the latest hiccup in the insidious world of video game pre-orders. Four games in Square Enix’s long-running plot maze are officially out on PC today via the Epic Games Store where they’re currently marked down by 20 percent through April 6. But if you pre-ordered any of the…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesI Finally Fixed An Annoying PS5 Icon Glitch
Late last year, I replayed Assassin’s Creed III via the remastered PS4 edition. I played it on my PS5 and after completing it, I deleted the game. Yet its digital ghost haunted my PS5 for months. Finally, this weekend, I removed it thanks to a random Twitter user and Greg Miller. I installed Assassin’s Creed…
By Zack Zwiezen -
Tips & GuidesHow To Sign Up For The ‘Xbox Insider’ Program
Yesterday, Microsoft announced that party chat, previously only available to members of Xbox Live Gold, will soon be free to all Xbox players. The company revealed the news in a tweet with phrases like “Alpha,” “Alpha Skip-Ahead,” and “flighting.” Meanwhile, an accompanying blog post featured a string of numbers: 2104-210323-0000. What the hell does all…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesDon’t Delete PS4 Avengers Before Importing Your Saves To PS5
Following a delay last fall, Marvel’s Avengers is officially out today for next-gen consoles. But if you’re trying to boot up your PlayStation 4 save files on PlayStation 5, you might notice that your hard-grinded save data doesn’t automatically transfer over. Personally, I was aghast. My Iron-Man didn’t deserve to be stuck at level one!…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesThere’s A Lot More Bravely Default 2 After The Credits
Most games “end” when the credits roll, but not Bravely Default 2. After you defeat the ostensible final boss, sit through the ensuing melodrama, and get booted back to the main menu, there’s a lot more Bravely Default 2 waiting for you. Spoilers follow for the late-game of Bravely Default 2 Bravely Default 2 feels…
By Ari Notis -
Tips & GuidesSo, When Will You Be Able To Get A PS5?
Picture this: You pop into your neighborhood big box store, hoping to buy a PlayStation 5, and it’s just there. It’s on the shelf. You can pay for it, you can leave the store with it, and it’s yours. No need to sit at your desk refreshing browser tabs all day. Sounds pretty nice, right?…
By Ari Notis
