Hackers have cracked the Nintendo Switch all the way open, Bethesda sues the Westworld game developers, and Overwatch gets infested with rodents – in a good way! All these topics and more on this episode of Kotaku XP, our weekly video about hot game stuff.
When preparing the show this week, I knew I wanted to end on the Overwatch new hero reveal, because Hammond is a hamster. I told myself, “This would be a good time to have a lightning-round discussion about controllable rodents in video games.”
I promised myself I would not think too hard about it. The workday passed.
Well, when we got into the recording studio, I guess I’d psyched myself out way too hard: I had succeeded in not considering playable gamevermin all day. During our recording, we came up with a measly 6.5 examples.
As I write this post, I find myself thinking of so many more that did not come to me during the show: Sparkster from Rocket Knight Adventures is a possum, which is a rodent. Then there’s Punky Skunk from Punky Skunk for the original PlayStation.
Wait. I just Googled “Skunk” and, whoa: Skunks aren’t rodents. I didn’t know that.
Bandicoots, also, are not rodents.
Oh no: Hedgehogs aren’t rodents, either. So we actually only thought of 5.5 playable rodents.
I feel like such a fraud for not knowing that hedgehogs aren’t rodents. Apparently many varieties of vermin (AKA “varmints”) aren’t technically rodents.
Hey, I just remembered you can play as a rat in Claymates for the Super Nintendo! So there’s that. I don’t need Google to tell me rats are rodents.
Oh man – Hamtaro. Pikachu. There are probably a hundred more.
Help me out in the comments!
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