Luke Plunkett

The Art Of Ni no Kuni 2

We don’t get to run too many Japanese games on Fine Art, so it’s a pleasure tonight to be able to feature some of the work that went into Ni no Kuni 2 While Studio Ghibli partnered with Level 5 on the first game, they didn’t officially help out on Ni no Kuni 2. But…

You Can Take Some Lovely Photos In Yakuza 6

I spent a lot of time punching dudes into walls in Yakuza 6, but I also spent a lot of time wandering the streets of Tokyo (and the sleepy seaside town of Onomichi) with my phone out, taking snaps to remind me of my good times doing good deeds. Let’s get this straight: this is…

Death Road to Canada, a zombie-themed road trip game, has had its console release delayed following the van attack in Toronto yesterday that left 10 dead and 15 injured. Originally due out on April 25, the game’s publisher says “it would be deeply inappropriate to launch the game at such a time”, and that they…

Rest In Peace, Green Axe

Suzanne Helmigh is an artist who has worked on stuff like Magic: The Gathering and Horizon Zero Dawn She’s currently got a personal project, the illustrated fantasy novel Caldyra (which she’s been working on since 2012!), up on Kickstarter. Below you’ll see a bunch of art from the book, along with some of Helmigh’s other…

In BEACON, You Become The Enemies Who Kill You

BEACON is a “science fiction-themed action roguelite that plays like a top-down shooter.” The game involves running around an alien world collecting DNA from everything you kill. When you inevitably die, you’re able to splice that DNA into your own, inheriting some of the skills and traits of your foes. I wrote about the game…

Sick Teenager Meets Sporting Heroes Using A Virtual Reality Robot

A 14 year-old boy who is unable to leave his house due to multiple health issues has been able to meet some of his favourite football players (and watch a game) by controlling a robot that was carried out onto the pitch. Jack McLinden, a fan of Everton (in England’s Premier League), lives just two…

How NBA Jam Was Made

At GDC last month, there was a fantastic talk given by the game’s creators on how the arcade classic NBA Jam came to be. That talk is now online, and is definitely worth watching if you like video games, basketball and/or 90s haircuts. Most of the talk is given by lead designer and programmer Mark…

Track: I Want To Hold Your Hand | Artist: Melvins | Album: Pinkus Abortion Technician Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

I See Your Point

Nikita Bulatov is a freelance artist based in Moscow. You can see more of Nikita’s work at his VKand ArtStationpages. To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their…

Magic Cards Are Better With Gifs

It’s not that Magic cards don’t look great as they are. Some of the best artists on the planet are working on them! It’s just, no lavish painting of a giant angel or whatever can compete with a dumb gif. Via Super Punch, Magic: The GIFening (created by Buzzfeed’s Max Woolf) is a Twitter account…

How Some Of The Best Cosplay On Earth Is Made

While the traditional idea of building cosplay invokes the image of one or two people toiling away on an outfit, Henchmen Studios work on an almost industrial scale, drawing on the talents of massive teams to produce work so good that they’re often hired by Blizzard to help debut Overwatch characters. Take the company’s latest…

Track: Antarcticans Thawed | Artist: Sleep | Album: The Sciences Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

New Reaper Action Figure Looks Great

Ignoring my repeated demands for a Figma Mercy, Good Smile have instead decided that the next kickass Overwatch figure is going to be Reaper. He’s out in Feb 2019. And while he doesn’t actually come with any extra gear, he does come with some pieces that simulate effects like Death Blossom and Shadow Step. Reaper…

Taxi Gang

Max Prentis is a freelance illustrator based in London. You can see more of Max’s work at his Facebook and ArtStation pages, and commission art at his store page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of…

Young Geralt Mod Gives Me Complicated Witcher Feelings

A buddy of mine, playing The Witcher 3 for the second time, is going nuts with mods this time through. He sent me an email the other day: “Have you seen this mod that turns old-ass Geralt into young Geralt?”. No, I had not. Now I have. And I kinda wish I hadn’t. But am…

Oh, Cities: Skylines Is Now Also A Theme Park Game

I was happy enough with Cities: Skylines when it was just about building cities, but it’s now adding the ability to construct giant theme parks as well, so cool, why not. Parklife, an upcoming expansion for the game, adds a bunch of stuff like national parks and theme parks (which you can set ticket prices…

Fight! Fight! FIGHT!

Sci-fi author (and occasional Kotaku weekend custodian) Peter Tieryas has a new book in his United States of Japan series coming, and once again it’s all about…well, look, it’s all in the name: Mecha Samurai Empire We did an art showcase on the last book, which featured designs by John Liberto, but this one not…

Konami’s Friendship With The Champions League Has Ended

One of the few brightspots in an increasingly bleak existence for Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer series has been the fact that back in 2008 it signed a 10-year deal with the massively-popular UEFA Champion’s League. That deal is now over. PES and FIFA’s annual showdown is the last great rivalry in sports video gaming, and…

Instead of fixing NBA Playgrounds, the developers have decided to just go ahead and release a sequel. It’ll be out this Summer.

Paragon Used To Look A Lot More Interesting

As it was released (and as it is about to die), Epic’s Paragon looks very much like a Generic Video Game™. But these original pieces of character design show that it was at one point looking a lot cooler. They were done super early in the game’s development—we’re talking years before release—by artist Dave Rapoza,…