Luke Plunkett

Valiant Hearts: The Kotaku Review

Valiant Hearts is a wonderful story trapped inside a video game. An epic tale set against a (mostly) realistic take on the First World War, Valiant Hearts tells the story of a number of very nice people caught up in the events of one of humanity’s most pointless and bloody struggles. The way it fleshes…

Veteran actor Eli Wallach, who appeared in films like The Magnificent Seven and The Godfather Part III – but who is most famous for his role as Tuco in The Good, The Bad & The Ugly – has passed away at the age of 98.

Tron, League Of Legends And Redheads

Joon Ahn, who has previously worked at Lucasarts and at Disney on the excellent Tron: Uprising, is now a senior concept artist at League of Legends developers Riot Games. You can see more of his work at his personal site and ArtStation page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re…

You’re Basically Getting A New STALKER

We’ll likely never get a proper STALKER game again. But that’s OK! Some of the people who made STALKER – and Metro 2033 – are off to make a new game that’s a lot like STALKER, it just isn’t called that. That game is Areal, which is currently up on Kickstarter, described as the “definitive…

Rare Album Sells For Over $40,000 (Minecraft’s Creator Bought It)

Earlier this month, fans of British electronic musician Aphex Twin got a treat, with an entire album’s worth of unreleased music salvaged and sent out following a successful Kickstarter campaign. The actual record, though, could only go to one person. And that person was life-long Aphex Twin fan Markus Persson. The Minecraft creator won an…

It’s June 24. Which is Ezio’s birthday (if he was both real and alive), so Italian Assassin’s Creed cosplayer Geneva decided to celebrate with some crossplay. Photo by Eliza Russo.

Zelda Ass-Kicker Gets Her Overdue Time In The Spotlight

Impa, one of the Zelda universe’s most under-appreciated badasses (at least in Sheikah form), is getting her due in the upcoming Hyrule Warriors Having only appeared in this guise in two Zelda games (Ocarina and Skyward Sword), she’s got some time to make up for. And by time, I mean killing.

Few Things On Earth Are Prettier Than Super Famicom Box Art

Long-time readers will know I’m a sucker for good Japanese box art, but this story and gallery really helps drive home how awesome it is, and how awesome it’s always been. In very general terms, Japanese box art – and yes, I know this only really important to artists, collectors and very serious fans –…

Nintendo’s President Had Surgery To Remove A “Bile Duct Growth”

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata wasn’t able to attend this year’s E3 due to health problems. They were kept vague at the time, but we now know what the concern was, and it sounds bit more serious than first thought. Initial word from the company said he was skipping the trade show due to the advice…

40 People Hitting Each Other In The Face

Screenwriter Max Landis had an idea: put 40 people (some who knew each other, others total strangers) in a room, pair them up randomly and get them to slap each other in the face. These gentlemen were not involved. These folks were A lot of these are kinda gentle, but boy, some folks get smacked

Track: BLOUBEK | Album: Nag Van Die Lang Pette | Artist: Jack Parow Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

When Cosplay Goes From A Pastime To A Job

When Stacey Lee Feldman first saw Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 1999, her life changed forever. And not in a “Star Wars will never be the same again” kind of way, either. [Top image: Peter Verrant] After seeing the film’s two Jedi protagonists spend most of the film wearing luxurious brown robes, Feldman instantly…

The World Cup Is The Perfect Time For (New) Classic Football Games

FIFA may dominate the football game market these days, but there once was a time when people’s tastes were simpler, and more arcade in nature. Pixel Soccer speaks to that time. First revealed earlier this year, a Kickstarter is now up for the game, and with World Cup madness sweeping the globe, there’s probably no…

A Most Useless Guide To The Steam Sale

There are so many games to buy. But which to choose? None of these. (Though I wish you could) Unbelievable video games from the Steam sale [Slacktory]

Science Might Know What’s Wrong With Hodor

Look, I know it has dragons and giants, but the majority of Game of Thrones is actually grounded in some pretty brutal reality. So science can look at someone like Hodor and say, well, maybe he’s just a simple giant, but let’s try and diagnose his condition anyway. Best-selling science author Sam Kean reckons Hodor…

Video Game Pre-Ordering Jumps 17 Sharks, Lands On Face

The only thing proving this isn’t satire is the fact it was published on the official Assassin’s Creed YouTube channel. I mean…fucking hell. Seems as good a time as any to bring this up Play the Assassin’s Creed Spin to Win Game [Ubisoft, via Polygon]

Indie’s Take On Skyrim Delayed Until…The Future

Frontiers, an indie take on a Skyrim-like experience, is looking very promising. It was also meant to be out this year. Sadly, it now won’t be When will it be out? The developers have decided on an “it’s ready when it’s ready” approach, which will please some looking for a polished and complete experience, but…

Wolfenstein: The New Order was as surprising as it was excellent. Mostly because nobody actually expected it to be so excellent. Giant Bomb has a great interview with the game’s creative director that explains how they tackled franchise fatigue, got away with death camps and reinvigorated a franchise.

I Always Wondered How A Space Marine Got Dressed

If you don’t remember it from the last time we showed you, Lord Inquisitor is a fan-made Warhammer 40K short film that promises to be a lot better than anything Games Workshop has managed officially. Around this time last year, we showed you a couple of trailers for the project. This year, there have been…

The Soldiers Of The Future Are Very Sharp Dressers

Joseph Cross was one of the very first artists we featured here on Fine Art, back before it was even known as Fine Art. In the three years since we last saw his work he’s left EA for Bungie. Some of these pieces are from his work on Destiny (one you’ll even recognise from the…