Zack Zwiezen

‘Shop Contest: Freelancing After Making

Super Mario Maker 2 was recently released and I’ve got Mario Maker 2 on the brain. I also wonder if making levels pays very well? Probably not. So construction Mario and his bro must work some side gigs to help make ends meet. Your challenge this week: Show us what Mario and Luigi do when…

The History Of Rainbow Road Speedrunning Is Filled With Bugs, Shortcuts, And Rivalries

The various Rainbow Road tracks that have appeared in every Mario Kart game are some of the most famous tracks in the entire franchise. They each are unique in their own ways and have attracted a large number of talented speedrunners, all hoping to set the fastest time. YouTuber Summoning Salt has put together a…

Sunday Comics: I’m A Good Person!

Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published July 1. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published July 1. Read more of Corpse Run Clueless Hero by…

‘Shop Contest: National Fried Chicken Day, Winners!

I love fried chicken. From a fast food joint, a local diner or homemade, I love it all. So in celebration of National Fried Chicken Day, I asked you wonderful readers to create some images featuring video game characters and fried chicken. You didn’t disappoint. You folks also made me hungry and now I crave…

It Takes A Lot Of Work (And Mistakes) To Pull Off An Impressive GTA Stunt

If you’ve visited Kotaku over the last few years, you might have seen videos of skilled Grand Theft Auto Online players pulling off impressive stunts. Sometimes they use bikes, sometimes cars, sometimes multiple vehicles are involved. These videos are always entertaining to watch. But have you ever wondered how many attempts it takes to successfully…

Someone Recreated A Bob Ross Painting In Minecraft

Bob Ross was famous for his show which helped teach basically anyone how to paint wonderful landscapes and vistas. But, what if you wanted to create a piece of art, but you didn’t have any paint or brushes? Well, one YouTuber decided to recreate a Bob Ross painting using Minecraft SmallishBeansis a popular Minecraft YouTuber…

Put Some Checkpoints In Your Mario Maker Levels

I’ve been playing Super Mario Maker 2 nearly every night since the game was released last week and I’ve encountered some really fun and well-made levels. But I’ve also noticed an annoying trend in many player made courses. It seems a lot of level creators are uploading levels without any checkpoints. Maybe some creators are…

Drampa Will Burn Your House Down

Every Pokemon is interesting and worth talking about. I don’t play a ton of Pokemon, but I do enjoy the universe and I love learning more about the creatures in it. So, Here’s Another Pokemon! It’s Drampa! Drampa Details Type: Normal/Dragon Average Height: 9′ 10″ Average Weight: 407.9 lbs. First Added In Generation VII Sometimes…

Isabelle Is Having A Good Time

Hello! Today we learn about a canceled Toy Story game, get some flashlights, drink some “Vacation Juice” and watch some chickens talk about kart racing. It’s Morning Checkpoint! Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week Like most weeks, Kotaku was filled with some great stories. Here are a few of my favorites! This sounds like…

An Easter Egg In Half-Life: Decay Can Only Be Found After Hitting A Corpse 600 Times

Some secrets in video games are found after hitting a hidden button or jumping out of a certain area. Sometimes you can find a secret by just doing nothing, which is the case in Far Cry 4. But in Half-Life: Decay, to find a small Easter egg you will need to do a lot. Like…

Mario Maker Contest: Summer Time Fun

Summer is here. The sun is out and hot, shirts are drenched in sweat, ice cream is back on the menu and ACs are turned down to their lowest temperature. So, instead of going outside, into the heat and sun, let’s stay inside and make some Mario Maker levels! Your challenge this week: Make some…

Armored Mewtwo Is Coming To Pokemon GO On July 10th

Mewtwo is coming back to Pokemon GO raids but will be sporting a new look. This armored version is based on Mewtwo’s appearance from the upcoming Pokemon anime film Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution. Niantic and The Pokemon Company released a teaser video showing off the new Mewtwo in action. The return of this more potentially…

Konami Says Sony Made The Last Minute Decision To Change PS Plus Game

Last week, Sony announced two new PlayStation Plus free game for PS4. The titles were Horizon Chase Turbo and Pro Evolution Soccer 2019. However, a few days later, on July 2nd, Sony announced that PES 2019 was being pulled and replaced with Detroit: Become Human. Konami, the publisher behind PES 2019, now says this last…

Playing VR Alone Is Terrifying

I recently bought Beat Saber for PSVR and have been playing it with my girlfriend. It’s fun and is a great way to get up and move around more. But when she is out of the house, I still sometimes want to play VR. But I’ve tried playing Beat Saber and other VR games alone…

The Week In Games: Summer Things

Stranger Things season 3 is almost here and next week, to coincide with the new season, a game based on the popular show launches on all major platforms. Will Barb return? (Probably not.) Speaking of strange(r) things, if you scan through this list, you might notice something odd. In the year 2019, we have a…

Track: Truth Hurts | Artist: Lizzo | Album: Cuz I Love You 

Summer Games Done Quick 2019 Raised Over $3 Million In One Week, Setting A New Record

Summer Games Done Quick 2019 has been a huge success and earlier this morning it was announced that the event had raised $3,003,889 for the charity Doctors Without Borders. This easily beat last year’s total of $2.1 million and is a new record for the popular SGDQ event. The week-long event showcases a variety of…

Star Wars Battlefront II Fans Are Loving The Recently Added Droidekas

You might call them Droidekas or you might call them destroyer droids, but whatever you call them, these rolling death machines were recently added into Star Wars Battlefront II. Since being added fans have seemingly fallen in love with the new droids, posting clips of how deadly they are, how buggy they can be, how…

‘Shop Contest: National Fried Chicken Day

Next weekend on July 6th, we all celebrate National Fried Chicken Day. Or at least we should. So instead of waiting until next weekend to do this contest, let’s get a jump on the festivities now! Your challenge this week: Give video game characters some fried chicken. In the past, when I’ve done National Holidays…

I Don’t Know Where To Put My Heroes

DOTA Underlords is Valve’s stab at the auto-battler genre. In Underlords, just like in Auto Chess and Teamfight Tactics, you place heroes you buy on a board and then they attack other heroes and creatures. And while I understand the basic rules and mechanics of the genre, I still have no idea where to place…