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CultureOdds and EndsKnockout City’s Best-Dressed Players Are Also Its Scariest
We often fear powerful things, because we can’t control them. A giant, unstoppable bear. A deadly bomb. An unfeeling, AI-controlled drone with missiles. Or even, a player wearing some sick threads in an online video game, indicating they’ve been playing longer than you and will likely kick your ass. Knockout City is a lot of…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 7, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsEarthBound Secrets Discovered On Ancient Floppy Disk
In 2018, Marcus Lindblom, a former Nintendo of America employee best known for localizing EarthBound, discovered the floppy disk containing his personal files from that massive project in an old box. He had, at some point, wiped the disk to make room for more data, but thanks to the folks at the Video Game History…
By Ian Walker Published June 4, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsThe World’s First ‘Skateboating’ Game Looks Rad
Skateboarding is cool and all, but it’s been around for a long time. I’ve played plenty of skating games. I need something new. Something like Wave Break, a skateBOATing game that combines ‘80s era visuals, boat grinding, and animals into one rad-looking package. Wave Break is currently being developed by Funktroniclabs. Based on a trailer…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 4, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsNike Has Made Some “Anime” Sneakers
Similar to the “Gamer” tributes from 2020, Nike is launching a new line of sneakers called Nike And The Mighty Swooshers, which is going to be based entirely around anime. The shoes won’t be specifically licensed; again, like the “Gamer” sneakers, they’ll just be inspired generally by Japanese animation, though look close enough (at things…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 3, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsResident Evil Village Vs. Resident Evil 4: The Best Merchant
In one corner, a large, helpful man who sells weapons and cooks meals. In the other corner, a mysterious figure who has a lot of good things on sale today, stranger. He also might be infected? It’s time to figure out who’s better: The Duke from Resident Evil Village or The Merchant from RE4. The…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 3, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsDissecting The Ridiculousness Of Resident Evil Village
Resident Evil Village is all Kotaku’s staff has been talking about since it came out. Between the plot twist, hand gore, and Tall Lady Thirst, there was much to discuss, so staff editor Lisa Marie Segarra, weekend editor Zack Zweizen, and staff writer Ian Walker got together for a spoiler-heavy chat. Zack Zweizen: Hello, Ian…
By Lisa Marie Segarra Published June 3, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsIt’s 10 Years Since You First Didn’t Plan To Buy A Wii U
Cast your minds back, nostalgia fans, to those halcyon early summer days of June 2011. It was E3, back when people met together in buildings and when people still cared about E3, that Nintendo revealed the follow-up to their astonishingly popular Wii console. Yes, as Reggie Fils-Aimé took the stage, that was the very first…
By John Walker Published June 2, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsEvo 2002 Trailer Is Definitely From 2002
Over the weekend, someone uploaded an ancient trailer used to promote 2002’s Evolution Championship Series fighting game tournament, and boy is it something else. As the first year the tournament series—which was previously known as Battle by the Bay—used the Evo name, you can tell they went all out in producing this video. It’s got…
By Ian Walker Published June 1, 2021 -
CultureOdds and Ends$35,000 Could Win You This BTS Chicken McNugget Shaped Like An Among Us Crewmate
Today, in a weird confluence of internet mega-fandoms: There is a chicken nugget from the McDonald’s BTS meal shaped like an Among Us crewmate up for bid on Ebay for more than $34,000 whole-ass American dollars. That’s it. That’s all I got in the face of this overwhelming evidence that the human race are simultaneously…
By Ash Parrish Published June 1, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsMass Effect 3 Easter Egg Revealed After Nine Years
Nine years since the release of Mass Effect 3 and just a couple of weeks after the release of its shiny new Mass Effect Legendary Edition remaster, a long-hidden Easter egg has been revealed. On May 18th, Richard Boisvert, who appears to be a former BioWare developer, posted on r/masseffect about an Easter egg he…
By Ash Parrish Published June 1, 2021 -
CultureOdds and Ends15 Years Ago This Month, Valve Announced Half-Life 2: Episode 3
It seems like just yesterday when Valve announced a trilogy of expansions for their super-popular PC game, 2004’s Half-Life 2. But it’s actually been 15 years since Episode 3 was announced. And while Valve has since released a new Half-Life game, it wasn’t the one the developer announced back in 2006. Thanks to the internet…
By Zack Zwiezen Published May 30, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsRed Dead Online Players Found A Glitchy Water Wheel That Sends Them Flying
There might not be any jetbikes in Red Dead Online, but that hasn’t stopped some players from figuring out a new way to go soaring into the sky. All you need to do is stand on a specific water wheel and wait. Soon, you’ll be flying like a bird. This odd Red Dead Online bug…
By Zack Zwiezen Published May 30, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsHere’s Someone Playing Minecraft Using A Bop It
Bop it! Pull it! Flick it! Mine it! Bop It is a toy that (sigh) kids from the 90s will remember. I played way too much of it. I brought it to school even, which was fine because my teachers and classmates also wanted to play with it. Now Seth Altobelli has taken this toy…
By Zack Zwiezen Published May 29, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsFortnite X Books You Read In High School
Fortnite’s gotten a crossover with Mistborn, a fantasy series by Brandon Sanderson. Following a Twitter teaser, players can now get a skin of character Kelsier along with a themed back bling, pickaxe, and load screen. It’s the game’s first book tie-in. A few Kotaku staffers have read Mistborn and were excited by this news. Another…
By Riley MacLeod Published May 28, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsNew Witcher Board Game Hits $3 Million On Kickstarter
Well would you look at this, a licensed board game shipping with 10,000 plastic miniatures is making millions on Kickstarter. This is my most surprised face. The Witcher: Old World is a new game by Go On Board that’s set a few years before Geralt’s time, and has up to five players (one for each…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsThe Last Of Us Game Actor Will Be In The TV Series
Well, this is neat! While the upcoming The Last Of Us TV series has been busy recasting everyone’s favourite murderers, replacing the iconic faces and voices we grew to love (?) over two grisly experiences, one actor from the game will be playing the same character in the show: Merle Dandridge, who played/plays Marlene. As…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsThe Sonic Diamond Necklaces Are Cool, Actually
Soon, rappers, jewelry enthusiasts, or nerds with money to burn can buy their own Sonic-themed diamond necklace. Tucked into today’s Sonic news stream was a gem (heh) of an announcement—a collaboration between Sega and jewelry maker King Ice to create four gold chains featuring the diamond-encrusted heads of beloved Sonic characters. Naturally, the internet has…
By Ash Parrish Published May 27, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsGastly Lollipops Look Too Cute To Eat
I recently stumbled upon a wonderful YouTuber named Manna-Tanuki who creates incredible-looking sweets. Their latest video highlights some adorable Gastly lollipops that look more like Pokémon decorations than food. If you want a more in-depth look at how these lollipops are made, check out this video from late last year in which Manna details the…
By Ian Walker Published May 27, 2021