Culture

Games Are Better With Double Jumps

Last night, after hours exploring Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, I unlocked the ability to double jump. It was such a simple thing—one jump, another jump—but I suddenly felt a rush of possibility hit me. That’s because of all the video game-y tricks, double jumps might just be the best. Whenever I think of game…

Track: Vilia (Take 3) | Artist: John Coltrane | Album: Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment. 

Star Wars: The Last Youngling

Jordan Lamarre-Wan is an artist at Respawn, where he’s currently working on Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order He’s also worked on games like Metal Gear Online and Epic Mickey. You can see more of Jordan’s stuff at his ArtStation page

Longtime Twitch Streamer Is Thrilled To Be Teamfight Tactics‘ Best Player

Rumay “Hafu” Wang’s record is nothing to sneeze at. She’s won multiple major World of Warcraft tournaments, and she’s dominated Hearthstone’s rankings month after month. Still, she feels as though people don’t hold her accomplishments in the same regard as those of some of her male peers. That’s why she was thrilled to close out…

Twitch Launches Subscriber-Only Streaming Feature

On Twitch, fans can subscribe to their favorite streamers, typically for $4.99 per month. Usually, that comes with minor perks like subscriber-only emotes, subscriber badges, and access to subscriber-only chat, if streamers decide to enable it. But now, streamers are getting a big addition to their arsenals: subscriber-only streams. Previously, no matter how many subscribers…

Some Of The Best Summer Games Done Quick Speedruns So Far

Summer Games Done Quick is in full swing with speedrunners racing to complete games as fast as possible. The charity event always boasts exciting runs, and while there’s still plenty of time left, there are already plenty of highlights to help you get through a lazy Wednesday. One of the joys of Games Done Quick…

Juggling World Of Warcraft And Final Fantasy XIV Isn’t Easy

One minute I’m a gnome warlock, delving deep into the naga-infested ocean of World of Warcraft’s Azeroth. The next I’m a red mage with cat ears and a tail, trying to remember my spell rotation in Final Fantasy XIV before the Shadowbringers expansion comes out. There’s brand-new content in both of my favorite massively multiplayer…

Detroit: Become Human And Horizon Chase Turbo Are July’s PlayStation Plus Games [Updated]

July’s PlayStation Plus games are here, and if you like robots or cars you’ll be pleased. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active PlayStation Plus membership. (Update July 2, 9:20am—Today, PlayStation replaced original July PS Plus game Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 with Detroit: Become Human Digital Deluxe Edition. We’ve updated…

Track: Manic Monday | Artist: Prince | Album: Originals Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment. 

Akihabara. Tokyo, Japan. By ShuYung Wu JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Welcome To Naboo

Sean Marino is a 3D artist who works at Riot. You can see more of Sean’s stuff at his ArtStation page

Track: Raise The Sword | Artist: Beastwars | Album: IV Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment. 

Half-Life Fan Remake’s Final Chapter Is Now Partly Playable

The long-awaited Half-Life fan remake Black Mesa first came out back in 2012. Gee, sure has Xen a while since then, huh? And yet, only now is the saga finally nearing its conclusion. The Black Mesa team decided to take Half-Life’s divisive “Xen” chapters back to the drawing board and flesh out the alien fish…

Sometimes You Just Need A Good Game For When You’re Zombified

After a bunch of travel my brain is pretty much leaking out of my ears. Last night, I needed to play a game that would make me remember how to do critical thinking, but also wasn’t so involved that I would bounce off of it. Enter SteamWorld Quest I’d played a ton of SteamWorld Dig…

Track: Blueberry Nights | Artist: Macaroni Enpitsu | Album: Like Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment. 

Rice Fields. Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. By Brian Ashcraft | Twitter JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

A God Of War Fan Has Sketched Out A Sequel

God of War fan (and professional games artist) Yong Yi Lee has some ideas for a God of War sequel, and instead of writing them down in an overly-long Reddit/Tumblr post, has instead sketched it out. The gist: Kratos seems upset and is caught up in Ragnarök, and has to kill a lot of Gods.…

Another Popular Twitch Streamer Is Trying To Leave FaZe Clan

Last month, popular Fortnite streamer Turner “Tfue” Tenney sued FaZe Clan, the esports organization whose banner he plays under, over a supposedly restrictive contract. The lawsuit sent shockwaves in all directions, resulting in, among other things, FaZe player H1ghSky1 getting banned from Twitch after it came to light in Tenney’s legal complaint that he was…

Outer Wilds Is One Of The Best Games I’ve Ever Played

If you put me in a room with ten executives and asked me to pitch Outer Wilds, here is what I would say: “It’s got the exploration of a Metroid game and the structure of Majora’s Mask crossed with the interstellar wonder of No Man’s Sky and the narrative framework of Return of the Obra…

Week In Games: Let’s Go Make Another Mario

Perhaps the best-known game coming out this week is Super Mario Maker 2, a sequel much anticipated by many of us here at Kotaku, not to mention Mario fans everywhere. But that’s not the only cool game on the docket this week. There’s a Switch port of the original Devil May Cry, plus the 2019…