Culture

What We Loved (No, Really) About Alita Battle Angel

Alita Battle Angel is an adaptation of the beloved Gunmm  manga, and it’s a movie where everything that could happen in a movie happens. It’s got fights, a fake sport, a romance, and at the center of it all an amnesiac cyborg and her adoptive dad. I sat down with Tim Rogers to talk about…

Final Fantasy XIV‘s Director Talks Blue Mages, World Visits, And ‘Modern’ MMOs

Final Fantasy XIV is prepping for a new expansion later this summer. The lead-up to this expansion, Shadowbringers, has brought new classes like the Blue Mage, and will soon open worlds with the ability to visit other servers. Kotaku emailed questions to game director Naoki Yoshida (a.k.a. “Yoshi P”) about new job classes, whether or…

Shout Out To The Teen Who Played Apex Legends With Me Last Night

Last night, on my actually for real final Apex Legends game, I thought my squad was doomed. Our third squadmate had been disconnected, and I knew I was dead weight for the more experienced player I was tagging along with. I was content to get lost and then shot, because it was around midnight and…

Track: Sekai wo Owarasete | Artist: Haruka Mirai | Album: Eienno Hana Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Osaka Nights. Osaka, Japan. By Jesse Dijk | Instagram 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! 

There’s A New Game Based On How To Train Your Dragon And It’s Actually Pretty Good

Movie tie-in games that pop up with little fanfare are seldom good, so I didn’t expect much from Dreamworks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders. I certainly didn’t expect a charming, puzzle-packed old school Zelda-style action role-playing game. What a pleasant surprise. Released last week on Xbox One, Playstation 4, Switch and PC in advance of…

Track: Tsumi to Batsu | Artist: Sheena Ringo | Album: Shoso Strip Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Fairy Glen. The Isle of Skye, Scotland. By Nikola Muckajev | Instagram 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! 

For The Motherland

Dmitri Dimas-ch is an artist from Russia. You can see more of Dmitri’s work at his personal site and ArtStation page

The Week In Games: Freelancers Needed On Friday

Bioware’s latest game finally arrives this week. Anthem is out for everyone this Friday, regardless of your platform or if you have EA Access. I played a few hours of the beta and had a good time. But I’m also way too busy with like four other games so I won’t be picking Anthem up…

Track: Cold Sweat | Artist: The Sugarcubes | Album: Life’s Too Good Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Flowers. Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan. By Shawn Daker | Official Site 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! 

But That’s None Of My Business

Nishio Nanora is a 2D and character artist from Japan. You can see more of Nanora’s work at their ArtStation page

Overwatch Pros Share Their Cheesiest Pick-Up Lines

At the preview event for the latest season of the Overwatch League, cosplayer Stella Chuu—no stranger to this kind of business—polled players on their selections for Valentine’s Day pick-up lines. Somehow they manage to be both corny and yet slightly endearing at the same time, given the context. So much so you wonder whether every ult…

‘Shop Contest: Terry Crews Edition

Crackdown 3 was recently released and the world now has a video game starring Terry Crews. This is a good thing. But so many other games, both new and old don’t have any Mr. Crews. Let’s fix that! Your challenge this week: Put Terry Crews into more video games, please! I really enjoy Terry Crews…

Sunday Comics: Fartbutt

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 February 11. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published February 14. Read more of Corpse Run  Double XP by…

Star Wars: Demolition Was Twisted Metal With Rancors And Wookiees

Have you ever wondered who would win in a fight between a giant Rancor, Boba Fett and an AT-ST? Then you might enjoy Star Wars: Demolition, a game released on PlayStation and Dreamcast in November 2000. Star Wars: Demolition was developed by Luxoflux, the same studio that developed the Vigilante 8 games. These late 90s…

Daemon x Machina‘s Demo Is Pretty Good

I knew two things before playing Daemon x Machina. First, it has a wonderfully inscrutable name. Second, it has giant robots. The latter part is all that really matters to me—I adore mechs, from Gundam to Armored Core. After playing Daemon x Machina’s demo, I’m excited for the full game, even if the action doesn’t…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for being a long weekend, which is convenient, because there are too many games to play. I’m going to play Far Cry New Dawn, and Metro, and more Apex Legends, and try to make headway on the new Fortnite challenges…whew! I’m already thinking about how to optimize my time to get to…

Track: St. Petersburg (Live) | Artist: Supergrass | Album: Road to Rouen Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.