Culture

Track: Flight From The City | Artist: Jóhann Jóhannsson | Album: Orphée Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Portal Speedrun Breaks The Game And My Brain

A speedrunner named Can’t Even has achieved the new world record for the “Out of Bounds” category in Portal by zipping through the game in a blistering 7:07, toppling their own previous record of 7:12. The run is pretty astonishing. The basic play of this Portal speedrun category involves getting the camera out of bounds…

Every Game Kotaku Splitscreen Played In 2018, Part Two

It is now time for part two ofKotaku Splitscreen’s Game of the Year discussions. Except we don’t really want to pick a Game of the Year. We want to pick every Game of the Year. This week, Kirk, Maddy, and I close out 2018 by talking about all the games we played this year from…

Sunday Comics: Palace Mouse 

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 December 24. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published December 27. Read more of Corpse Run Double XP by…

Track: Closedown | Artist: The Cure | Album: Disintegration Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

‘Shop Contest: Everyone Is Santa, Winners!

Last week I asked the ‘Shop Crew to put together some holiday cheer, and y’all brought it all together. I asked you to turn characters into Santa, but the holiday cheer seemed so exciting and powerful that you all just zipped and zapped your way into holiday extremity. Our winner this week is Dixie-Flatline, who…

A New Illustrated Telling Of Majora’s Mask’s Enigmatic Story

No matter how much one dives into the lore of The Legend Of Zelda Majora’s Mask, establishing absolutes about what really happened in the world of the 18-year-old Nintendo 64 adventure can be tricky. I’ve decided to try. The Zelda games usually follow the Triforce mythology in which reincarnations of Princess Zelda and the adventurer…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for scrambling to prepare for a trip next week to Norway, for which I have done more or less nothing but buy some warm socks. But are they enough warm socks? It’s all very exciting but stressful, so I will probably blow off some steam by playing video games. Over the holiday…

My Decision-Packed Return To Final Fantasy XV

Having recently acquired a Playstation 4 Pro, I sat down to decide what game I would play with its graphical boosts. After some consideration, I opted for Final Fantasy XV. I played it when it first came out and enjoyed it a lot. But the game’s grown since then, with DLC campaigns, expanded story sequences,…

Track: Traveling | Artist: Utada Hikaru | Album: Deep River Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Training For A Tournament With A Melee Pro Was A Rude Awakening

If failure is the quintessence of humility, then as I sat slumped over a fold-out chair in a bar beside a CRT television, GameCube controller in hand, I was the ultimate product of video game shame. It started with arrogance. I thought I could walk into a competitive Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament and breeze…

I’m Determined To Build A Tiny House For My Sims

I’m home for the holidays, and my parents love the interior-design focused TV station HGTV. That means a lot of Property Brothers, House Hunters, and Tiny House, Big Living. Although I have my own obsession with House Hunters (how do they keep finding such horrible people?), I also have a soft spot for the tiny…

What Gaming Gear Did You Get (Or Gift) This Holiday Season?

Every year, once the Christmas dust settles, I pose to our dear readers the same question: What glorious gaming gear did you give and/or receive this holiday season? I’ll start. Behold my beautiful limited edition translucent pink Hello Kitty Dreamcast. I own a perfectly functional plain white Dreamcast, but the special Hello Kitty edition of…

I Feel Guilty Accepting Help In Final Fantasy XIV

It’s the holiday season, which means I’ve been unwinding with my secret favorite game of 2018, Final Fantasy XIV, and leveling up character classes. I started leveling Blacksmith in order to make a friend a holiday gift, but I found myself propelled to higher levels thanks to unprompted charity from peers. It’s made me wonder:…

Here’s January 2019’s PlayStation Plus Lineup

I fell in love with Steep after getting obsessed with the winter Olympics, so I’m excited to see it on January’s PlayStation Plus lineup. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active PlayStation Plus membership. January’s PS Plus games are: PlayStation 4 Steep Portal Knights PlayStation 3 Zone of the Enders…

The Week In Games: Dynasty Core

It’s the last full week of the year, so there are a slim number of releases. Most of them are on the Switch. Like every year, a lot of games have released this year. I imagine that you, like me, have a dozen or so games that you’ve been meaning to get to that you…

Blindfolded Speedrunner Demolishes Outlast 

I don’t care for first-person games that are heavy on jumpscares, and so speedrunner AcrohTheBeast’s 10:24 blindfolded run seems like the perfect way to play the game. While the actual time of the run would put it somewhere above 100th place in the official speedrun rankings of the game, I have a lot of respect…

‘Shop Contest: Everyone Is Santa

Christmas is coming, and that means Santa Claus. I want you to make all of the video game characters into Santa. For those who celebrate it, Christmas can be stressful. Families get together, travel is involved, and it can swing from wildly pleasant to incredibly bad. However, I think that most of us can agree…

Every Game Kotaku Splitscreen Played In 2018, Part One

It is now time forKotaku Splitscreen’s Game of the Year discussions. Except we don’t really want to pick a Game of the Year. We want to pick every Game of the Year. As has become annual tradition, this week we’re going back and talking about all of the games we played in 2018. Kirk, Maddy,…

Sunday Comics: Wolf Elf

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 December 17. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published December 20. Read more of Corpse Run Double XP by…