Culture

The Empire Had A Cocktail Party, No Rebels Allowed

In cosplay circles, just as in cinematic ones, it can sometimes feel like the Rebels have all the fun. So at this year’s Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, the Empire decided to have a party of their own, really let their (regulation-length) hair down. The event was called Cocktails Over Coruscant, and was actually the…

Robot Dinosaurs In The Mist

Richard Dumont is a freelance artist who has worked for companies like Ready At Dawn and Guerrilla Games. We’ve featured some of Richard’s Killzone stuff before here on Fine Art, but that was four years ago, so here’s a more recent showcase from games like Horizon You can see more of Richard’s work at his…

Track: FXMLDR | Artist: Thank You Scientist | Album: Terraformer Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Snakeybus is a game where you drive a bus that grows longer and longer as you pick up passengers. As in life, your only true enemy is yourself—your unpredictable backside, specifically. So it’s like classic game Snake, but in a big city where you’ve got to drop off passengers ala Crazy Taxi. It’ll be out sometime…

Speedrunner Smashes A Computer-Assisted Super Mario Bros. Record By A Single Frame

A tool-assisted Super Mario Bros. speedrun category that had seen no significant improvements for years may be getting a second wind after a single-frame improvement submitted by runner Maru370. Super Mario Bros. speedrunning is a highly popular activity, and today has hit a point where every significant improvement made is down to a matter of…

I’m Playing Six JRPGs At Once And You Can’t Stop Me

There are about four or five things I tell my friends that make them look at me like I’m deranged, and one of them is how I’m fond of playing the few hours of a Japanese role-playing game and moving on to another. (“It’s kind of like edging,” I say, “but with video games,” as…

Track: Paradise Is Under Your Nose | Artist: Peter Doherty & The Puta Madres | Album: Peter Doherty & The Puta Madres Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Here Are The Magic: The Gathering Cards That Caused Cheating Allegations

This weekend, Japanese player and Magic Hall of Famer Yuuya Watanabe was booted from Mythic Championship II in London after judges found markings on his cards’ sleeves. Here are said cards. After the disqualification, Watanabe released a statement regarding the cards and their sleeves. “I honestly don’t know how my Urzatron lands became marked, so…

Mission San Jose. Texas, USA. By Bill Staney | Flickr  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 Different Age

Visual design studio Karakter (who we’ve featured for their Game of Thrones work) were brought on by Ubisoft to help out with Anno 1800, and for a niche strategy series the results are gorgeous You can see more of Karakter’s stuff at their company site and ArtStation page. As for Anno 1800, we probably won’t…

The Internet Is Having A Hard Time With The Sonic The Hedgehog Trailer

The Sonic The Hedgehog movie is a blight upon this weary earth. I do my best to say positive. On some days, it works. On other days, the horrific trailer for Sonic The Hedgehog comes out. Lord, please help me. There’s a lot going on. Jim Carrey is devouring the scenery, having what looks like…

Fallout 76’s New Camera Quest Helped Me Fall In Love With The Game’s Broken Beauty

Fallout 76’s world is lonely. Despite being a multiplayer game, it hosts just a couple dozen people around a sprawling map in any session you play. Other Fallout games might have a lot of computer-controlled civilians to chat with. Not this one. All of the non-player characters died long ago, or mutated beyond recognition. This…

Track: Sweet Thing (Cover/Live) | Artist: Hozier | Album: N/A (Naked Noise Session)  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Jet Set Shinjuku. Tokyo, Japan. By Davide Sasso | 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! 

If Kojima’s Policenauts Was In HD

Hideo Kojima’s 1994 classic Policenauts is definitely not in HD, so EA artist Robert Smith has decided to try and see what protagonist Jonathan Ingram would look like in a 2019 video game. Ryan Gosling is the basis of the model, which would normally be enough to get us all a bit weak at the…

The Princesses Of Power

Yeah, there’s a new She-Ra out, but earlier this year this group of cosplayers wanted to pay tribute to the original 1980s series with this big shoot. All photos are by Justin Morrison, while the cosplayers are: She-Ra: intraventus Catra: jenevievedevereauxcosplay Mermista: kineticcosplay Flutterina – nikkigeecosplay Frosta – sarahchucosplay Glimmer – momobunnycosplay Entrapta – monstermoosecosplay…

Our Favorite Cosplay From Sakura-Con 2019

Seattle’s Sakura-Con is one of the biggest anime shows of the year, and in 2019 it was held on April 20-21 at the Washington State Convention Center. Justin Cosplay was there taking some photos and videos of the cosplayers in attendance, some of which he was kind enough to share with us below. But you…

Game of Thrones Was Really Dark Last Night

The night is dark and full of blurry camera cuts. Last night’s episode of Game of Thrones delivered one long, brutal battle, and Kotaku Splitscreen is here to talk about it. We spoil the episode in its entirety, and also talk about differences between the show and the books. However, we do not discuss any…

Game Of Thrones Fans React To Arya’s Bad-Assery

Last night on Game of Thrones, we learned just how badass Arya Stark is. Arya! Stark! Killed! The Night King! She stabbed that motherfucker! She ended the war! Last night’s episode, “The Long Night,” was an incredibly tense affair. At several points, I had to look away from the screen because I just couldn’t handle…

I Spent All Night Waiting For Dragon’s Dogma‘s Servers To Come Back Online

I’ve become obsessed with Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen for the Nintendo Switch. Having missed out on the original in 2012, I’m glad the Switch has breathed more life into this cult classic. Last night, the game’s servers—which allow players to share their companion characters with the world—were down. For the first time, I really felt…