Culture

Tokyo Streetscapes

Elora Pautratis a concept artist and illustrator working for Evening Star, the studio made up of a lot of Sonic Mania vets You can see more of Elora’s stuff at her personal site and Instagram

Track: Tempo | Artist: Lizzo ft. Missy Elliott | Album: Cuz’ I Love You Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

‘Shop Contest: Happy National Pencil Day

Hey did you know that yesterday was National Pencil Day? I didn’t know until I saw it on Google. So let’s celebrate the pencil. It’s like a pen, but for cowards. Your challenge this week: Give some video game characters pencils. Or make them pencils. Up to you. Just give me some pencils. That coward…

Sunday Comics: For The Horde!

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 March 25. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published March 28. Read more of Corpse Run  “Ever wonder what party…

‘Shop Contest: Playing Labo VR Everywhere, Winners! 

Last week I asked the talented readers of Kotaku to help my boss, Kotaku’s Editor-In-Chief Stephen Totilo, play Labo VR everywhere and anywhere. Portable VR is only useful if you actually get out and travel with it, after all. Our winning image this week was created by Joacrpro who shows us an alternate use for…

Vigoroth Is Always Stressed And Can’t Stop Eating

Every Pokemon is interesting and worth talking about. I don’t play a ton of Pokemon, but I do enjoy the universe and I love learning more about the creatures in it. So, Here’s Another Pokemon! It’s Vigoroth! Vigoroth Details Type: Normal Average Height: 4‘ 07″ Average Weight: 102.5 lbs. First Added In Generation III Vigoroth…

Gordon Ramsay Hates People Who Cook Their Gundams

Today we find out that Gordon Ramsay hates deep fried Gundams, learn what dreams you have when you are asleep for three weeks and share some stories about when our heads explode. It’s Morning Checkpoint! Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week Like most weeks, Kotaku was filled with some great stories. Here are a…

Valve Breaks Silence Around Artifact, Says It Plans To Fix ‘Deep-Rooted’ Issues

In the past week, Artifact’s peak concurrent player count hasn’t even reached 500. Mere months after its November 28 launch, the Valve-developed card game is floundering. Now the Artifact team has decided it’s time to reshuffle the deck. In a blog post breaking the lengthy silence surrounding the DOTA 2 spin-off’s uncertain future, Valve admitted…

Overwatch Pro Blocks Racist Message With His Own Face During Stream

During a recent stream, New York Excelsior Overwatch player and impossibly pleasant married person Jong-ryeol “Saebyeolbe” Park came up against a particularly unpleasant foe. Another player decided to use Overwatch’s in-game notification system to spam Saebyeolbe with a racist message he couldn’t immediately block. The racist assbag in question continuously sent Saebyeolbe friend requests using…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for having volunteered to go to something annoyingly far from my house, but there are worse ways to spend a Saturday morning than reading on a long commute. The weekend is also for video games. I’m excited to check out Risk of Rain 2. I own Risk of Rain on both my…

My Sims Won’t Freaking Stay In One Place To Finish A Meal

Where do you eat dinner? At the table? On the couch? In your bed? If you’re a Sim, you eat all of your meals at all three of those places consecutively during the same meal. I’m freaking sick of it. In The Sims 4, Sims refuse to sit and stay seated while they eat. I…

Track: Don’t Let It Go To Your Head | Artist: Brand Nubian | Album: Foundation  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Man Makes A Real Version Of Sekiro‘s Umbrella Shield

In Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, there is a metal umbrella that can protect against attacks. Inventor Colin Furze decided to make a real-world version and then shoot firecrackers and fire at himself. The original in-game Loaded Umbrella is quite a stylized concept, so it’s neat to see that a real-world version does work as an…

Telephone Lines. New Dehli, India. By bjoern | 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! 

The Art Of Far Cry: New Dawn

For a post-apocalyptic game, set after the world is turned to fire and ash, Far Cry: New Dawn sure is pretty. So let’s look tonight at some of the art that went into the game’s conception and production. This isn’t everything from everyone who worked on the game, but it’s a selection that’ll give you…

When Fashion Photography Meets Cosplay

Rizaldy Celi is a fashion photographer who is just getting into cosplay, and I love the way he’s bringing his eye for the former into his work on the latter. You can see more of Rizaldy’s stuff at his Instagramand personal site

We’re Very Skeptical Of Google Stadia

It’s been a week since the Google Stadia announcement at GDC, and its big promises still don’t add up. Who is Stadia for? Could it ever work from a technical standpoint? Why should game developers or streamers be excited about it when it’s not clear how the heck they could ever expect to make any…

Devil May Cry 5‘s Director Tells Us How They Made Combat Feel So Damn Good

Devil May Cry 5 is a fever dance of slashes, air-steps, and ball-crushingly powerful grapples—a bloody monster mash caught somewhere between street brawl and mosh pit. It’s also, according to director Hideaki Itsuno, a “good-feeling” game. When I met him at Capcom’s offices in San Francisco last Wednesday, I wanted to know exactly what that…

The Division 2‘s Wild Puzzles Stump Players, But One Of Them Turns Out To Be Bugged

For over a week, Zachary Jaglowski has been trying to figure out what the deal is with a mysterious basement in The Division 2. The 24-year-old graphic designer from New Jersey has explored the small downstairs space with a friend, and they’re convinced something is up with it. They’ve had their characters shoot out all…

The Messy Princess Management Game I’m Still Playing Anyway

From the moment I saw NIS America’s The Princess Guide I was intrigued. The screenshots barely made any sense, but they looked gorgeous. Crisp, bold black lines, vibrant colors, and tons of incomprehensible but delicately arranged icons. After a few hours of actually playing the game, I barely understand it any better, but I feel…