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This is Yukeshiro with some League of Legends/K-Pop cosplay. All photos by Sarenka z Aparatem

What We Absolutely Loved About Castlevania Season Two

The first season of Netflix’s Castlevania animated series was pretty good, if a bit rushed due to a four-episode length. The second season expands with more episodes, more characters, and some amazing fight scenes. Staff writer Heather Alexandra and senior reporter Mike Fahey sat down to talk about how much they loved the new season.…

You’re Just Not Scary Anymore, Cthulhu 

I wanted to be frightened of Cyanide Studio’s new Lovecraftian horror game, but the scariest thing about Call of Cthulhu is the sloppy stealth action segments that try to add tension to an otherwise casual adventure game. Back in 1981, when Chaosium first published the tabletop role-playing game on which Call of Cthulhu is based,…

Track: Yokogao Shika Shiranai | Track: Humbert Humbert | Album: Folk Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Overwatch Cosplay From Another Universe

This is Keltonfx, a cosplayer and makeup artist, with one of the most incredible pieces of Overwatch cosplay I’ve ever seen. This male Symmetra costume takes three of the character’s skins (Oasis, Dragon and Devi) and combines them with other elements of Hindu mythology and classical Indian dance to form this fantastically elaborate piece of…

Our Favorite Cosplay From Anime Fest @ NYCC x Anime Expo 2018

The inaugural Anime Fest@NYCC x Anime Expo was a fairly controversial show as far as these things go! Seen as an intruder on the existing Anime NYC, and with ticketing and scheduling issues with the main NYCC show, it didn’t exactly set the world on fire. But some cosplayers still braved the mess to turn…

Until Dawn Is Much Different When You Play With Friends

Neither of my roommates play games, but they’re both fans of Halloween. To help get us in the spirit I introduced them to Until Dawn, a horror game with lots of branching narrative paths depending on what you choose. One of my roommates isn’t that into spooky stuff but is definitely down to watch scary…

The Week In Games: Cosmic Kingdom Wizard Kid

This week brings Lovecraftian nightmares, demonic entities on the Switch, and some hearty kingdoms. In the immediate wake of Red Dead Redemption 2, we’ve got a real mix of different games to check out. It’s a week of compilations, as the omnibus Kingdom Hearts: The Story So Far is releasing alongside the LEGO Harry Potter…

Track: The Emergency (Radio Edit) | Artist: BT | Album: These Hopeful Machines Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Mint In Box

Artur Mukhametov is a Russian concept artist who has been working in the games business since 2013. You can see more of Artur’s work at his ArtStation page

Track: Ringleader | Artist: Public Memory | Album: Wuthering Drum  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

‘Shop Contest: Fallout 76 Exploration Committee 

Fallout 76 is Bethesda’s upcoming multiplayer wasteland domination experience, and there’s going to be a number of great things to discover in it. Your task is to depict those things. We all have memories of great experiences in games. I have nearly perfect sense memory of where I was when I crested the first hill…

We All Sometimes Struggle With Work-Life Balance

Today on Kotaku Splitscreen we’re talking about crunch, a complicated issue that affects us all in a lot of ways. Work-life balance can be a tricky thing for many people working in all sorts of fields, including video games. Kirk has spent the past week doing nothing but playing Red Dead Redemption 2 for his…

Sunday Comics: Candy Bag

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 October 22. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published October 25. Read more of Corpse Run Double XP by…

Track: Soak | Artist: Zola Jesus | Album: Okovi Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

‘Shop Contest: Luigi Is Scared, Winners!

Luigi is often frightened, and now we know why. Last week I asked you to show me, exactly, why Luigi was so scared. You did, with many scares and an extreme amount of frightens, and now I am here to deliver a winner and lots of honorable mentions. After all, Luigi is someone who is…

This Week In The Business: Do AAA Games Require Crunch?

QUOTE | “Rockstar is a good company to work for. When it’s not crunch, it’s not a bad place at all. The money’s alright, there’s a bonus at the end of the year. It’s just that crunch practically kills people.” – A former Rockstar Lincoln QA tester believes a good company to work for will,…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for starting Red Dead Redemption 2 because you fell asleep before it launched last night, because you are an old man. I never played the first Red Dead because I didn’t own a console, but I always wanted to. I read about the game a whole lot—highfalutin academic papers weren’t quite the…

My Red Dead Redemption 2 Playthrough Has Already Gone Way Off The Rails

I’m about to go away for a week, vacationing far from my PS4. I’ve been trying to use the last few days to get the most out of the early copy of Red Dead Redemption 2. I think I’m doing it “wrong,” but having a great time along the way. Lately I’ve stopped advancing the…

Track: Kenshi Yonezu | Artist: Flamingo | Album: TEENAGE RIOT Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.