Culture

The Week In Games: Start Your Engines! 

Trials Rising, the newest entry in the dirt bike filled franchise, releases this Tuesday. I’ve been a fan of the Trials games since playing Trials HD back on my Xbox 360. I didn’t really play much of Trials Fusion, the previous game in the franchise. I have no idea why other than I was busy…

Croagunk Will Stab You With His Poison Fingers

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 Croagunk! Croagunk Details Type: Poison/Fighting Average Height: 2′ 04″ Average Weight: 50 lbs. First Added In Generation IV  …

‘Shop Contest: Terry Crews Edition, Winners! 

Last week I asked you fine folks to add Terry Crews into more games. You all did great, adding Terry to some games I expected and some really surprising inclusions. Our winning image this week was made by Mrichston. In their winning image they recast a classic Final Fantasy character as Terry Crews. Considering the…

Track: Burn It | Artist: Fever 333 | Album: Strength In Numb333rs  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for looking for a new available Origin name, because your Apex Legends teammates trying to pronounce whatever lazy thing you picked when you bought Mass Effect 3 isn’t quite cutting it. I will be playing a lot more Apex Legends, especially now that more of my friends are on. I’m also still…

Etrian Odyssey Nexus Is Busting My Balls And It’s Totally My Fault

I consider myself a veteran Etrian Odyssey player. I’ve hand-drawn dozens of maps across the role-playing game series, meticulously crawled floors for every treasure chest and scripted event, and gotten hundreds of monsters in my codex—conditional drops and all. So I came to the latest title in the series, Etrian Odyssey Nexus, pretty prepared for…

Track: E.S.P. | Artist: Buzzcocks | Album: Love Bites (2018 Remastered Version) Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Ginza. Tokyo, Japan. By Alex Mehl | 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! 

Your Secret Is Safe With Me, Roadhog

Josiah Haworth is an animator at Blizzard, where he’s worked on both World of Warcraft and Overwatch You can see more of Josiah’s animation at his Vimeo page.

Apex Legends Might Have Killed Sea Of Thieves‘ Twitch Momentum

At the end of January, Sea of Thieves seemed to be on the cusp of pulling off one heck of a trick: joining Twitch’s upper echelon after nearly a year of relative irrelevance. Popular streamers were piling onto the newly-refurbished ship’s deck, curious to see if it could provide a viable alternative to Fortnite, which…

The Internet Reacts To Bowser Taking Over Nintendo

After 15 years, the man, myth, and infinitely meme-able legend Reggie Fils-Aime has finally kicked enough ass and taken enough names. He’s being succeeded as president of Nintendo of America by a man with the greatest name of all: Doug Bowser. Never before have the jokes so readily written themselves. Within seconds of the announcement,…

Maybe Anthem Should Have Been An Early Access Game

BioWare’s Anthem launched with a lot of problems, and even after today’s patch, the game’s still got issues. On this week’s episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, we discuss the unpolished, unfinished feel of Anthem, compare its rocky launch to Destiny’s early days, and wonder whether Anthem should have instead entered an official early access period for…

Dead Or Alive 6’s Quest Mode Is Exactly The Single-Player Content I Wanted

There’s a hefty amount of solo content in Dead or Alive 6, including an expansive branching story mode that should keep players occupied for hours. But it’s the new DOA Quest mode, with its goal-oriented battles and costume unlocks, that’s captured my attention. It’s a series of bite-sized missions that I could play through all…

Track: Star Fruits Surf Rider | Artist: Cornelius | Album: Fantasma Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

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…