Culture

Cleared To Land

Najeeb Najjar is a concept artist and matte painter from Yemen. You can see more of Najeeb’s stuff at his ArtStation page.

Anthem‘s Demo Ends With An Exciting Cloud And A Less Exciting Rock Monster

Anthem’s open demo, which launched this past weekend, had its first “mini-event” last night. A fiery vortex formed in the sky, and some big rock monsters appeared on the ground below. It made for a nice change of visuals and something new to hunt, but like a lot of what the demo has shown off,…

The Week In Games: Who’s Hungry For Some Gods?

This week’s biggest release is God Eater 3, a game which I don’t really know anything about! Looking at screenshots and videos it seems cool. Maybe I’ll give it a try when it comes out February 8th on PS4 and PC. Before I looked up anything about God Eater I had this idea in my…

Track: Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, Prélude | Artist: Yo-Yo Ma | Album: Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Winter Is Here. Porsgrunn, Norway. By Marcus Patai | 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! 

They Are The Eggmen

Yerbol Bulentayev is a concept artist from Kazakhstan. You can see more of Yerbol’s work at his ArtStation page

Before Elder Scrolls, Bethesda Helped Create Madden

And then ended up in a legal battle that would drag on for decades

Sunday Comics: Mommy?

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 January 28. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published January 31. Read more of Corpse Run Double XP by…

Trading Card Bots Sent A Small Indie Game Rocketing Up The Steam Charts

If you look at a list of the Steam games with the all-time highest concurrent player counts, you’ll mostly see the usual suspects: PUBG, CSGO, Fallout 4, Grand Theft Auto V, etc. An outlier, however, hovers on the outskirts of the top ten. It’s called Geneshift, and it got there because of the hard work…

For Honor’s New Fighter Leans Into The Game’s Simple Pleasures

For Honor got its first new fighter of 2019 yesterday: Black Prior. I could talk about how it’s cool that Black Prior is sort of emo and brooding and has a weird affection for skulls. Or how the character puts an interesting emphasis back on turtling, a strategy that almost strangled the fun out of…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for ambitious cooking plans, or for getting too overwhelmed and playing video games instead. I’m super-excited to play Sunless Skies now that it’s out of early access. I’m also going to spend some time in Subnautica: Below Zero, because Subnautica is great and because I can’t resist any game with snow. What…

Track: Face My Fears | Artist: Hikaru Utada & Skrillex | Album: Kingdom Hearts III OST  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Central Park Ice Trees. New York, New York. By Cliff Ivie. 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! 

Mosh Pit Simulator, one of the more captivatingly bizarre VR games I’ve ever seen, is now in early access. It’s the latest creation from Sos Sosowski, who released the equally bizarre (though not VR) McPixel back in 2012. Mosh Pit Simulator takes place in a world that’s become an endless mosh pit, and people have…

Today, Twitch added new moderation tools that include channel-specific details about each user. Mods can now see number of messages, bans, timeouts, and user-specific comments from other mods. This will hopefully allow them to more effectively keep chat, er, not terrible. Take that, improbably named user BabyRage.

Sunless Skies Is A Grim, Thrilling Adventure Through Victorian Space

My first death in Sunless Skies was equal parts embarrassing and fitting. My crew was desperate, starved and half-mad from the horrors they’d witnessed. We’d just narrowly escaped what we initially thought to be a friendly vessel, until a bouquet of otherworldly tentacles burst from its bow. There were no ports in sight. It wouldn’t…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: How Do I Tell My Boyfriend I Also Have A Platonic Life Partner?

Hello all you walking slabs of haunted pork, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating advice column that’s a certified keyblade wielder. This week, we’re tackling the tricky art of relationship maintenance. How do you introduce future boyfriends into a platonic polyamorous relationship? How do you turn down a friend who’s looking for…

The Sheer Joy Of Kingdom Hearts

Is Kingdom Hearts brilliant or incomprehensible? Hackneyed or joyful? Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, we decide that the answer is… all of the above! First we talk about the many games we’ve been playing, including Resident Evil 2, Wargroove, Bloodborne, and Destiny 2. Then we take a deep dive into Kingdom Hearts (34:01), debating whether the…

There’s Something Weirdly Comforting About Playing Games That Are Just ‘Okay’

When I started playing My Time At Portia, I wasn’t expecting much. A few YouTubers I liked were playing it and I just wanted to check it out. It didn’t really wow me, but also wasn’t egregiously bad. It was just… fine. I still played it until midnight. I love perfectly crafted, engaging, smart games…

The Internet Reacts To Piranha Plant’s Smash Debut

Piranha Plant has finally joined the fray in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Players are welcoming their new pot-bound friend. I didn’t get Piranha Plant when it was announced. As a secret final fighter, a potted plant didn’t wow me, even if it did spit poison and spiked balls. Now that it’s actually out in the…