Culture

I Still Enjoy Watching People Play Quest 64

Quest 64 is the first game I ever watched someone speedrun. I didn’t know that’s what I was doing at the time. It was the late ‘90s, and the term was not yet in common use. My younger brother managed to beat the game in a single sitting, something I’d never previously imagined being possible…

Track: Kaze wo Atsumete (cover) | Artist: Yamane Kazuki Band | Album: N/A Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Track: Human Convention | Album: Happy However After | Artist: Kindo Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Aww Gee, Here’s Some Rick & Morty Behind-The-Scenes Art

Tommy Scott is an artist who has worked in both games and TV, perhaps most recognisably with some concepts and environments for Rick & Morty’s third season. Scott was responsible for the sketches below and the design of the backgrounds, while the painting of said backgrounds was done by Hedy Yudaw, Brianne Neumann, Matt Bauer,…

Shameless (in a good way) Tribes-alike Midair is finally releasing. It’s hitting version 1.0 and going free-to-play on Steam tomorrow, meaning that blue plate specials are back on the menu again after Tribes: Ascend died, came back to life like a glorious phoenix, and then died again just to rub it in.

20 Years Of Crunch Take Their Toll On A Game Developer

Game developer Shane Neville is no stranger to crunch. He claims that while he was at Electronic Arts in the late ‘90s, he once worked nearly four months without a day off, averaging 90 to 110 hours per week making Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed. Eventually, after seeing the toll it took on him, he…

Dating Sim Monster Prom Rewards Some Pretty Ghoulish Behavior

In most dating sims, it’s obvious how to romance your crush. You just talk to them over and over, selecting the nicest dialogue responses until your persistence is rewarded. Monster Prom flips that script by introducing both character stats and a competitive multiplayer component. In Monster Prom, you’re a monster attending a monster school who…

Track: Dou Demo Ii Kedo | Artist: Never Young Beach | Album: YASHINOKI HOUSE Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Post-Apocalyptic Cosplay Looks Like It Survived The End Of The World

Dimitri Zaitsev, from Nuclear Snail, built this piece of post-apocalyptic cosplay that’s so detailed it looks like it travelled back in time to warn us to save the bees while we still could. We’ve featured Nuclear Snail’s work before; rather than directly replicate costumes from stuff like Fallout, Mad Max and STALKER, he comes up…

Stole Your Heart

Justin Chan is an artist who has worked for companies like Hasbro, Vlambeer and Nick Jr. You can see more of Justin’s art at his ArtStation page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game…

Springtime In Japan Means Great Cosplay  

NicoNico, Japan’s video sharing platform, holds a big party every year called Chokaigi at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, outside Tokyo. It’s a huge otaku event and the cosplayers show up in droves. Here are some of the best cosplayers from this year’s Chokaigi.

BOY…And Girl

Ilya Golitsyn is a senior concept artist at Guerilla, where he’s most recently worked on Horizon Zero Dawn You can see more of Ilya’s art at his ArtStation page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of…

Hopefully The Witcher’s TV Show Looks As Good As This Cosplay

Here’s Dutch cosplayer Rick Boer with one heck of a Geralt of Rivia. Rick made all costumes and props himself, and as with so much of Rick’s cosplay, the real star is his make-up work. You can see more of Rick’s cosplay at his Instagram page

Monster Hunter Player Nails it

Today on Highlight Reel we have stylish moves, God of War dad advice, Far Cry 5 glitches, and much more! Watch the video then talk about your favorite highlight in the comments below. Be sure to check out, like, and share the original videos via the links below. Subscribe to Kotaku on YouTube for more!…

Track: Crazy, Classic, Life | Album: Dirty Computer | Artist: Janelle Monáe Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

What We Liked And Didn’t Like About Avengers: Infinity War

Marvel actually did it. The reigning king of planet blockbuster crammed 30-plus superheroes into a single sardine tin of a movie. Did it work, though? Was it any good? Compete staff writer Maddy Myers, Kotaku social media editor Seung Park, and I sat down to discuss the lengthy punchfest’s ample highs and lows. Nathan Grayson:…

Super Mario Odyssey, Six Months Later

Super Mario Odyssey came out last October and continues to delight players. Datamined secrets, awesome glitches, and a fancy balloon hunting mode have kept players exploring the game’s vibrant world long after other games have come and gone. There’s been plenty of ups and downs to Super Mario Odyssey including broken scoreboards, awesome speedruns, and…

Speedrunner Beats Super Metroid With Horrifying Vaseline-Covered Controller

Sometimes, it just isn’t enough to speedrun a game. Sometimes, you need to get your hands dirty. One speedrunner took those words to heart this weekend, completing a Super Metroid speedrun with their hands and controller covered in vaseline. V0lrat is a speedrunner who plays multiple games like A Link to the Past, Claymates, and…

Why God of War Took Five Years To Make

On today’s special bonus episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, God of War director Cory Barlog joins the show to talk about JRPGs, text size, and what the future looks like for Kratos and fam. Warning: This chat is extremely spoilery!!! You can listen to the whole thing with our fancy embedded player, get an MP3 right…

The Week In Games: Time To Get Funky

As we inch ever closer to the summer months, there are bound to be a week or two that don’t offer much in the way of new games. This is one of them. At least we can get our hands on some new old Donkey Kong. The Wii U may not have been the last…