Culture

As Mario Odyssey Patches Change The Game, Speedrunners Scramble To Keep Up

Super Mario Odyssey speedrunners often use glitches to grab tricky power moons or skip through major portions of the game. A new patch implemented alongside the new Luigi’s Balloon World mode last week blocked some of those crucial tricks, slowing any runner who upgraded their game. Now, the community is trying to figure out what…

Track: The Same Star | Artist: Belle & Sebastian | Album: How To Solve Our Human Problems Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

YouTuber Potato Chips Go On Sale In Japan

Potato chips featuring the images of popular Japanese YouTubers, such as Hikakin (pictured), are going on sale later this month. In Japanese, the bag reads “Yuuchuubaa Chippusu” (ユーチューバーチップス). The chips are “lightly salted flavored.” The chips come with collectible YouTuber cards, and there are already inevitable YouTube clips. Of course, there are. Kotaku East is…

Track: Make Me Feel | Artist: Janelle Monáe | Album: Dirty Computer Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Be Gone, Evil Spirits

Borislav Kechashki is a senior character artist at Ubisoft’s Sofia studio, where he’s worked on games like Assassin’s Creed Origins. You can see more of Borislav’s work 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…

Squidward Can Finally Kick Vegeta’s Ass

Today on Highlight Reel we have Bikini Bottom vs. Universe 7, tiny colossi, sad horse moments, 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! Catch…

The Week In Games: Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Breach

The long awaited follow-up to FTL: Faster Than Light arrives this week and the timing couldn’t be better. Perfectly situated in the middle of an otherwise mostly quiet release week, Subset Games’ Into the Breach comes five and a half years after the studio’s first strategy outing. There are mechs, time travel and gigantic creatures…

Track: Juicy | Artist: The Notorious B.I.G. | Album: 8 Mile Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Cute Couple

Laura Peltomäki is a character artist based in Finland. You can see more of Laura’s work at her 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 artists, showcasing the best of both their…

The Best Of Katsucon, 2018’s First Big Cosplay Show

The North American cosplay calendar kicks off every year with Katsucon, a massive show held every year just outside DC that attracts around 20,000 fans. That’s not how many cosplayers there are, that’s just the overall attendance figure, but it can feel like they’re one and the same when you look at how much quality…

It’s Hard To Go Back To Sub-60 FPS Gaming

On today’s Kotaku Splitscreen, we’re talking about noir games, how to get your husband into The Witcher 3, PC vs. consoles, and much much more. First, Kirk and I jump into news on Mafia 3‘s developer laying people off, Kentucky’s governor blaming video games for shootings, and the System Shock reboot facing development troubles. Then…

Sunday Comics: Room To Change

Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics that usually occurs on Sunday except when it doesn’t. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published February 23. Read more of Nerf NOW!!  Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published February 19. Read more…

The Two Friends Dominating Borderlands 2 Coop Speedrunning

A chance meeting and subsequent trip to Awesome Games Done Quick 2015 resulted in two college students forming a speedrunning duo that’s still setting world records. Speedrunners Amyrlinn and Shockwve know Borderlands 2 intimately. It would be a cliche to say they know Gearbox’s shooter better than the backs of their own hands, but they…

This Week In The Business: Move Over, Mario!

STAT | $295 million – Estimated revenue generated by Nintendo’s mobile free-to-play game Fire Emblem Heroes in its first year, almost five times the amount made by Super Mario Run QUOTE | “Honestly, we expected just to fund our Kickstarter, sell 250 to 300 carts.” – Piko Interactive founder Eli Galindo talks about the campaign…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for it being the last weekend of the Olympics, oh no! Also, video games. I’ve been playing oceanic FTL-alike Abandon Ship recently, and it’s pretty neat! The water, especially on the map, is really cool, and I’m enjoying getting the hang of its slow but tactical combat. There’s also an open beta…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: My Girlfriend Lied About Being A Cam Girl

Hello all you frightening sin warts, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating advice column to visit every singles bar in The Witcher 3. This week, we’re talking about honesty in your relationships. How do you explain to your partner that you were faking at least half of your orgasms while you’ve been…

Track: Mannish Boy | Artist: Muddy Waters | Album: Hard Again Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

The Boss Will See You Now

Mike Henry is director of art at German studio Bigpoint. You can see more of Mike’s work 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 artists, showcasing the best of both…

Fortnite Player Gracefully Accepts Death

Today on Highlight Reel we have Shadow of the Colossus glitches, mad mountain goats, Monster Hunter plays, 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!…

Steam User Develops His Own Way To Find New Games

These days, Steam is one-part library, one-part labyrinth. The sheer volume of games on the service is overwhelming. Valve’s solution to the problem has been to double down on algorithms, but many still don’t feel like Steam is helping them find diamonds in the rough. Enter Steam 250. Steam 250 is a site whose goal…