Culture

Overwatch‘s Zarya Got Me To Start Lifting Weights

Overwatch features characters with body types and backgrounds that are not often seen in pop culture, let alone first person shooters. For many of us who rarely see ourselves reflected in media, this cast can seem radical and even life-changing—especially in my case. Zarya, Overwatch’s Russian strong-woman tank, inspired me to start weightlifting. This piece…

Track: Hot 97 Freestyle | Artist: Black Thought | Album: N/A Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Styles Of The Future

Siwoo Kim is an artist and illustrator from Korea who has worked in both games and film. You can see more of Kim’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…

Battlegrounds Player Becomes One With The Map

Today on Highlight Reel we have a boatload of Zelda clips, a calm snowboarder, Battlegrounds transcendence 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…

Track: Telecaster Stripes | Artist: Polkadot Stingray | Album: Honenuki E.P. Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

To The Moon‘s Sequel Feels Just A Bit Too Familiar

It’s been six years since everybody cried playing To The Moon, an indie narrative game about venturing into a dying man’s memories to fulfill his final wish. A lot has changed, especially in the world of independent game development. Sequel Finding Paradise, however, picks up right where To The Moon left off in almost every…

You’re Staring At A Demi-God

Here’s Sledgehammer Cosplay with about as perfect a Maui as we’re ever going to get, short of some guy actually tattooing his entire body with cute lil’ Disney images. Photo by Mark Rigsby Bonus: here’s some shots (gym work excluded) putting the outfit together:

The Internet Reacts To Hanzo’s New Skin

Overwatch fandom is split on Hanzo’s new skin. Love it or hate it, they can’t stop drawing it and talking about it. Hanzo’s new skin for the Overwatch winter event was inspired by a single panel in last year’s holiday comic, “Reflections.” Some fans were hoping it’d be closer to that illustration, or at least…

Track: Nav | Artist: Geotic | Album: Abysma Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Gang Beasts, the slapstick fighting game I once watched take over an entire festival, is out of Early Access. In it, you and three friends play as floppy, grabby little dudes made of jello and fury. Every encounter is a physical comedy sketch waiting to happen. Play it so you can challenge me, the Kotaku…

Track: I Ain’t No Joke | Artists: Eric B. & Rakim | Album: Paid in Full Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Designing A Fighting Game’s Roster

Brawlhalla is a cool lil’ fighting game, and today in Fine Art we’re taking a look behind the scenes at some of its character design. Vince Medellin was production designer early on in the game’s development, where he worked alongside Dave Montes on the game’s cast, as well as their skins. What’s interesting about Brawlhalla’s…

Guy Invented A Fake Coffee Shop To Scam Free Games, Developer Says

It’s not uncommon to hear stories from game developers and critics of people posing as YouTubers, reviewers, or other outlets to get free game keys from Steam developers. This one, however, takes the cake, with a side of coffee. Jacob Janerka, developer of surreal adventure game Paradigm, claims in a lengthy Imgur post that someone…

Dazed And Confused Cosplay!

We expect to see cosplay based on video games and anime, but it would be so good if more folks took the time to branch a little further out and take inspiration from other types of stuff. Like 1993’s near-perfect Dazed and Confused Michael Kane is O’Bannon, whileCharme Ensinger—who I can hear screaming AIR RAID through…

Track: Brown Eyed Girl | Artist: Van Morrison | Album: Blowin’ Your Mind! Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Someone’s Gotta Make Those Video Game Trailers

Maxx Burman is a VFX artist who has worked on games (or promos for games) like Destiny, Titanfall 2, Dark Souls 2 and League of Legends We’ve featured Maxx’s art before, back in 2014, but he’s back with a new showreel from more recent projects, which are definitely worth a fresh showcase. To see the…

Assassin’s Creed IV’s Sea Shanties Are A Treasure

Once a means of passing the time while sailors engaged in back-breaking labour on a ship, 2013 saw sea shanties take centre stage in Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed IV, where they promptly stole the show. They are, without a doubt,one of the best things about a very good video game Because of the way we’re taught…

Broken Destiny 2 Gun Is Also OP At Drawing Dicks

Today on Highlight Reel we have broken guns, Monster Hunter kills, Battlegrounds bikes 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 up on all…

Steam Removes Game About Hiding Porn From Your Parents

At first glance, You Must Be 18 or Older to Enter doesn’t look like porn. There’s far more ASCII than ass, and the game says its goal is to explore the awkward, scary feelings that accompany a person’s first steps into sexuality. However, last week Valve yanked it because it decided the game is porn…

Super Mario Odyssey Player Beats Game Without Jumping

Mario is synonymous with jumping, so the prospect of playing Odyssey without vaulting into the air probably sounds ludicrous. But, as it turns out, the game only considers very specific acts to be a “jump,” prompting one YouTuber to see if he could finish the game while keeping the jump counter at zero. Mario Odyssey,…