Culture

The Week In Games: Eating Donuts On Trains With Yakuza

It’s another week in games, and we’re starting to move out of the summer doldrums and into more games than we can handle. Huzzah! Games I’m looking forward to this week include Donut County, Fear the Wolves, and Yakuza Kiwami 2. If you haven’t played the very excellent Sunless Sea, it’s coming to PS4 this…

Track: Gold & Final | Artist: Big Business | Album: Mind The Drift Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment. 

The Princess Of Power

Steffi Walthall is an illustrator and concept artist who has worked in games, film and publishing. Note that some of these images have appeared as illustrations for articles on The Tempest You can see more of Steffi’s art at her personal site Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing…

‘Shop Contest: This Is Where The Magic Happens

We experienced a new Overwatch short this week where we saw some heroic D.Va action, and our ‘Shop Contest is in response to that. I want you to show me where the magic happens. In the short, D.Va explains that “this is where the magic happens.” Does she mean inside of her garage? Is her…

What It Was Like To Work On Final Fantasy XIV During The Launch Catastrophe

When Final Fantasy XIV first launched, in 2010, it was such a disaster that publisher Square Enix made the unprecedented move of taking it offline and launching a brand new version three years later. What was it like to be there? Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, we discuss. Michael-Christopher Koji Fox, who heads up the translation…

Sunday Comics: Update Troubles

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 August 20. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published August 23. Read more of Corpse Run Double XP by…

‘Shop Contest: Snake? Snake! Snaaaaake! Winners!

I’ve been missing Snake recently, so I asked you all to ‘shop up some information about what the Metal Gear protagonist has been up to recently. You didn’t disappoint, and now I have a lot of Snakes to display. I’ve got a lot of respect for Snake. After all, he’s a guy who can’t catch…

This Week In The Business: Doubt, Confidence, and the Journeys Between

QUOTE | “My lead programmer was expecting me to say, ‘you’re right, this is crazy, we can’t do this.’ But I’m like, ‘this is easy, man. This won’t be so bad.’ Even though, inside, I’m feeling a tremendous amount of doubt.” – In his talk at Devcom 2018, Sony Santa Monica creative director Cory Barlog…

Track: Geyser | Artist: Mitski | Album: Be The Cowboy Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

It’s been a hell of a week, readers, but we’ve made it to the weekend. I have very big plans of doing nothing but running in the very nice weather, cooking (hopefully) tasty food out of the host of cookbooks I’ve bought recently, and playing a lot of video games. I finally caved and bought Yakuza…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: My Girlfriend Won’t Let Me Break Up With Her

Hello all you perfumed meatbags of impending doom, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating advice column that patches a New Game+ into your love life. This week, it’s all about doing the necessary, hard work. Last week we heard from someone whose wife left him after changing up her lifestyle. This week…

It’s Been A Groundbreaking Month For Ocarina Of Time Speedrunning

The last month has seen some dramatic changes to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time speedrunning, especially in the completionist category. A handful of newly-discovered glitches and shortcuts have blown open the doors on what was previously thought possible. One of the scene’s most accomplished players has managed to combine them to achieve some…

Track: The Universal | Artist: Blur | Album: The Great Escape Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Full Metal Arm Wrestling

Han is a Chinese-Vietnamese artist currently based in Belgium. You can see more of Han’s work at her Tumblrand order prints at her store Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you’re in the business and have some concept,…

Track: Let Me Know | Artist: Perfume | Album: Future Pop Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

The Best Cosplay From AnimeFest 2018

Over 10,000 fans packed in over the weekend to the Sheraton Dallas Hotel for AnimeFest, a convention run by a non-profit group who have been educating the masses about anime since the early 90s. Where there are cons there is of course cosplay, and below is a selection of the best of it, with all…

Morning Coffee, Visualised 

Natalie Dombois is an illustrator and graphic designer from Germany. You can see more of Natalie’s work at her personal site and Instagram page Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you’re in the business and have some concept,…

Sexy Steam Games Have Spent Months In Limbo Thanks To Valve’s Inconsistent Rules

James Cox was finally feeling optimistic about his game’s chances on Steam. Last year, his horror-inspired exploration of what it’s like to look at porn for the first time, You Must Be 18 or Older to Enter, got booted from Valve’s walled garden, but then, earlier this year, Valve said it was getting rid of…

PUBG Is Getting A Training Mode

Since time immemorial (it’s been a long year), PUBG players have been asking for a training mode. OK, actually they’ve mostly been asking for bug fixes and optimization, but they’ve also been harping on the whole training mode thing. Soon, they’ll be getting their wish. Training mode will take the form of a new 2×2…

The Internet Reacts To Overwatch’s Animated Short About D.Va

After two years of waiting, Overwatch hero D.Va finally has her own animated short. While some people wish it gave a little more insight into her backstory, everyone can agree that D.Va is a selfless, precious angel who has never done anything wrong. Hana “D.Va” Song is an incredibly popular character, to the point of…