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Track: You’re The Best Thing About Me | Artist: U2 | Album: Songs of Experience Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Here’s a cool video tribute to Half-Life 2: Episode 3 by Anomalous Materials. Oh, what could have been.

Cute Little Things

Jan-Wah Li is a games artist who has worked with companies like Nintendo, Disney and Ubisoft. Below you’ll find an interesting selection of work, because Li is a bit of a generalist, having done everything from traditional concept art to UI work. Which explains why you’re seeing things like menu screens. You can see more…

Straight From PAX, It’s The First Ever Kotaku Splitscreen Live

At PAX West last week, we recorded the first-ever LIVE episode of Kotaku Splitscreen. And now you can listen to it, even if you weren’t there. On this show we’ve got games, live music, impressions of Reggie Fils-Aime, IRL Q&A, and of course, explanations for why you can’t change your name on the PlayStation Network.…

Track: Kore ga Watashi no Ikiru Michi | Artist: Puffy | Album: Jet-CD Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Battlegrounds Devs Aren’t Sure How They’ll Combat AFK Farmers

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has an idler problem. That much is certain. How bad the problem actually is seems to be in the eye of the beholder Idlers are players who drop into games, only to sit around doing nothing in hopes of slowly accumulating Battle Points, PUBG’s in-game currency. Ever since the game added rare cosmetic…

Gronk, No!

Today on Highlight Reel we have Gronk madness, twisted wrestlers, Uncharted action 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! Battlefield 1 – I choked…

Apple Pie Oreos Don’t Taste Quite Like Apple Pie, But Yum

Due to a rapid-fire barrage of novel new flavors, Snacktaku has instituted a temporary moratorium on Oreo videos. But then they had to go and drag apple pie into this. Fine, Nabisco, but you’re not getting a video. Let’s talk Apple Pie Oreos. With Snacktaku threatening to morph into Oreotaku, I’ve been doing my very…

Track: Between The Bars (Live) | Artist: Elliott Smith | Album: Either/Or (This Performance: Lucky Three an Elliott Smith Portrait) Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Hold My Droid

Lim Chuan Shin is a freelance artist from Malaysia who has worked on games like Street Fighter V and Agents of Mayhem You can see more of Shin’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…

Realistic Paintings Of Japanese Snacks And Drinks

Japanese artist Polka has an interesting specialty: Painting acrylic still-life portraits of snacks. Why paint flowers and fruits when there are Calorie Mate and Lunch Pack sandwiches? The timer shows how many hours Polka works on each painting. There are many more clips on YouTube. Here are some highlights. Kotaku East is your slice of…

Track: The Force Majeure | Artist: Boysetsfire | Album: After the Eulogy Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Look, Witches Don’t Always Want To Use Magic, OK?

Daniel Hoang is a concept artist based in the UK working in the games business. You can see more of Daniel’s stuff at his ArtStation page

Skyrim Cosplayer Joins Christians For His Own Religious Protest

Every year at Dragon Con, there are some Christian protesters hanging around angry that everyone is loving nerd shit instead of Jesus. And almost every year, Heimskr from Skyrim is there to join them in their preaching. Cosplayer Jacob Kevinsson has been dressing as the Skyrim preacher and attending Dragon Con since 2014, and most…

The Week In Games: Once More Unto The Breach 

Some habits are hard to kick. Destiny is second on my list of most-hours-played, wedged firmly between Dota 2 and Super Smash Bros. Melee. Hundreds of hours later I’m still not sure what that says about the game or me. Is Bungie’s post-Halo MMO shooter my second favorite game of all time? No. Do I…

Podcast: What It’s Like To Play Classic Games For The First Time

Whether or not you caught our 12-hour video game marathon on Tuesday, join us to talk about some great classic games on today’s Kotaku Splitscreen First, a reminder: At PAX in Seattle on Friday, September 1, we’ll be holding the first-ever Kotaku Splitscreen Live. It’ll be in the Sasquatch Theater at 8pm, so come join…

Track: Dirty Work | Artist: Steely Dan | Album: Can’t Buy A Thrill  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Sunday Comics: Official Lore

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 August 31. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published August 28. Read more…

Songbringer‘s Randomized Take On Zelda Works Really Well

Songbringer, with its top-down overworld-wandering, dungeon-spelunking, and item-collecting, takes a lot of cues from classic Legend of Zelda games. I can only tell you so much about it, though, because your adventure will probably be pretty different from mine. When I first started playing the new PC action-adventure, which tells the story of a top-hat-wearing…

This Week In The Business: No Escaping PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds

QUOTE | “Winning is the exception, and losing can be fun, and anything in between is an adventure, which sets PUBG apart entirely—and in a meaningful way—from almost any other competitive multiplayer game I’ve encountered.” – Tacoma and Gone Home developer Steve Gaynor loves PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds QUOTE | “What we’ve noticed during this generation is…