Culture

Why Obra Dinn Is One Of The Year’s Best Games

On this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen, we implore you to not miss Return of the Obra Dinn, a phenomenal game and contender for 2018’s greatest. First we dive into why Obra Dinn is so great, also taking some time to dissect Hitman 2, the Sega Genesis Classics collection, and other games we’re playing. Then it’s time…

‘Shop Contest: Ocarina Appreciation Station, Winners!

Last week I asked all of you to help me celebrate the 20th anniversary of Ocarina of Time, and you did some excellent work. It takes a lot of commitment to create a game centered on tooting a little oval woodwind, and yet it is a game that has continued to resonate with audiences for…

This Week In The Business: What’s It Worth To Ya?

QUOTE | “Contrary to assertions, loot boxes are not gambling. They have no real-world value, players always receive something that enhances their experience, and they are entirely optional to purchase.” – In response to the US Federal Trade Commission’s decision to investigate loot box practices, the Entertainment Software Association insists they are not gambling because…

Guy Hacks Printers Around The World To Tell People To Subscribe To Pewdiepie

Despite an avalanche of over-the-line jokes and gaffes that cost him deals and a show, as well as an ever-changing YouTube landscape, Felix “Pewdiepie” Kjellberg remains the king of YouTube mountain. For now, anyway: An Indian music production company called T-Series has been fast on his heels for a while and—with their subscriber counts at…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Is the weekend for getting up the courage to try to make bread for the first time? No, it’s probably for reading a whole lot about how to make bread and then playing video games instead. I’m still playing Red Dead Redemption 2, even after playing it for three days straight last weekend. I will…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: I Fell In Love With My Best Friend And Now Everything’s Ruined

Hello all you thought criminals of the Internet, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating advice column to help you speedrun to the Good Ending of your love life. This week, it’s all about the choices we make in pursuit of love. Dropping everything to take a gamble on love makes for great…

I’m Playing Assassin’s Creed Rebellion For The Haystack Assassinations

I am living the true modern gaming experience these days when I fill the empty moments during Assassin’s Creed Odyssey load times by playing the mobile game Assassin’s Creed Rebellion on my phone. I won’t keep this up for long. Rebellion is too much of a Modern Mobile Game for my taste, but I’ve discovered…

Inside Livestreamfail, The Controversial Forum That Fuels Twitch Drama

Ice Poseidon. Sweet_Anita. Trainwreckstv. “Twitch thots.” “Boobie streamers.” If any of these names and phrases ring a bell, you may have a subreddit called Livestreamfail to thank—even if you’ve never heard of it. With nearly 400,000 subscribers, Livestreamfail has become one of the biggest external hubs for Twitch content. Maybe even the biggest. Users generally post…

Farming Is A Lot Of Fun When You Aren’t Actually Farming

“I’m the farmer. I work in the fields all day.” The chorus from Barenaked Ladies’ “Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank” plays on repeat in my head as I sit in front of my computer tending virtual crops in Farming Simulator 19. That’s as close to hard outdoor work as I like to get. I…

Track: Loose Fit (Perfecto Mix) | Artist: Happy Mondays | Album: The Boys Are Back In Town JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Winter Fury

Mauro Belfiore is a concept artist and illustrator from Italy. You can see more of Mauro’s work at his ArtStation page

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey‘s New Approach To Franchise Expansions May Indicate That These Games Are Finally Big Enough

The comically large map of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, which players can spend well over 100 hours exploring without doing all of its quests and clearing all of its caves and forts, won’t expand outward with the game’s first expansion. That’s a change from how the series has handled downloadable add-ons in in the past. Freedom…

Spider-Man Cosplay Copies PS4 Gameplay

This is Ronnie Street Stunts, who is not just dressed as Spider-Man, but is specifically recreating some of his animations from the latest PS4 game. The vid below doesn’t just show his stunts, but also compares them directly to gameplay footage to show just how close he gets it!

My Nice Guy Approach To A Red Dead Redemption 2 Train Robbery Went Very Wrong

I’ve been mostly playing as a good guy in Red Dead Redemption 2, or at least as much as the game will let me. This is more of a cowardly choice than a moral one. Bounties and lawmen stress me out. Nevertheless, I recently decided to rob one of the game’s trains. It did not…

Here’s December 2018’s PlayStation Plus Lineup

There are some interesting indie games in this month’s PlayStation Plus lineup, including Soma, Iconoclastsfor Vita and PS4, and Papers, Please. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active PlayStation Plus subscription. December’s PlayStation Plus games are: PlayStation 4 Soma Onrush PlayStation3 Steredenn Steinsgate PlayStation Vita Iconoclasts (crossbuy with Ps4) Papers, Please

Genesis Classics On Switch Is The Perfect Way To Play Old Games

In another reality, one where companies like Nintendo and Sony actually cared about preserving their old games and ensuring that their entire libraries were playable now and forever, something like Genesis Classics might not be a rarity. But it is, and hey, it’s pretty damn great. Genesis Classics, which is already out for PC, PS4,…

Track: U Make My Sun Shine | Artist: Prince | Album: Anthology: 1995-2010 JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Track: Self Aware (Remix) | Artist: Andrés | Album: Heroes, Villains, And All That Jazz Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Prodeus is a shooter that tries to replicate the look of FPSes of old, but with modern graphical techniques. I’m not sure how I feel about its purposefully pixelated aesthetic, but it’s certainly different. And by different, I mean “like somebody put Dooms 1-4 in a blender.” It’ll be out next year.

We’re Traversing The Uncanny Valley

Hossein Diba is a character artist from Turkey who is also maybe a magician, able to summon polygons and turn them into terrifying likenesses of celebrities and movie characters. He’s worked on stuff like Shadow of the Tomb Raider’s cinematic trailer as well as creating head sculptures for games, animation and toy companies. You can…