Culture

The Criminal Minds Game Gets Right To The Grisly Bits

Based on the long-running television show about a crack team of FBI profilers hunting serial killers, the new Criminal Minds mobile game has no qualms about depicting cartoony atrocity by murdering a family of four in the first minute. I got into Criminal Minds while I was hospitalized earlier this year. Forced to watch commercial…

Here’s December 2018’s Xbox Live Games With Gold Lineup

I’ve been encouraging my sister to play Never Alone with her kids since they got an Xbox, so I’m excited to see it in this month’s Games with Gold lineup. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription. December’s Games with Gold are: Xbox One Q.U.B.E. 2…

Track: Zombie Bastards | Artist: Weezer | Album: The Black Album 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! 

Sun’s Out, Guns Out

Seonhyeok Jeon is an artist from Korea. You can see more of Jeon’s work attheir ArtStation page

This is Friggin Boom Toys, who we last saw getting his head smacked around in the name of science. Now he’s dressed up as Spider-Man Noir and running around an indoor parkour centre to see if the suit holds up.

Players Of The Hex Discover Its Secret Ending—In Another Game

When I tell friends about video game protagonist murder mystery The Hex—the latest game from the creator of the surprisingly demented Pony Island—I always say two things: 1) that they need to play it as soon as they can, and 2) that it’s about something completely different than it claims to be. The Hex is,…

A Sims 4: Get Famous Story

Three generations ago, my grandmother came to Del Sol Valley, trying to make it big as a movie star. I’m the same as she was when she first started now, and from my new home in the desert, it’s hard not to think about what she went through as I embark on my own journey.…

Track: Asleep | Artist: The Smiths | Album: The Queen Is Dead 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! 

Modern Fighters As Transforming Mechs

Dipo Muh is a concept artist from Indonesia. He’s done this cool series of pieces where modern aircraft are turned into transforming fighters, ala Macross. You can see more of Dipo’s work at his ArtStation page

Track: Barf Day | Artist: Diet Cig | Album: Swear I’m Good At This Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

The new world record in the Any% category for Slay The Spire is 5:03. You can watch runner AntiFlame do some very fast card slinging here. 

‘Shop Contest: Ocarina Appreciation Station

This week we celebrated the 20th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, so now we’re going to continue that birthday party with ‘shops. I don’t have much love in my heart for The Ocarina of Time. I was a PlayStation person at the time, and I just missed out on many…

This week’s episode of Kotaku Splitscreen tackles two big games: First we bring on Kotaku’s Ethan Gach to talk about the bizarre, buggy Fallout 76 (6:51) and then Kirk and I take a deep dive into Red Dead Redemption 2‘s story (35:32), spoilers and all. (Seriously, we spoil it all.) Listen here or via your…

Sunday Comics: Paper Saber

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 November 19. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published November 19. Read more of Corpse Run Double XP by…

‘Shop Contest: Final Fantasy VII Remake Creation Station, Winners!

Last week I asked you to show me some progress shots of Final Fantasy VII Remake, and you did not disappoint me. I’m looking forward to the Remake with a kind of grim fascination. I’m of the strong opinion that we don’t need it, that it doesn’t need to exist, and that if you like…

This Week In The Business: Always Bet on Black (Ops) 

STAT | 4 million – Number of digital copies Red Dead Redemption 2 sold worldwide in its first week of release, according to Superdata. It came in second for the month, behind Call of Duty: Black Ops 4‘s digital sales of 4.2 million. STAT |73% – Year-over-year increase in US gaming sales for October, according…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

This weekend started early for me, since yesterday was Thanksgiving. While my coworker Riley MacLeod filled Kotaku with stories of his Red Dead Redemption 2 experiences and the Goku balloon, I finally downloaded Tetris Effect and guided those dropping Tetrominoes into their rightful places. I played Tetris Effect all the way up until it was time…

The Broken God Of Fallout 76 Wishes For Mortality

One Fallout 76 player just found out the hard way that immortality is very boring. Cue up Queen’s “Who Wants To Live Forever,” because this story, as recounted by a user who goes by Brogadyn on the Fallout 76 subreddit, deserves a tragic soundtrack. No matter what Brogadyn does, their Fallout 76 character will not…

Making Up Lyrics For Instrumental Video Game Music

Listening to Tetris Effect’s many varied songs has brought back an unexpected memory: the lyrics that I invented as a child for “Korobeiniki,” the original Tetris theme song. Back then, I knew the song as the Type A music selection on my Game Boy copy of Tetris. I heard the song over and over, and…

The Fun And Frustration Of That Doctor Robbery Early In Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 doesn’t force many of its myriad activities on players, though it it’ll often send characters your way to tempt you to try certain things. Those of us who’ve played the game haven’t all seen the same sights, but a good chunk of us have at least have robbed the doctor’s drug…