Culture

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for eating those tasty yogurts you’ve been so excited to eat that you keep saving them, even though you could totally eat the ones you have and then buy more. Also, video games. Last weekend I bought Battlegrounds, because several friends who are much more nervous than me seem to be able…

Talking About The Anxiety of Playing Games In Public

Compete Staff Writer Maddy Myers and I both feel nervous about playing games in front of other people. We sat down to talk about why. Gita Jackson: Hey Maddy. Both of us have been put in the position of playing games in front of other people. Whether it’s at a tournament or over streams, playing…

Even If The Last Knight Is Horrible, We’re Still Getting A Transforming Cybertron

While each new trailer or snippet I see of Transformers: The Last Knight heightens the foreboding I feel for the upcoming film, some of the toys Hasbro is releasing to go with the movie aren’t half-bad. Officially announced yesterday, converting Cybertron is coming to light our darkest hour. Converting Cybertron, which seems to be the…

Valve has announced that the fee to publish a game on Steam via Greenlight replacement Steam Direct will be $100. Originally, they were leaning toward $500, but impassioned feedback changed their minds. They also told Ars Technica that the fee will be recoupable if a game makes $1,000. Valve added that they intend to inject more…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: How Do I Break Up With Someone?

Hello all you fluorescent death spores of the Web, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating advice column voted “Most Likely To Survive The Singularity”. Before we start: next weekend, I’ll be a guest at Project A-Kon, the longest running American anime convention. If you’re in the Dallas area or going to the…

Look At Squirtle’s Little Raincoat

Build-A-Bear is killing it with their Pokémon line. Available this week as a special online exclusive, the $60 Squirtle set includes a plush water Pokémon capable of making six different Squirtle sounds. Along with a very fetching rain slicker, Squirtle can also wear its Ultra Ball Hoodie and comes with an exclusive trading card. Sadly…

Track: Star | Artist: Primal Scream | Album: Vanishing Point Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Wonder Woman Cosplay Is Ready For The Big Screen

Wonder Woman is out this week, and all over the world cosplayers are going nuts for it. Here’s Kilorywith one of the best efforts we’ve seen. Photos by Phillysia.

The Art Of Injustice 2

Injustice is back to pit DC’s heroes (and villains) against each other in overblown 2D combat. It also put a ton of artists to work designing their own takes on the costumes, characters and environments of the comic empire’s properties. Below you’ll find a showcase of the art that went into making the game, featuring…

Jason Isn’t The Only Killer In Friday The 13th

Today on Highlight Reel we have ace Cities: Skylines pilots, rude vampires, Mario Kart 8, 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! Final Fantasy…

Podcast: The Best Animes

From Kids on the Slope to Your Name, we’re talking about the best animez on today’s Kotaku Splitscreen. Also: Overwatch, ARMS, and why the Final Fantasy VII remake will never come out. Kirk and I start the show with some gambling and wedding talk before we jump into ARMS (11:54) and Star Trek Bridge Crew…

Lego’s Rocking Two New Thor: Ragnarok Sets

While moviegoers have to wait until November to watch the Hulk and Thor battle for Jeff Goldblum’s amusement, Lego fans can get in on the action starting this month with a new pair of Thor: Ragnarok playsets—Arena Clash and The Ultimate Battle For Asgard. How ultimate is it? Eh, middlin’. Available alongside the Arena Clash…

Track: Wall of Glass | Artist: Liam Gallagher | Album: As You Were  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Watch (Part Of) A Mario Anime That’s Been Lost For Almost 20 Years

While most of Mario’s adventures through 1980s animation have been preserved on YouTube, not everything has managed to find its way online. Like 1989’s Super Mario Traffic Safety, which for the first time we’re now able to watch (well, at least some of it). Produced by Toei as an instructional safety video for Japanese schoolkids,…

London Put On A Very Good Cosplay Show

MCM London Comic Con was held in the UK over the weekend, and photographer Carlos Adama was kind enough to send us in some shots he took of the cosplayers attending the show.

Battlegrounds Player Pretends To Be An Army Man, Crushes It

In PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, squads live and die on effective communication and, when all else fails, gutsy bravado. There are worse things you can do, then, than pretend to be an over-the-top military commander. In a video posted over the weekend, StoneMountain64 dropped into a random matchmaking squad and immediately began acting like an absurdist pastiche…

Lightning Strikes Once

Gabriel Beauvais is a character sculptor who has worked on movies like Edge of Tomorrow, Alien: Covenant, Fantastic Beasts and Jupiter Ascending You can see more of Gabriel’s work at his personal site. To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration…

Track: Waltz For Debby | Artist: Bill Evans | Album: [Live Performance] Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Lara Croft Cosplayer Poses With Actual, Giant Bear

I once did a cosplay photoshoot where I had to pose partially submerged in water in the middle of winter. I thought that was dedication. I was wrong — this Russian cosplayer has diced with the giant, furry jaws of death itself to get the perfect photo, shooting her Lara Croft cosplay with an actual,…

Track: Tadano Tomodachi | Artist: salyu × salyu | Album: s(o)un(d)beams Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.