Culture

Track: Highway to Hell (Live) | Artist: AC/DC | Album: Highway to Hell Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Sleepy Lil’ Town

Wayne Chan is an illustrator working in the video game business. You can see more of Wayne’s art at his ArtStation 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, environment, promotional…

Sally From Peanuts Made Me A Better Teacher

Sally, the younger sister of Peanuts’ Charlie Brown, did not perform well in school. She wrote reports the morning they were due. She failed multiple exams. As an overachieving child, I attributed her poor performance to laziness. But now that I’m an educator, I understand where she was coming from. Sally had an abiding disdain…

The Week In Games: The Quest For Spider Destiny

This week we’ve got Spider-Man, Dragon Quest XI, a new Destiny 2 expansion, and a whole heap of other interesting games. I’m most interested in what’s going on with the Spider-Man game. I spent probably 200 hours of my teen life sucked into the Spider-Man 2 film tie-in game, and if this is even half…

Track: Feels Like Summer | Artist: Childish Gambino | Album: Summer Pack Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

If Sailor Moon Was Goth

CineCosu Studios’ series of reimagined Sailor Moon settings continues with this third, very cool instalment: Goth Sailor Scouts. Having done 90s fashion and boudoir, this shoot is based on some art done by Cosmic Spectrum, which depicts the scouts not as magical schoolgirls but as black-clad witches. “To that end”, CineCosu’s Dominique Zamora tells Kotaku,…

Cheese!

Koyorin is a freelance character designer and illustrator who has worked in video and board games. You can see more of Koyorin’s work at their ArtStationand Facebookpages. 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…

New Spelunky Hell World Record Is Impressive And Chaotic

A new Spelunky world record by Kinnijup is a lightning-fast 3:30:25-. It is genuinely shocking that someone can go from the beginning of the game through Hell in this amount of time. Crucially, Kinnijup isn’t just playing normal Spelunky. This record is for a Hell% run, which means that the runner needs to make it…

The Makers Of Hollow Knight Are Fine With Players Missing Things

One of the best things about Hollow Knight is how often it makes you feel like you’ve uncovered a secret. There was a huge chamber hidden behind that breakable wall, and you just happened to stumble on it. What other secrets might you have missed? This week on Kotaku Spltscreen, I talked with Team Cherry’s…

Sunday Comics: New Game Plus

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 27. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published August 30. Read more of Corpse Run Double XP by…

Track: King of the Gutters, Prince of the Dogs | Artist: Murder By Death | Album: Good Morning, Magpie Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

‘Shop Contest: This Is Where The Magic Happens, Winners!

Last week we were living in the moments after the new D.Va short, and I asked you to show me where the magic happens when it comes to Overwatch’s greatest esports player / mech pilot. You didn’t disappoint me. I wouldn’t say that I am someone deep in the lore of the Overwatch universe, but…

This Week In The Business: Difficult Evolutions

QUOTE | “We will weave this change into our cultural DNA and leave no room for sexism or misogyny. Inclusivity, diversity, respect, and equality are all non-negotiable. While there is much to improve, there is a tremendous amount of good at Riot that will drive this change. This is our top priority until we get…

Steam Survival Hit SCUM Removes Nazi Tattoo After Outcry

In the short time since its release, survival game SCUM has caught players’ eyes for its ludicrous attention to detail, its slapstick antics, and—in the grand tradition of survival games like Ark: Survival Evolved—diarrhea. It’s already sold over 250,000 copies. Yesterday, though, the game caught players off guard in a far less fun way when…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for having a three-day weekend, the established Correct Amount of Weekend. That’s enough time to do lots of things and also play video games. Into the Breach came to Switch this week, continuing my trend of my Switch mostly being full of games I already own. I’m excited to kick back on…

Track: Humility (DJ Koze Remix) | Artist: Gorillaz | Album: The Now Now Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Mr. Hot Face

Shan Qiao is a concept artist and illustrator who has worked for companies like Sony Santa Monica and Blizzard. You can see more of Shan’s work at his personal site 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…

Track: Ooh La La | Artist: Faces | Album: Ooh La La Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Replica Mass Effect Pistol Actually Folds

Optimistic Geometry creates replica cosplay weapons that actually “work”. Not in the sense that they fire lasers, but that they’re able to mechanically slide, recoil, light up and fold, just like D.Va and Commander Shepard’s do. Here’s his Mass Effect sidearm: And here’s a recoiling, light-up Overwatch pistol: You can see more of Optimistic’s work…

Blessed Sidearm

Deryl Braun is an illustrator and concept artist based in Germany. You can see more of Deryl’s work at his ArtStation 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, environment, promotional…