Culture

XCOM 2‘s New DLC Adds A Dash Of Shadow Of Mordor To The Game

XCOM 2 just got its biggest DLC expansion yet, Alien Hunters. It adds three new “ruler” aliens, which function as bosses who, unlike other XCOM 2 enemies, can escape and appear in multiple battles. I was surprised to find that it’s kinda like the Nemesis system from Shadow of Mordor Alien Hunters focuses on three…

Too Real, Unicorn Lady

Emily Chen is a young artist just starting out in the video game business, currently interning at Blizzard. You can see more of Emily’s work at her personal site To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on the “expand” button…

Shaq Is Shilling Counter-Strike Now

Oh how far we’ve come. Turner Broadcasting is kicking off the spring Counter-Strike tournament in their eSports initiative, ELEAGUE, so they got someone as big as their ALL-CAPS LOGO to promote it: retired basketball player Shaquille O’Neal. Because sure, why not! It’s actually a pretty funny video. Or at least, you know, a couple parts…

Cosplay Is Over 100 Years Old

Last week, a Racked article called “Meet the Woman Who Invented Cosplay” did the rounds (including on this site!). It argued that sci-fi pioneer Myrtle R. Douglas invented cosplay in the 1930s. It’s an interesting story, but the truth is a little older. The story’s heart is in the right place! As it primarily focuses,…

Overwatch Player’s Death Tire Is Inescapable

Today on Highlight Reel we have some Overwatch clips for those that need a fix, cats and dogs in Fallout, Beyblade bones and much more! Watch the video above or on our Youtube Page, then talk about your favorite highlight in the comments below. Be sure to check out, like, and share the original videos…

PC Modder Says It’ll Take Months To Get Final Fantasy X Running At 60 FPS

Final Fantasy X originally came out on the PlayStation 2 in 2001. One modder is trying to make it conform to modern PC gaming standards—with mixed results. Naxshe has posted a couple videos of their effort to give the recently released Steam version of Final Fantasy X a full 60 frames-per-second makeover. Here’s the game’s…

Seven Steam Games Whose Reviews Have Changed A Lot

Valve recently overhauled Steam’s review system, putting a larger focus on recent perspectives. The move made sense. Games are no longer static works. They constantly evolve thanks to updates and programs like Early Access. The system is, by and large, very useful, providing percentages that give narrow and wide snapshots of games. But numbers only…

The Girl Who Can See Through Time

Becca Hallstedt is a 2D artist based in Chicago who works in the video game business. You can see more of Becca’s work at her personal site and ArtStation page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on the “expand”…

Sex Expo Is A Perfect Place For Cosplay

On Sunday night, Sexpo Australia—a massive sex expo held in Sydney—handed a staggering AUD$2000 cash prize to the winner of their first ever cosplay competition. The crowd whooped and cheered — in fact, the crowd helped to pick the winner by whooping and cheering. This isn’t a cosplay competition like any you’ve seen before, but…

Track: Electric Blue | Artist: Icehouse | Album: Man Of Colours Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

StarCraft Nova Cosplay Shoots The Lights Out

This is Polish cosplayer Calypsen, as StarCraft’s/Heroes of the Storm’s Nova. Photos by Studio Zahora

Comic Convention Has Cosplay PR Meltdown

Last week, the Facebook account of the Santa Fe Comic Con thought it was doing the right thing by promoting local cosplay at the expense of more famous out-of-town talent. Emphasis on thought. The communications meltdown that actually took place ended up a public relations shitstorm. Note: The convention deleted most of its Facebook comments…

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

Pretty much. Comic by Shubbabang

Cosplayer Becomes Geralt, Witcherest Of Witchers

This is Maul, from Defcon Unlimited, a cosplay/stunt team from Europe. You might remember Maul from last year, when he didn’t just cosplay as Snake, but had to go get a real wolf Defcon’s latest effort is this Geralt ensemble, which took ages to put together. I’ve included detail shots of the suit because just…

The Week In Games: Make America Free Again

Is it time to liberate the country from foreign invaders already? Man, 2016 is going by so fast I completely forgot Homefront: The Revolution was a thing. It’s totally a thing, you guys. A thing that I for some reason know absolutely nothing about. Apparently the city of Philadelphia, four years into occupation, has become…

Toy Time Plays With He-Men, The Most Powerful Men In The Universe

If you’re a He-Man fan that likes to keep their MattyCollector.com figures pristine in their packaging then look away. It’s about to get really sad up in here. Originally published 5/12/16 MattyCollector is a special place where Mattel can supply fans of classic properties that might not have the mass market appeal they once did…

Podcast: ‘Censorship’ And Localization

When does video game localization become ‘censorship’? And how often are localization decisions just made for business reasons? Originally published 5/12/16 Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, former XSEED editor Jessica Chavez joins the show to talk about her experiences bringing games from Japan to U.S. shores. She’s got plenty of stories from the trenches of localization,…

Sunday Comics: Still Unsquished

Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published May 13. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published May 9. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and…

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Now With Hard Bits

The internet is abuzz with the news that, come July, Reese’s is putting out Peanut Butter Cups with tiny Reese’s Pieces inside. Corn-looking yellow candy piece aside, this doesn’t seem like that great of an idea. After a week of teasing imagery much more compelling than the end product, Reese’s has revealed its latest Peanut…

This Week In The Business: There Are Hits, And Then There Are Hits

STAT | 3 million – The number of Dark Souls 3 copies shipped by Namco Bandai in the year ended March 31. The game launched March 24. Elsewhere in the business of gaming this week… STAT | 14 million – The number of Star Wars: Battlefront copies Electronic Arts shipped for its “phenomenal” fiscal year…