Culture

How Speedrunners Are Racing Through Green Hill Zone, Sonic Mania‘s Most Contested Level

Green Hill Zone’s loop-de-loops and tropical scenery make for one of the most iconic stages in Sonic The Hedgehog. Sonic Mania’s version of GHZ adds new complications and complexity that’s turned it into one of the game’s most hotly contested speedrun courses. 2-D platformers like Sonic Mania thrive on the notion of fast, uninterrupted movement…

Track: South Side | Artist: Moby | Album: Play Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

ALERT: VERY GOOD MUPPETS COSPLAY

Here’s the latest effort from the Portland Superheroes Coalition: a complete, life-size recreation of Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem, the house band for The Muppet Show Dr Teeth is Paul Lamoreau, Janice is Kaitlin Lamoreau, Animal is Josue Garcia, Zoot is Sandy Iwata, and Floyd is Jamie Iwata. The gang were in attendance at…

Portraits Of Overwatch Heroes

Jai Kamat is an artist and illustrator from Rochester, New York. You can see more of Jai’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 of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of…

The Story Behind The Home Of Forgotten Video Games

Before the emergence of online stores, if you wanted to play old video games and they weren’t available locally, there was simply no way to buy them. But you could download them, and one of the biggest and most important sites around was Home of the Underdogs It’s hard to pinpoint today just how much…

High Five! Up Top!

Today on Highlight Reel we have Prey turrets, high fives, impressive Rainbow 6 beginnings, 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! Catch up on…

What We Liked And Didn’t Like About The New Season Of BoJack Horseman

Netflix dropped another season of BoJack Horseman this weekend. As is tradition, I sat down and watched all of it all in one go without realizing. While Kotaku’s managing editor Riley MacLeod, intern Chloe Spencer and I had some problems with the fourth season’s execution, we all still love this weird, depressing, hilarious show. Today…

Zelda Speedrunner’s New ‘World Record’ Was Actually Done With Hacking Tools

Two days ago, dragonbane0 set a new speedrun world record for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD. It was his first time running the game outside of practice. He’s now revealed that the speedrun was achieved using WiiU modding tools that he’s releasing to the wider community. Update—11:05 p.m.: We have changed this article’s…

How Peanuts Used Peppermint Patty To Talk About Politics

Aside from Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty is the most well-thought out, deeply characterized member of the Peanuts gang. Charles Schulz told some heartbreaking stories about unrequited love, single parenthood, gender norms, and deep-seated insecurities—themes that did not normally appear on the Sunday funnies page. With unique characterization that helped her gain the audience’s sympathy and…

Track: Ikkyu-san | Artist: Wednesday Campanella | Album: Superman Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Track: Ufomg | Artist: Blockhead | Album: Funeral Balloons Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Go Forth, Space Captain Man

Eric Gonzales is a concept artist from the Philippines who works in the games business. You can see more of Eric’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 of the work of video game artists,…

There’s An Invitation-Only Cosplay Show, And It’s Awesome 

Every summer for the past few years a horde of cosplayers and photographers have descended on the picturesque Polish town of Wleń in the Bóbr Valley. They’re not there for a comic con or games expo, not for any convention like you and I know it. It’s an invite-only event, just a handpicked selection of…

Whaddya Know, More Great Nier Cosplay

While Nier Automata’s 2B has been the undisputed cosplay star of 2017, she’s not the only character being featured from the game. Here’s PretzelBotwith an incredible effort recreating one of the game’s robots. Just so you can get a better idea (than standing next to a small kid) of the scale of the sui, here’s…

The Week In Games: Metroid Is Back

In the year 2017, we are blessed with a new Metroid game—kinda. Samus Returns is really more of a remake, a rekindling of the Metroid fire. I’m excited, though maybe not ecstatic. My personal love for the series began with Prime, which is possibly the most millennial statement I’ve made this week. It seems really…

Track: Accident Prone (Jawbreaker cover) | Artist: Julien Baker | Album: N/A

Podcast: What We Think Of Destiny 2 So Far

Destiny 2 has been out for a few days, and we’ve played enough to form some general impressions. Join me and Jason for a special episode of Kotaku Splitscreen that’s all about Bungie’s big sequel. Listen here: We don’t spoil anything from the story, other than to say that you should really play through the…

Sunday Comics: A New Recipe

Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics that usually occurs on Sunday except when it doesn’t. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published September 8. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published September 4. Read more…

Track: Holy Books | Artist: Death From Above | Album: Outrage! Is Now Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

This Week In The Business: The Re-Making Of A Metroid

QUOTE | “When you deal with them at a close distance, you understand why they are who they are. I’m not going to lie to you; they are extremely demanding. They require the very best constantly, all the time, and beyond. But it’s been a great experience.” – MercurySteam studio head Enric Alvarez describes what…