Culture

Mass Effect’s Commander Shepard, Reporting For Duty

Lureagets the “box art” Femshep just right. Photos by HM

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: The 2015 Year-End All-Star Extravaganza: Winners! 

The winner ofthe final Kotaku ‘Shop Contest of 2015 took everything we loved about the original ‘Shop Contests and combined them into one highly derivative yet incredibly entertaining image. Congratulations, J.J. Abrams! Oh wait, sorry. Got mixed up. Congratulations Ginger Snap, who could be J.J. Abrams for all we know, though it’s highly unlikely. Not…

The In-N-Out Burger Pie Is Wrong On Many Levels

Packed with famous burgers,cheese, fries, more cheese, sauce, grilled onions and some cheese, one slice ofFoodbeast’s In-N-Out Burger Pie contains roughly all of the calories, but that’s not the worst part. The worst part is that I live in the Southeast and haven’t had the chance to taste an In-N-Out burger since I went to…

Sunday Comics: Happy Blue Fear

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 January 2. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published December 28. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and…

The Best Video Game Concept Art Of 2015*

I run Kotaku’s daily Fine Art feature, which is about highlighting the work of artists working in the video game business. Which means I’ve showcased thousands of images over the course of 2015, and this time of year—when I’m asked to pick the best of it—is always tough. For two reasons! Firstly because there’s just…

The Tastiest Unhealthy Things Snacktaku Ate In 2015

The Snacktaku staff put many, many things in its mouth during the past year—at least one thing a day—in order to bring you this, the ultimate list of bad things that tasted good in 2015. [This post originally ran on December 22, 2015] Our staff’s dedication to the cause of snack science is so absolute…

A Year’s Worth Of Dating Advice For The Modern Geek

Another year is ending, and with it another year of our Ask Dr. NerdLove advice column. The Doc—real name Harris O’Malley—kept his usual office hours this year, turning up a couple times per month to answer reader questions and, hopefully, help a few people on the way to a happier, healthier love life. Here are…

Podcast: Every Single Game* That Came Out In 2015

Let’s talk about Games of the Year. And by Games of the Year we mean literally every game that came out this year. Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, we’re going back through all of 2015 for a month-by-month breakdown of this year’s games, from Dying Light through Trails of Cold Steel. Although we didn’t hit every…

Track: Hotaru no Hikari | Artist: Foresta | Album: N/A Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Track: Disco 2000 | Artist: Pulp | Album: Different Class Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

There Has Been A Cosplay Awakening

There’s already a ton of great Kylo Ren cosplay out there, but I haven’t seen one go the extra milelike Alhon has The outfit is great, but it’s the location that makes these shots so fantastic; he went outside in a “Minnesota blizzard”, which not only gets him a nice dusty effect on the black…

Counter-Strike Player Savagely Defeated By Balloon

The world of Counter-Strike is a dangerous place. Lethality lurks around every corner. Think that birthday balloon won’t knock you dead? Think again. Counter-Strike player Slegg posted a clip of their fatal encounter with a balloon and/or picnic table on Overpass. Watch: They skip into a party so chill that everyone died (or left because,…

Fallout: New Vegas Beaten In Twenty Minutes For A New World Record

Most of us probably spent hours in the first town of Fallout: New Vegas. Here, you can watch someone beat the entire thing in a ridiculous 20:47. That’s the latest world record speedrun time for New Vegas, and it was cracked by “Kungkobra.” You can watch the “any percentage” run below: It can be a…

Track: Shoot You In The Back | Artist: Motörhead | Album: Ace of Spades Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Steam Problems Linger After Christmas Fiasco

You might remember that, a few days ago, Steam had a caching issue that let users see each others’ personal information. It was kind of A Thing. Since then, Steam has been in a fragile—some would argue busted—state. Steam’s gone down a handful of times since the aptly named Steam Winter Fail. On top of…

Forget The Apple Watch, The Yo-Kai Watch Toys Are Here

Having already sold umpteen-bajillion units in Japan, the wildly popular Yo-Kai Watch toys have finally arrived in the States. Let us dance with them. Stephen Totilo and I both played Level-5’s Pokemon-esque Japanese sensation when the 3DS game was released earlier this fall, and weboth like what we played. It’s bright, colorful, relatively innocent fun,…

Track: I am a Kitten | Artist: Kahimi Karie | Album: I Am a Kitten: Kahimi Karie Sings Momus in Paris Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

The Last Week In Games Of 2015 Ever

That’s a wrap, everybody. Hit the streets. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay in this year. Wednesday, December 30 Beatsplosion for Kinect — Xbox One Digital Coming Soon Tuesday, January 5 Amplitude — PS4 Digital Hardware Rivals — PS4 Digital Volume—Vita Digital (Cross Buy) Did I miss anything important? Anything you’re…

Track: Here In Your Bedroom | Artist: Goldfinger | Album: Goldfinger Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

The Official Awesome Holiday Gift Sharing Post 2015

As people around the world fill garbage cans and dumpsters with discarded bits of colorful paper, we take a look back at the wonderful things we gave and got during the 2015 holiday season. In other words, what’d ya get? I’ll go first. Each year I’m getting more into the giving than the getting, though…