Culture

Christmas chicken. It’s tough to love some of the changes Valve recently made to Counter-Strike, but this year’s festive chicken makeover is great. In-game chickens now wear wool sweaters over their frigid little drumstick bodies. (Clutch chicken shot courtesy of 3kliksphilip.)

Meet Some Box Art Specialists

Two Dots are a creative studio who specialise in promotional and cover art. Think book covers, box art, collector’s editions, posters, etc. Recently they’ve worked on games like Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Far Cry 4, Elite: Dangerous and Assassin’s Creed Unity They’ve also worked at a more conceptual stage on games like Watch Dogs. The Far…

Check Out The Robots That Make Steam Controllers

When I talked to Valve about the Steam controller earlier this year, they told me they were manufacturing the divisive hunk of owl-shaped plastic in their own machine factory, one of the biggest in the nation. Here’s what the process looks like. Valve released a video of their factory in action, and it’s kinda weirdly…

Even Faces Can Become Rockets In Just Cause 3

Today on Highlight Reel we have rocket faces, Fallout 4 whack-a-mole, good snipes, deathclaws and much more! Watch the video above, 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. Bloodborne – Troubling aftermath of a lag fight –…

Hannah Solo, Captain Of The Millennium Falcon

Genderbent Han Solo cosplay by tinywings5678

Ask Dr. NerdLove: I’m Afraid To Get Married

Hello, Internet! Welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating column that’s the sole survivor of Vault 111, bringing love advice to the post-nuclear wastelands. This week, we deal with a common issue: getting over that last hump between knowing what you need to do and actually doing it. Sometimes the answer to our dating…

Valve Says 77,000 Steam Accounts Get Hijacked Per Month

Lately, Valve’s been putting a big focus on beefing up Steam’s security—sometimes with measures that players find annoying or limiting. As part of a new security measure’s roll-out, they explained why. Valve began by pointing out that current security measures absolutely aren’t enough to keep precious, precious accounts under lock and key. In a post…

Jessica Jones Cosplay Needs A Good Drink/Fight

The Northeast Comic Con went down in Wilmington, Massachussets over the weekend, and reader Eric Joslin was there to take some pics. Jessica Jones is Alias Cosplay, Killgrave is Zirroand Luke Cage is Kurt Bertrand. If anyone knows any of the cosplayers in these shots, get in touch so I can add a credit! Rey…

Dishonored Was Such A Beautiful Video Game

Cedric Peyravernay is a French artist who has worked on games like Dishonored (indeed, we featured some of his paintings from that game a few years back). Most of the images below are Peyravernay’s character work on that game, though fans of Ulysses 31 should get to the bottom for a rad surprise. You can…

Finding Inspiration In Popples And Power Rangers

Playing around with some of the latest Power Ranger Dino Charge toys and transformable plushies from Saban’s Popples reboot has inspired me to do two things—one noble, and one mildly insane. A table filled with toys from these two very different lines united under Saban Brands says a lot about the world we live in…

Counter-Strike Players Really Hate The Game’s New Gun

Valve just released a big new patch for Counter-Strike. It includes a new revolver that can drop anybody, regardless of body armor. That’s, uh, pretty intense. The R8 revolver costs $850 in Counter-Strike’s mid-match currency, which isn’t a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. It’s designed for point-blank stopping power—which is to say,…

Track: Reverend Black Grape | Artist: Black Grape | Album: It’s Great When You’re Straight… Yeah Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Track: Bridgeburner | Artist: Mutoid Man | Album: Bleeder Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

What It’s Like To Be A Professional Video Game Commentator

Lauren “Pansy” Scott is a professional eSports commentator with the ESL. Once upon a time, she was a pro gamer before you could really make a living off that sort of thing. Now she makes Counter-Strike and other games understandable for the masses. Despite what you might think, it’s not an easy job. Scott is…

Cosplay From…A David Attenborough Documentary

Remember the BBC’s incredible documentary series Planet Earth? And how one of the stars was the footage of the Superb Bird of Paradise, and his Big Happy Face dance? That, of all things, is what Jaime Margary decided to dress as this Halloween Much like the bird itself, it’s equal parts hilarious and slightly creepy.…

Remember Apotheon, that cool, slightly NSFW game about Greek myth that Stephen really liked? It’s now got a completely free (no microtransactions or ads) multiplayer spin-off on Steam. Give it a go if you’re looking for crunchy side-scrolling combat in modes like deathmatch, team deathmatch, and team elimination.

Track: My Own Peculiar Way | Artist: Willie Nelson | Album: Teatro Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

The Reason People Are Freaking Out About Steam ‘Leaks’ Right Now

It’s the talk of the Internet: a big Steam “leak” just dropped, and people are saying it “confirms” things like PC ports of Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture and Journey. Oh, and some little game called Half-Life 3. There is, however, reason to be skeptical. You might be starting to notice a trend here: every…

Link Grows Up, Can Now Actually Carry All That Stuff

Even Amundsen used to work at VOLTA, a studio whose current and former members we’ve showcased here on Fine Art many, many, many, manytimes before. He know works at Blizzard and, well, you know the deal with Blizzard. You can see more of Even’s work at his personal site and ArtStation page To see the…