Culture

XCOM 2 Mod Lets Your Soldiers Hook Up And Have Kids

Last week I posted about an XCOM 2 mod that let squadmates gain stat buffs by bonding with each other over time, ala Fire Emblem. I concluded my post with the question on everyone’s mind: “When can my XCOM 2 soldiers start smooching and get married?” The answer: now. RealityMachina’s Bonding and Time Travelers mod…

My, Ico, How You’ve Grown

There is no Ico 2, nor will there ever be. Oscar Römer’s take on what he’d look like all grown up, though, kinda makes me wish there was. Even if it took *checks Last Guardian development calendar* 117 years to make the thing. Römer is a freelance artist based in Germany, who has worked for…

Super Mario Bros. World Record Beaten With Near-Perfect Run

There’s a new world record for beating Super Mario Bros. quickly—and it may be the fastest possible time that a human can achieve. That’s why Darbian, the man behind the new record, is now hanging up his hat. Earlier this month we actually profiled Darbian and his quest to get a “perfect” run of Super…

Podcast: Final Fantasy XV Has Our Hopes Up

Everyone is sick on this week’s JRPG-packed episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, but hey, that’s just part of the fun. Today we’re talking about Final Fantasy XV and the newest demo, which isn’t so great as a standalone experience but makes for a tantalizing taste of what’s coming later this year. (God I hope it’s good.)…

When Counter-Strike Meets Fallout, Everybody Dies

Counter-Strike is a game of hair-trigger reflexes, twine-thin seconds that stretch like eons. Fallout’s VATS system actually is that. Time literally slows down, and you get to pick shots to maximize strategic potential and/or head-exploding-ness. Westracer combined the two in a snazzily edited video, and the result is a fast, funny ride: It’s a shame…

The Village Is The Biggest Official LEGO Minecraft Set Going

Coming June 1, the LEGO Minecraft Village is a $199 box containing 1,600 pieces used to create something an 11-year-old could create on their computer in an hour. Plus it comes with an enderman, which is somehow scarier in LEGO form. Look at this beautiful box filled with fabulous prizes. It’s the sort of box…

Track: The Final Battle / Grand Cross | Artist: Nobuo Uematsu | Album: Final Fantasy IX Original Soundtrack In-game video (spoilers, obviously): Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Kobe Bryant’s 20-Year Career, In Video Games

His first video game appearance was so long ago it was on the SNES

Track: Longing | Artist: Motoi Sakuraba | Album: Dark Souls II Original Soundtrack Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Reader Donovan was one of two students who put together this great documentary called The Dark Side: A Tale of Black Cosplay

Oh Man, This Overwatch Cosplay

Meet Korean coplay star Tasha, who as you’re about to see is straight up killing it as Overwatch’s Tracer We’ve featured her work many times on Kotaku previously, and with good reason: she’s one of the world’s best, and this Tracer is no exception. In keeping with the fact that this entire character’s personality and…

Some Art From The Now-Canceled Fable: Legends

Fable: Legends might be dead, but that’s no reason to let a bunch of art from the game’s production go to waste. Here’s a collection of stuff from artist Billy Wimblett, who worked for a few years on stuff like environments, assets, and creatures. You can see more art from the game here, in a…

VRRRRRRRRGHHHHHH

Sometimes HTC Vive VR is amazing. Other times it’s this (via Parachuteee). Here’s the full thing: You’re reading Steamed, Kotaku’s page dedicated to all things in and around Valve’s wildly popular PC gaming service. Games, culture, community creations, criticism, guides, videos—everything. If you’ve found anything cool/awful on Steam, send us an email to let us…

Seattle’s Cosplay Game Is Strong

Last month, the Emerald City Comic Con took place in Seattle, and as you’d expect, there was some very good cosplay on show. Photographer The Will Box was there taking snaps of some of the best of it, and you can see his shots below. Note that while I’ve got cosplayer information for some of…

And Now For A Studio Ghibli Dance Routine

This is the Flash Step Dance Crew, performing a killer Studio Ghibli homage at Anime Boston last month.

Valve Blocks Competitor From Putting App On Steam

The great litmus test of Valve’s tolerance for potential competitors in their midst is over. The verdict? Sorry, but nope. Despite Valve’s general openness to a lot of stuff major video game companies like Sony and Microsoft would categorically fire out of a catapult and into the ocean (players making entire games with their IP/characters,…

I Understand This Reference

Captain America, by Mike Dee. Photos by Gamilia

Halo ODST Cosplay Is Born To Kill

Dutch Props is a prop builder and cosplayer from (wait for it) the Netherlands. He’s also a member of the Stony Cosplay group, who specialise in Halo cosplay gear, and whose stuff is so good they’ve worked directly with Microsoft on ads and videos. This is his ODST cosplay gear. Love the cigarette packet, nice…

Enter The Gungeon Secret Lets You Play As A Bullet Who Shoots Bullets At Bullets

Enter The Gungeon is a roguelite dungeon crawler that’s taking Steam by storm. As players are discovering, it’s riddled with secrets, like it’s been shot in the head a bunch of times by a gun that fires secrets. Case in point: the mysterious “Case Closed” achievement. (Minor Enter The Gungeon spoilers ahead.) If you go…

Track: The Rains of Castamere | Artist: Ramin Djawadi & Sigur Rós | Album: Game of Thrones: Season 4 Soundtrack Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.