Culture

Batman Kicks A Henchman Silly

On today’s episode of Highlight Reel we have GTA carnage, Witcher olympic diving, Halo turnabouts, and much more! Watch the video above, then link any of your favorite highlights in the comments, and be sure to check out, like and subscribe the original videos via the links below. Halo: MCC – my awesome ninja! –…

Let’s Open Up A Box From The Japan Crate Snack Delivery Service

What’s it like opening up a box filled with random Japanese snacks and candy every month? Much like this, though probably without nearly as much beard. I’ve been getting shipments from the Japan Crate snack service on and off since last year, and they keep getting better every time I get them. There were some…

Zelda II Speedrunner Hits Personal Best, Gets Super Emotional

Neil “PresJPolk” Stevens has been trying to achieve a particular goal in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for months. When he pulled it off earlier this week, it was overwhelming. Thanks to /r/speedrun for pointing this out, by the way! Stevens has been speedrunning The Adventure of Link for a while, but he’s been…

Track: Rage Against The Machine | Artist: Your Old Droog | Album: Kinison Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Nyaahh, He-Man, Nyaahh

Guillaume Menuel is a concept artist at Ubisoft Montreal. Guillaume Menuel’s art is fucking amazing The clean, comic book lines on those He-Man and WW1 images are just…making me feel real good. In his time at Ubisoft he’s worked on series like Assassin’s Creed and Rayman, and right now is helping out on For Honour…

New Portal Fan Campaign Is Awesome

Portal Stories: Mel was not made by Valve, but it’s probably the closest thing we’ll get to Portal 3 for a while. The long-in-development Portal 2 mod just launched on Steam, and it looks damn impressive. Boasting a 6-10 hour standalone storyline and puzzles every so slightly more challenging than Portal 2’s, it aims to…

Laura Sindall, a fabricator and sfx artist in the movie business, is also one heck of a Lord of the Rings cosplayer. Here’s her Tauriel cosplay, with pics taken in the Black Forest near Pinewood Studios in England.

Some Cosplayers Just Want To See The World Burn

I…just…wow. Joker cosplay by Jesse Oliva, photo by York in a Box

Artist: The Dear Hunter | Track: A Night On The Town | Album: Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Batman: Arkham Knight And The Art Of A Good PC Port

Prevailing wisdom says that if you delay the PC version of a major game, PC gamers get mad. Really mad. Funny thing about prevailing wisdom, though: it’s often wrong. Or, to be more precise, it’s rarely unanimously right. I can understand why Warner and Rocksteady might’ve felt like they needed to have Batman: Arkham Knight…

Ask Dr. Nerdlove: Am I The Mister Hyde of Dating?

Hello, Internet! Welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the column also known as the Oncoming Storm, the Bringer of Darkness, and… right, supposed to be answering your dating questions, aren’t I. This week, we’re taking on a couple of thorny relationship questions – how do you handle relationships when they seem to bring out the worst…

Full-Blooded Mad Max Cosplay

Based in LA, reader Americo Galli’s world is fire and blood. Oh, and cosplay In addition to those photos above, taken in the Mojave Desert (and a hotel), Americo and some friends also went to Wizard World Sacramento as a Mad Max posse.

Bloodthirsty

Camila Vielmond is a freelance concept artist and illustrator from Brazil who has worked in video games, card games and books. You can see more of Camila’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…

When Batman’s Grappling Hook Goes Wrong

On today’s episode of Highlight Reel we have caped crusader problems, bored Bloodborne bosses, Evolve characters with smooth moves and much more! Watch the video above, then link any of your favorite highlights in the comments, and be sure to check out, like and subscribe the original videos via the links below. Batman: Arkham Knight…

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

You Go Down There, You Don’t Have Feet

Jeremy Paillotin is a concept artist from France who’s part ofthe Sense Collective You can see more of Jeremy’s art at his 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” button in the top-left corner. Fine…

5000 Men Dressed Up, Recreated The Battle Of Waterloo

On June 18, 1815, one of the most important battles of the modern era took place outside the sleepy Belgian village of Waterloo. Over the weekend, for the battle’s 200th anniversary, 5000 members of various military reenactment groups from all over the world converged on the original battlefield to pay tribute. Belgian photojournalist Olivier Papegnies…

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

How Counter-Strike‘s Most Popular Map Has Changed Over 14 Years

Counter-Strike’s most popular map, Dust2, has been around since 2001, making it more than a decade old. This video from ESCalation chronicles Dust2’s evolution throughout Counter-Strike’s many iterations. While the layout and general theme of the map might seem similar throughout, the architectural style, graphical fidelity, and readability of each area has changed markedly. It’s…

Guy Beats Super Mario World In 23 Minutes…While Blindfolded

Fun fact: you don’t actually need to see Mario levels in order to beat them. Marvel as speedrunner PangaeaPanga clears Super Mario World without actually looking at the game using a combination of good timing, and precise jumps. The entire thing takes a whopping 23:14, which is impressive considering the circumstances at play here: Kind…