Culture

What We Like (And Don’t Like) About Steep

Last week Ubisoft’s Steep opened the slopes of its majestic mountains to extreme winter sports fans around the world. We’ve spent a bit of time with the game, and we have much to discuss. While I’ve currently reached level 17 (of 25) to Stephen Totilo’s 7 or 8, both of us played Steep in both…

Sonic The Hedgehog’s Fancy Coffee Table Art Book

To mark Sonic’s 25th anniversary, art house Cook & Becker are releasing this big art book collecting all kinds of concept and promotional images from the series’ history. It looks a lot nicer than you’d think, given how shiny and gross the series’ art design has gotten over the years, wisely opting to cover the…

The Art Of Battlefield 1

Despite being set in one of the darkest periods of human history, Battlefield 1 is a beautiful video game, matching the grim browns of trench warfare with some of the most striking weather and landscapes we’ve ever seen. It’s a pleasure, then, to highlight the work of some of the artists involved in concept and…

Track: Youth | Artist: Young Juvenile Youth | Album: Youth (single)  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Track: Black Ark | Artist: Armand Hammer | Album: Race Music Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

One Game, Many Versions

Defender of the Crown, first released in 1986 on the Amiga, was at the time one of the best-looking video games ever released. Or, at least it was on the Amiga. Some of the game’s ports to other systems weren’t quite so hot, yet in today’s world of YouTube nitpicking they remain useful as examples…

Watch Dogs 2 Player Strikes Sick Pose During Car Crash

Today on Highlight Reel we have good grappling hooks, bad ones, titan streaks, bad driving, photographic failures, 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!…

Modder Recreates Classic Counter-Strike In CSGO

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most popular shooters in the world, but some still prefer The Old Ways. Counter-Strike: Classic Offensive is a mod that brings key aspects of Counter-Strike 1.6 into Global Offensive, preserving some of the game’s beloved rough edges and giving them a glossy sheen. Here’s mod maker Z00L’s description:…

Sit, Eat And Talk About League Of Legends

Mitchell Malloy is an artist who works for Riot Games, the developers of League of Legends You can see more of Malloy’s work at his personal site and ArtStation page 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…

Track: Halcyon + on + on | Artist: Orbital | Album: Orbital 2 Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Ellie And Garfunkel

Poor Ellie. Six years after The Last of Us’s ominous ending, she’s set out to become a budding folk musician but can’t seem to find anybody to jam with. And those dead bodies littered throughout the cabin aren’t helping. So this week I want you to help Ellie find some band mates, or an audience…

The Week In Games: Hello Bird-Dog My Old Friend

First Final Fantasy XV arrived and now The Last Guardian. Within the span of just one week, two games that spent nearly a combined twenty years in development will have finally been released into the wild. In fact, I’ve spent so many years staring at the strangely feathered creature born of Fumito Ueda’s dreams that…

Final Fantasy XV Cosplay Gets It Right

Italian cosplayer Leon Chiro has been working as an official Final Fantasy XV cosplayer in Europe (yes, this is something that happens). His Gladiolus is as dreamy as it would need to be to score a job like that.

Sunday Comics: We All Lick Blood

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 November 29. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published November 28. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Final Postcard, Winners!

Too soon? What can I say, there were a lot of great entries for this week’s ‘Shop Contest, but I’ve had Final Fantasy VII on the mind and Lionheart227‘s entry hit me just right. It’s been a long journey for Noctis, Ignis, Gladiolus, and Prompto; one that’s taken them to many strange places, including the…

Planet Coaster Player Recreates Firewatch As A Roller Coaster

Firewatch was a slow-paced, contemplative indie hit about people. So of course, somebody decided to turn it into a roller coaster. Here’s the ride in action in Planet Coaster: Steam user sammy put some serious work into his high-flying homage. He explained: “There are over 1300 triggered scenery events for this ride. Main features are…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Happy Friday! Soon it shall be the weekend, that glorious time when you can sleep in and wear sweatpants all day and cancel your plans to play video games. I’m finally going to try to check out The Division’s Survival DLC, which my colleagues have been having a lot of fun with. I love survival…

When Making The Costume Is Easy, But The Prop Is Not

In anime Durarara!!, bodyguard Shizuo Heiwajima is known for his amazing strength. His outfit, a bartender outfit and sunglasses, is easy to pull off. The improvised weapons he wields, however, are not. Heiwajima often uses street signs for battling, but when typical cosplayers dress as him, they carry a stop sign. While difficult to make,…

Valve Still Hasn’t Fixed Steam Curators

As part of the recent Steam front page revamp, Valve gave curators an even more prominent spot and added functionality so that they can list games as “not recommended” or provide Steam users with neutral information. Sounds good on paper. Doesn’t really work in practice. Recently, I decided to search for Steam curators—that is, (often…

That’s Some Impressive Chocobo Riding

Today on Highlight Reel we have empty oceans, an untranqil Zenyatta, kills, broken physics 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! Battlefield 1 –Conker37…