Culture

Steam’s Latest Hit Is A Great Mix Of FTL And XCOM

Halcyon 6 is a sumptuous video game stew. It’s got hints of XCOM, FTL, 4X space games, and JRPGs, plus gobs of humor and personality. I’ve taken to calling it 4XCOM for short. I’ve only played for a couple hours, but this feels like the sort of game that will keep me hooked for weeks.…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: Should I Date My Best Friend?

Hello, you electric pheromone beasties. Welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the first dating advice column to achieve an N7 rank in the Alliance. This week, we’re going to be talking about two sides of the same issue: desire. How important is simple, sexual attraction in a relationship and what can it affect in the long…

Track: Walk Away Renée | Artist: The Left Banke | Album: Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Battlefield 1 Player Misses Shot, Then Doesn’t

Today on Highlight Reel we have tons of Battlefield clips, lethal non-leathal take downs, flaming zombies, 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! Rainbow…

Podcast: Our Gut Reactions To The PS4 Pro

Did Kirk and I think the PS4 Pro was impressive or underwhelming? Find out on today’s Kotaku Splitscreen. Or right here. Underwhelming. The answer is underwhelming. On this week’s show we talk about our gut reactions to Sony’s low-energy reveal event. We also talk about yesterday’s biggest news drop: Nintendo making a Mario game for…

The One Star Trek Game Every Star Trek Fan Should Play

On September 8, Star Trek turned 45 years old. Happy Birthday, Star Trek! Even though I hate you and your cheap-ass sets and lame vision of the future and hammy plots and silly aliens and… Originally published 9/9/2011. Ahem. Anyway. THAT SAID, even I can find room to love a Star Trek game. Not like…

Track: Day of Light | Artist: Brian Eno | Album: LUX Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

The Internet Reacts To The PS4 Pro

Today, Sony finally pulled the veil—basically translucent at this point—off the Neo, officially known as the PlayStation 4 Pro. It’s a more powerful PlayStation 4 that will support 4K and HDR. Impressions so far are… mixed. The PS4 Pro’s beefier hardware specs do present some intriguing possibilities, largely involving improved framerates for VR and games…

It is the year 2016, and three of the items on Steam’s top ten best-sellers list are Spore. A midweek madness sale of Spore and its expansions is to blame, but still: strange times. Also interesting: despite being broadly declared a letdown, Spore’s 8,373 Steam reviews are 87% positive, or “very positive” by Steam’s measure.…

A Bad Way To Exit A Plane In Battlefield 1

Today on Highlight Reel we have tons of Battlefield 1 clips, turret balls, unexpected reversals, 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! No Man’s…

Ark: Survival Evolved developer Wildcard has responded to players’ concerns about releasing a paid expansion to an Early Access game They say they needed to test tech for moving between Arks, so they decided to release Scorched Earth before launch. You can read their full response here or in my updated report

In Space, No One Can Hear You Relax

Wangjie Li is an artist based in California who has worked in the video game business. You can see more of Li’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: D’You Know What I Mean? (2016 HD Remaster) | Artist: Oasis | Album: Be Here Now Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Track: Stackt | Artist: Brant Bjork | Album: Tao of The Devil Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

League Of Legends’ Free “Art Book” Is Incredible

It’s usually the case that if you’re a fan of a video game and want to check out its concept art, you either look at some images online or you pay a lot of money for a big fancy book. League of Legends is trying to combine the two, releasing what amounts to a big…

50 Cent Cosplays Teen Titans For His Son’s Birthday Party

50 Cent’s son had his fourth birthday party on the weekend, with the theme being Teen Titans. And the kid asked his parents to dress up. So 50, aka Curtis Jackson III, was Cyborg, while his mother, Jackson’s ex Daphne Joy, went as Starfire. Robin and Raven were also in attendance.

Oh Man This Warhammer 40K Cosplay

Nearly every piece of Warhammer 40K cosplay you see is some kind of human character, being all grim and gruff and shouting something about heresy. So it’s nice to see Russia’s Nargashow the Eldar’s Howling Banshees some love instead. She made the whole outfit herself, while the photos are by KIRA. And if you want…

Look At The Size Of This Overwatch Cosplay

Egg Sisters have been absolutely dominating Dragon Con with this Reinhardt, which despite looking like an enormous statue is actually a cosplay outfit that can turn, wave its arms and even walk. To get an idea of the scale of the costume, look at this! Incredible. You can see more of Egg Sisters’ work at…

This Week In Games: The Calm Before The Storm

Fall is upon us, which means two things: Pumpkin Spice and Video Games. But before that, we have time to sit back and contemplate things, like how great Doom was, because Doom was totally great. But enough about the past. Today, we celebrate the future. Monday, September 5 Mother Russia Bleeds — Steam Tuesday, September…

Sunday Comics: Environmentalists

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 September 2 as part of an arc. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published August 29. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny…