Culture

Reigns Combines Ruling A Kingdom With Tinder

Swipe right. Long live the king! Swipe left. The king is dead. I just got done spending an hour with Reigns, a fun little Steam/iOS/Android game where you swipe right and left to make decisions that will ultimately save or ruin your entire kingdom. Oh, and your life. The game can be quite treacherous (I’ve…

Toy Time Builds Lego Nexo Knights‘ Volcano Lair

Lego Nexo Knights, the most kid-friendly battle between techno knights and dark magic possible, returns to Cartoon Network this weekend for a second season. Seems like as good a reason as any to assemble the 1,186 piece Jestro’s Volcano Lair set. In a world where Lego can’t seem to keep kids interested in Bionicle anymore…

Track: One Way Road | Artist: Oasis | Album: Who Feels Love? Single Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

It’s Summer And Time To Cosplay In Japan

Every August, the twice-yearly Comic Market gets underway in Tokyo. Besides fan-created comics, it draws numerous cosplayers who brave the heat to show off their outfits. Tokyo gets incredibly hot in August, so big respect to the cosplayers in the heavier outfits. Comic Market cosplay is always a good gauge to see what’s popular in…

Track: If There’s Time | Artist: Odesza | Album: My Friends Never Die Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

One Of The Best Pro DOTA 2 Matches In Years

DOTA 2‘s $20 million International tournament is in full swing, and so far, it’s delivered. If you’re looking for the must-see match of the tournament, try the back-and-forth-and-back-and-forth-and-back-again showdown between EG and EHOME. Here are some highlights: You can watch the full game on Twitch The North America vs China clash was characterized by momentum…

Ask Dr. NerdLove: I’m Worried My Girlfriend Will Kill Herself If We Break Up

Hello, all you glowing Internet Sex Beasts. Welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the dating column that knows it’s dangerous to go alone. This week, it’s time to talk about relationships that are in trouble. Sometimes the hardest part about dating someone is knowing when it’s over and how to extricate yourself cleanly. Let’s get down…

The Heroes Of The Storm

Luke Mancini is an artist at Blizzard, where he’s worked on stuff like the StarCraft series and Heroes of the Storm You can see more of Luke’s art at his DeviantArt 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…

Podcast: Day One Patches Aren’t A Bad Thing

Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, we dig into the No Man’s Sky launch drama and talk about why day-one patches happen. Also: some talk about Overwatch and the future of Kotaku as we prepare for new buyers. It’s interesting how the digital landscape has changed over the past few years, isn’t it? The ease of the…

Track: Olsen Olsen (Live) | Artist: Sigur Ros | Album: Heima DVD Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Overwatch Cosplay Never Dies

I’m biased here, since she’s my main, but Mercy has the best in a game full of great character designs. So of course, when someone pulls off quality Mercy cosplay, it’s a sight to behold. And this is a sight to behold. Check out the detail on Shappi’s costume here! The panels on the armour,…

Some Official Concept Art From Stranger Things

Mikhail Rakhmatullin and Joshua Min are two of the artists who worked on Netflix’s Stranger Things. Here’s a collection of some of the stuff they did for the show. SPOILERS BELOW These images show the Demogorgon in all its plantface glory. Which is nice, since you never really get a good look at the thing…

Cosplaying As A Character From A Game That’s Not Even Out Yet

We’ve already seen some Horizon Zero Dawn cosplay, but here’s some more, shot in one of the only places that can match the game’s demo for its “giant trees and snowy mountains” look: Norway. Aloy (the character) is by Ibelinn Cosplay, while the photos are by Katrix Media Site Ibelinn says it took over three…

Some Of The Best Starbound Mods

Starbound is massive. Here are some mods to help you make it massive-er Despite the fact that it “launched” only a couple weeks ago, Starbound has been in various states of Early Access for years. The quadrillion-planet-strong side-scrolling space sandbox has a mod community nearly as vast as its universe. Here are a few (but…

Last week on Kotaku Splitscreen, Jason and I talked about finally beating Destiny’s King’s Fall raid on hard mode. With the challenge modifier, no less! Listen to the excerpt in the video above, along with video of our successful push against Oryx.

Just Keeping An Eye On Things

Andrey Vozny is an artist from Russia working in the video game business. You can see more of Andrey’s work at his 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 of video game artists, showcasing the…

Track: Lonely Soul | Artist: UNKLE (with Richard Ashcroft) | Album: Psyence Fiction Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Tracer vs Widowmaker

Jannet “Incosplay” Vinogradova and Ardsami know what the kids like in their Overwatch fiction. It’s butts. They like butts. We’ve seen Vinogradova’s Widowmaker before; it’s one of the very best pieces of Overwatch cosplay on the planet. Here’s a new shot of it:

Track: Our Hearts Of Ruin | Artist: Blue Sky Black Death | Album: Noir Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

When Star Wars Cosplay Is Better Than The Movie

While he’s one of the more impressive creature costumes in The Force Awakens, Grummgar spends his entire on-screen time sitting on the couch. Unlike this cosplay, which can get up and move around and do space mercenary stuff wherever the hell it wants. Of course, this kind of quality is no surprise: it’s by Julian…