Culture

Sunday Comics: One Final Smash

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 October 4. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published September 29. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and…

This Week In The Business: A Vigorous Brainwashing

QUOTE | “We do all the things we can to essentially brainwash people into liking it before it actually comes out.” – Former Call of Duty director Dave Anthony, addressing a Washington think-tank about how Call of Duty is marketed and why it’s applicable to unpopular national security measures Elsewhere in the business of video…

That’s What You Get For Trolling In Destiny

If you want to play a prank on your friend using an exploit, you’d better actually know how to use that exploit. Also, we’ve got clips from Forza Horizon 2, Counter-Strike, and an update from today’s League of Legends World Championship match! If you don’t want to see tournament spoilers, stop watching before the last…

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

Uh, Hi. I Come In Peace. I Think.

Tyler Smith is an environment artist who also has one hell of an eye for what makes an alien look truly alien You can see more of Tyler’s work at his ArtStationpage. To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on…

​Ask Dr. Nerdlove: Dating On Hard Mode

Hello Internet! Welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating advice column that helps you answer the eternal call of Looking For Group for the epic endgame raid of life. This week, we handle the tricky question of dating on hard mode. How do you handle your love-life when you have a chronic condition that…

The World’s Fastest Shovel Knight Player (So Far)

Playing through Shovel Knight earlier this year made me feel like a badass. “I still have my old school Megaman 2 chops!” I thought to myself. But then I remembered that speedrunners exist, and now my paltry win in the game doesn’t feel nearly as cool. But that’s ok, because holy crap look at this…

This Place Doesn’t Exactly Scream “Summer Vacation”

Dennis Chan is an artist who has worked on games like Doom 4, Ryse, Crysis 3 and Star Citizen. We actually featuredsome of his Crysis 2 work a few years back. You can check out more of Dennis’ stuff at his personal site and ArtStation page To see the larger pics in all their glory…

​What Are You Playing This Month?

It’s October! A time of turning leaves and too much candy, when the crisp fall air makes it easier to stay in and play video games, and the flood of new games means there’s always something to play. What are you playing this October? We’re just beginning the real deluge, and I’m curious which games…

Forza Horizon 2 Takes Traffic Jams To A Whole New Level

Traffic is bad enough when there are cars all around you. It’s worse when they’re on top of you and you’re floating in a void. Also in today’s Highlight Reel, a new Mario Bros world record, Destiny meets Tony Hawk Pro Skater, and more! You should note that in the Forza Horizon pileup, thanks to…

Can Game Characters Die?

“This cart is now a coffin”, posted UK games writer Richard Stanton, adding “RIP Hamlet the best Labrador in the world :’(“. I can’t help but wonder what’s happened to Hamlet, trapped inside that little plastic bit. This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK In the case of a Nintendog cartridge the end is probably swift…

Cheer Up Wolverine, You’re Famous

Dmitry Gaborak is a 3D character artist with over a decade’s experience in both film and video games. Most recently he’s worked on games like Evolve and Arkham Knight. You can see more of Dmitry’s work at his personal site To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so…

Lara Croft. Cosplay by IthinkIwasInHeaven, photo by MFZ

Mass Effect’s Miranda Lawson. Cosplay by KassandraLeigh

The Potato Salad Kickstarter Festival Actually Happened

Remember the potato salad that raised $55k on Kickstarter? The instigator Zack Brown promised to use some of the money for a festival. It happened, it was called PotatoStock, and that’s him eating the food in question. This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK PotatoStock took place in Columbus Ohio last Saturday, where portions of…

When Bad Controls are Good

The best comedy is undercut with tragedy. The apocalyptic satire of Dr Strangelove, the claustrophobic awkwardness of The Office, Basil Fawlty wailing impotently on his car with a tree branch in Fawlty Towers. It helps to laugh at our own shortcomings. This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK Life is hard, and if we can…

Metroid Cosplay Is So Good It Might Be Witchcraft

There are a few ways you can make an impressive suit of cosplay armour. You could cast it. You could forge it. You could sculpt it! Or, you could do what Chelsea did here, and use the dark sorcery of 3D printers. Not everything here was made using a magic box, which is able to…

Kojima Is Watching You. Always Watching.

Elvira Trofimova is an artist who has done work for various social gaming companies over the past few years. You can see more of Elvira’s stuff 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 wallpaper), click…

How Nintendo Convinced The World To Buy A Weird Mario Game

Gail Tilden used to work at Nintendo. She was one of the founding editors of Nintendo Power, so knows better than most people how the company was able to sell one of Mario’s strangest moments – a game that wasn’t even really a Mario game – to the world. In this excerpt from Jon Irwin’s…

None Shall Pass This Awesome Monty Python Cosplay

This is Daniel, cosplaying as The Black Knight from Monty Python’s Holy Grail. He’s also known as the guy who won the Edmonton Expo.