Culture

Fiora from Xenoblade Chronicles. Cosplay by Dusk Till Dawn

Darksiders Is Gone, But Not Forgotten

WAR and DEATH, in the flesh, taken at the Dutch Comic Con. Cosplay by Smurrie and Deathstrike. Photo by Arian_fotografie

He’s Just A Poor Boy, From A Poor Family

Words elude me. What was already perfect is made moreso by the game on the badge. Photo by York in a Box. If you know the cosplayer, let me know!

X-Wing, Y-Wing…Z-Wing?

Pablo Carpio is a concept artist and illustrator from Spain. He,like the rest of the planet, has some Star Wars fever right now That pic up top is his take on the Z-Wing, a Rebel fighter mentioned in fiction only by name, and never actually depicted (at least in canon sources). Looks like an X-Wing…

Ark: Survival Evolved, As Told By Steam Reviews

Ark: Survival Evolved is one of the biggest games on Steam. It’s also still in Early Access. Most importantly, though, it has dinosaurs. And poop. Ark’s definitely not done yet, but it already has more than 40,000 Steam reviews. They’re mostly positive, with a not insubstantial number of negatives dinging the game for too much…

What’s Your Best Video Game Dating Story?

People can joke all they want about how gamers are all loners. Truth is, video games bring people together. It’s time to tell some video game dating stories. Have games ever played a major part in a date you’ve been on? Is “Xbox and chill” your new late-night text? Ever had a date suddenly start…

New First-Person Shooter Will Lock Out Your Steam Account When You Die

It’s called One Life, naturally. One Life recently joined the roster of hopefuls on Steam Greenlight, and it’s got a—I see what I really didn’t mean to do there; too bad it’s impossible to delete words on the internet—killer concept. Die once and you’re done. One Life, its developers told me, will lock out your…

Big Boss Reinvents Walking

Today on Highlight Reel we have lucky shots, great goal defenses, intense Mad Max shotguns, silly walks, 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. GOW:UE – What goes up…

The Forward-Thinking Genius Of Neuromancer

It’s astonishing to think how much of the world has changed thanks to the internet. It’s difficult to think of another recent technology that has so totally changed how people experience the world – the invention of the telephone well over 100 years ago is probably the only thing that comes close. This post originally…

The Banned Pokémon Episode That Gave Children Seizures

On December 16, 1997, an episode of the then-unstoppable Pokémon animated series was broadcast in Japan. Barely thirty minutes later, nearly 700 children were on their way to hospital. Total Recall is a look back at the history of video games through their characters, franchises, developers and trends. The episode, called “Electric Soldier Porygon”, is…

Track: Oddloop | Artist: Frederic | Album: Oddloop Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment. To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter@Brian_Ashcraft Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest…

Who Doesn’t Love GIANT TANKS

Al Brady is a concept artist based in the UK who has worked on games like Battlefield Hardline, and movies like Guardians of the Galaxy. You can see more of Al’s stuff here and here. Oh, and you can buy prints here! To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big…

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

The Steam Controller Can Also Do Motion Control

The Steam controller might make my thumb hurt, but there’s no denying its versatility. One of its lesser-known features? Full-blown motion control, ala Nintendo’s Wiis or recent PlayStations. Aiming with the Steam controller’s right haptic pad can be janky—somehow landing in the sweet spot between too precise and not precise enough. The solution? Motion control,…

A New World Record For Beating Super Mario Bros. As Fast As Possible

I invite you to feast your eyes on an expert playthrough of the original Super Mario Bros. Somehow, a speedrunner known as Darbian manages to blaze through the old-school classic in whopping 4:57.627. To put this into context: the last world record for the “any percentage” clearance of Super Mario Bros. was 4:57.69. That was…

Valve fixed one of my big issues with Steam Machines… kinda. Games with their own launchers (e.g. Trine 3, Starbound, and Evoland) won’t, well, launch. Valve has removed the SteamOS-compatible tag from around 35 games. Some devs are working on new launchers. Fingers crossed that everything’s resolved by release day. Update: It’s not just games…

Racing Into The Future With Phone-Controlled Robot Cars

When I was a kid I had a slot car racing set, but not many friends, so I used to play against myself with a controller in both hands. If only the robotic race cars of Anki Overdrive had been around back then. Anki first rolled onto the consumer robotics scene back in 2013 with…

Good Evening, Kotaku

Alexey Shirokikh is an artist from Russia. I want to eat these colours. All of them. You can see more of Alexey’s work at his 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 on the “expand”…

Reader Frederick Nakos snapped this Jason Voorhees cosplay at the Quebec City Comic Con over the weekend. Terrifying.

Shepard-Commander Would Be Pleased With This Mass Effect Cosplay

Hey, it’s Legion! Everyone cosplays as Shepard. Nobody cosplay as Legion, so nice job DashyProps Love the “blown open” effect on the chest that makes it look like the outfit’s empty. Love the fact the suit lights up even more. Photo by Lark Visuals Photo by Ryan Daquioag