Culture

A (Sky) Pirate’s Life For me

John Thacker is a concept artist who has worked on games like Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Defense Grid. You can see more of John’s art at his Facebook and ArtStation pages. To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you…

Track: Nightingale Force Winds | Album: Ghost Notes | Artist: Hiatus Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

DualShock, Paint On Canvas, 2015

Randy Gallegos is an artist who has done work for companies like Blizzard, Wizards of the Coast, Fantasy Flight and DeNA. There are examples of that art below, but you’ll also see stuff from his new exhibition called Hearts for Hardware, a series of actual paintings depicting some of the more iconic controllers and hardware…

Universe Sandbox 2 Lets You Build, Destroy The Universe

Ever wanted to create your own universe? Or destroy it by ramming planets into each other, destruction derby-style? Well, here you go. Universe Sandbox 2, which just hit Steam today, doesn’t have clearly defined goals. It is as its name suggests: a sandbox, a near-limitless playground for your demented imagination. Within a minute of booting…

Remember Starbound, the huge 2D exploration/building game that landed on Early Access a couple years ago? Well, it just got a massive update. It adds the ability to construct NPC-populated colonies. There are also 400 new micro-dungeons and improvements to pretty much every part of the game.

Clear Skies, Smooth Sailing

Nathan Dearsley is an artist from the UK who has worked on games like Crysis 2, Crysis 3, Star Citizen and Alien: Isolation. We actually featured some of Nathan’s art a few months back with his awesome McLaren F1, but I figured today was as good a day as any to look at some of…

Dreamcast Saves Work With The New PC Version Of Grandia II

Still have all your old Dreamcast saves lying around somewhere? Wait, really? Well then, you’re in luck. Turns out, the new anniversary edition of JRPG classic Grandia II—which launched today, August 24th 2015, Anno Domini—is compatible with saves from Sega’s dearly departed living room box. Yes, the one that got discontinued in 2001, the year…

New Horror Game Looks Like A Messed Up Ghibli Movie

If you like your nightmares with an extra helping of anime-inspired ultraweird, you’ve come to the right place. Stray Cat Crossing is a 2D horror game that’s coming to Steam soon (via Greenlight), but you can play a free demo right now. It’s… unsettling. Think Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away, but with whimsy replaced by simmering…

Trine 3 Developers Dispute Complaints That They Released An Unfinished Game

The Trine series of fantasy platformers is beloved, especially on Steam. Trine 3, however, has longtime fans upset. In addition to basic mechanical quibbles, many Trine fans think the latest game—which recently emerged from Early Access—feels unfinished, with a gaping hole of non-ending that only magic (or DLC) could patch up. In a recent Steam…

Smash Player Disrespects Opponent Perfectly

Today on Highlight Reel we have sick taunts, Rocket League shots, bad Call of Duty timing, early jet celebrations, 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. Rocket League –…

League Of Legends Cosplayers Were Killing It This Weekend

Whenever you get thousands of fans together to watch a video game live, you can bet there are going to be cosplayers out in force, and this weekend’s LCS Summer Playoff Finals were no exception. There were a ton of fans in costume at both events, in New York and Stockholm, and below are some…

My What A Big Mako You Have

Wayne Haag is a veteran sci-fi artist from Australia who has worked on movies like Lord of the Rings, The Fifth Element and Superman Returns, along with TV shows like Farscape. You can see more of Wayne’s work at his personal site To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big…

This Week In The Business: Illegal Trade Offerings

QUOTE | “I wouldn’t even say the gap has closed… We’ve got a lot more exclusive games than any other platform.” – Microsoft VP Kudo Tsunoda, talking about why he believes the Xbox One is a much stronger platform now QUOTE | “When we say a consumer product, we mean a consumer price point… Grandma…

Next-Gen Booze: An Xbox of Wine

A guy’s old Xbox 360 kicked the bucket, and you’ll never believe what happened next. This is definitely the most 8-in-the-morning post I’ve ever done. via reddit

Horror Game The Flock Has A Killer Idea, But It Feels Unfinished

The Flock is a multiplayer horror game that ends after too many people die. Cool idea! The game itself? Freaky, but limited. Here’s how it works: you start out as a creepy gargoyle monster, one of the titular Flock. Your goal is to claim the Light Artifact, a fabled instrument from a time of eternal…

“Why anyone would ever play this game is beyond me.” 542.9 hours played. You’ve probably seen a Steam review or two to that effect before. Steam Review Watch is an entire tumblr of them. Enjoy.

Half-Line Miami Is Exactly What It Sounds Like

Do you like to crowbar people? Half-Line Miami really is exactly what it sounds like: a mash-up of Half-Life and Hotline Miami. It’s a fast-ish top-down shooter, but with Half-Life locations and, of course, the gravity gun. Oh, but unlike both of those games, it’s free. Otherwise, it’d be a one-way train ride to Lawsuit…

We Ain’t Found Shi-Oh Here It Is

Peter Boehme is an artist based in Germany who has worked on games like Quake Wars, Brink, Rage, Doom 4, Uncharted 3 and Crysis 3. One of his more recent jobs was working on indie top-down shooter AIPD You can see more of Peter’s work at his personal site and ArtStation page To see the…

Track: Mist & Shadow | Album: High Country | Artist: The Sword Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

RymdResa Made Me Feel Terrible About Leveling Up

I just leveled up for the first time in new Steam space survival game RymdResa, and it was devastating. RymdResa is fascinating. It’s an outer-space roguelike-like that just launched on Steam, but it’s about exploration instead of combat. You drift through the infinite procedurally generated cosmos—once alive with technology and culture, now dead (or perhaps…