Culture

Twisted Metal 2’s Wild Soundtrack Deserves More Love

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today we burn some rubber and blow up some shit in the PlayStation classic Twisted Metal 2. While the original was a fun PS1 launch game, 1996’s Twisted Metal 2 (playlist / longplay) was a massive…

Sunday Comics: Microwaves

Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published Oct. 15. Read more of Corpse Run Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published Oct. 12. Read more of Awkward Zombie Clueless Hero by…

‘Shop Contest: Nicolas Cage, Winners!

Last week, the internet got a glimpse of Nicolas Cage wearing a sweet pink jacket, cool-looking mask, and slick shades. Rarely we get such perfect photos for our weekly contests. But here the universe provided a true gift and who am I to argue with the universe? Our winning image this week comes from leatcrayons666…

Sleepy Samurai

This week on Snapshots we check out some gorgeous vistas, some creepy interiors, get some photos from the new Ghost of Tsushima online mode, take a look at some cool spaceships and meet a sleepy samurai warrior. The dude spent 40 hours collecting things and killing enemies, he’s allowed to take a nap. Kotaku Snapshots…

Banette Is An Evil Toy That Lives In Garbage And Hunts Down Children

Every Pokemon is interesting and worth talking about. I don’t play a ton of Pokemon, but I do enjoy the universe and I love learning more about the creatures in it. So, Here’s Another Pokemon! It’s Banette! Banette Details Type: Ghost Average Height: 3′ 07” Average Weight: 27.6 lbs First Added In Generation III Do…

3D Monster Maze Was The Very First Horror Game

Long-running video game franchises and genres all have to start somewhere, and it’s not always pretty. Looking back to that origin point can show us not just how the greats began, but how far they’ve come since. Today we unearth the very first horror video game. So, What Was The First Horror Game? 3D Monster…

2020 Caught Up To Ol’ Garfield

This week we watch Keanu Reeves have fun with motorcycles, check out an amazing video game collection in Japan, learn about upcoming DLC for Borderlands 3 and Avengers, hear more about the Bethesda deal from Xbox and say goodbye to Garfield. RIP. Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week A fantastic interview by Stephen, including…

Fall Guys‘ Most Boring Level Is Getting Way Deadlier

Much like last month’s addition of a giant spinning hammer, Fall Guys is set to receive more variations that spice up some of its existing mini-games. Mediatonic’s first preview of these remixed stages reveals an interesting spin on Perfect Match, one of the game’s more boring levels. It’s no secret that Fall Guys has some…

Malfunctioning Controls, Gross Noises, And Other Personal Video Game Hells

Only two episodes in, the new Kotaku Splitscreen has already gone to hell. It was bound to happen, but I never thought we’d get there so fast. This week, we journey to the heart of hell and perform a dissection, picking apart the vaunted warm place’s past and present as it pertains to games. Do…

In Baldur’s Gate 3, Some Of The Simplest Abilities Are The Most Powerful

I’m new to Baldur’s Gate, so the concept of video games based on Dungeons & Dragons mechanics is completely foreign to me. As I navigated the game I encountered a number of occasions where I’d get my tiefling’s well-crafted ass handed to me in battles because I was too underleveled or too unlucky with my…

Xbox Boss Phil Spencer On Series X Launch, Halo Infinite & Bethesda

There’s nothing normal about interviewing Xbox chief Phil Spencer these days. First, there’s the location. We’re in a pandemic, of course, so our latest interview wasn’t at a gaming trade show, nor did we do a call from our work offices. On Wednesday afternoon, I logged into a Microsoft Teams video call from my home.…

Next-Gen Versions Of Marvel’s Avengers Delayed As Studio Works To Improve Game

Last week, developer Crystal Dynamics told Kotaku that future updates to Marvel’s Avengers were en route. Yesterday’s 1.3.3 patch added some quality-of-life fixes and extra content—including a new base, an astonishingly entertaining new moveable chair, and a new type of high-level mission—to the game. But, according to a blog post published today by publisher Square…

Retro Experts Analogue Making A New TurboGrafx and PC Engine Console

Analogue is well known for creating some incredible high-end, high-definition retro consoles based on classic machines like the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. The company’s latest focus is NEC systems, like the TurboGrafx-16 and PC Engine, announcing today the new Analogue Duo. It will be out next year for $200 and like previous Analogue consoles,…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

This weekend is for playing video games. All weekends are for playing video games. I don’t know why past curators of “What are you playing?” pretended there was anything else to do. Let’s goooooooooo! This particular weekend I am playing a game based on the latest version of one of my favorite childhood toys, the…

Decades Later, Final Fantasy VIII Is Getting A Physical Release On PS4

Last year’s surprise remaster of Final Fantasy VIII is getting a physical version on PS4 in Europe and a few other countries, because it’s 2020 and there are no rules. Square Enix announced the unusual collector’s item on Twitter earlier today with a price tag of €19.99. In addition to Europe, it’ll also be available…

Resogun’s EDM Is An Ode To The Parties We Missed This Year

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool sounds they make. Today, as we rapidly approach the launch of a new mainline PlayStation, let’s take a trip back in time and celebrate a game that anchored the launch of the last mainline PlayStation: Resogun, the ostensible alien…

Let’s Watch Hayao Miyazaki Have An Ice Cream Float

Earlier this year, the Ghibli Museum was temporarily shuttered due to coronavirus concerns. In July it opened at reduced capacity, and regular ticket sales resumed last month. The museum also decided to revamp its café Hayao Miyazaki and producer Toshio Ghibli recently checked out the renewed Mugiwara Boushi Café. It’s been turned into a self-service…

Track: Teen Age Riot | Artist: Sonic Youth | Album: Daydream Youth 

Nintendo Goes After Zelda Fan Game For Violating Copyright

The Missing Link, a new Zelda fan game made by a team led by prominent Mario modder Kaze Emanuar, has had its website and trailers taken down by Nintendo. We wrote about the game back in July 2020, which was actually 37 months ago, and it looked great! Made using mostly recycled assets from both…

Japanese Farm Hides One Hell Of A Video Game Collection

I have seen some impressive game collections in my time, but few that can match either the scale or presentation of this one, which is basically sitting in the middle of some farm fields in Japan. In this episode of Collector’s Quest (via former Kotaku editor Chris Kohler), Nintendo super-fan and author of the incredible…