This Violin-Playing Cosplayer Is The Hero We Need

Meet the Violin Samurai. The YouTuber dresses up as iconic characters in ramshackle costumes and then plays video game music. If only he could see half the time! In the clip below, for example, he spends the first section trying to get his costume (and the music) right. The actual performance is about three minutes…

Track: Tokyo Midnight feat. Botani | Artist: Niko Niko Tan Tan | Album: Tokyo Midnight (single)  

Dune: Imperium: The Kotaku Review

Because the movie business is in a state of absolute chaos right now, the Dune reboot, which was supposed to be the big holiday movie of 2020, is now going to be the big holiday movie of 2021 instead. Just don’t tell this accompanying board game, which went ahead and released in December 2020 anyway.…

Guy Goes On Super Nintendo World’s Rides, Films Them

Universal Studios’ Super Nintendo World was supposed to open in Japan this week before being indefinitely delayed due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. That said, folks who recently had a chance to visit the park during a special preview day are apparently still allowed to share footage from their experience, giving us some nice first-person…

Activision Accused Of Stealing Call Of Duty Character

The creator of a character called “Cade Janus”, developed as part of a film pitch, is taking Activision, Infinity Ward and Major League Gaming to court, accusing them of going behind his back and stealing the character for use in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare As Torrentfreak reports, Clayton Haugen claims that he created the…

Genshin Impact Devs Awarded PS5s, Graphics Cards Via RNG

Raffles and gift give-aways aren’t uncommon at company parties, but the company behind Genshin Impact went a step further, randomly awarding hard-to-get graphics cards and PS5s to employees as thanks for helping make one of last year’s hottest new free-to-play gacha games. “MiHoYo, the developers of Genshin Impact, held their annual employee meeting where they…

Every Game Should Have A Train Level

Hitman 3 ends with one wild ride. The game’s first five levels are sprawling playgrounds that demand stealth, caution, and careful planning. The final level, “Untouchable,” is a fast-paced race through a train. It is, in a word, awesome. More, please! Actually, you know what? Just go ahead and put a train level in every…

Remedy, Please, No

Control developer Remedy Entertainment, caught up in the Lady Dimitrescu hype, has done something terrible. It made the Former, which is already horrifying, even more distressing by giving the monster a full set of teeth. And it’s smiling Listen, I know we’re all having fun with the tall Resident Evil lady. I even wrote something about…

Canceled Xbox 360 GoldenEye Remaster Is In The Wild

A playable version of that beautiful Xbox 360 GoldenEye 007 remaster we reported over the weekend is quickly spreading online after Ars Technica spilled the beans last night. I’ve played it and, unsurprisingly, it’s really great. The files come from a near-final beta build of an Xbox Live Arcade release that was eventually canceled sometime…

A Traveler’s Guide To The Best Final Fantasy Worlds To Live In

I’m a few days past my Final Fantasy XV blitz and I’m still enmeshed in a quagmire of feelings and emotions. Since finishing the game, I watched Kingsglaive the prequel movie, I’ve considered re-watching the prequel anime, and I’m one retail therapy session away from buying the novel. I’ve already raided Etsy looking for cute…

Help, I’m Stuck Between Two Very Good New JRPGs

Two new games from two of my favorite Japanese role-playing game series have dropped at the same time, and I am driving myself up a wall trying to give them equal time. It feels like I’ve entered into a polyamorous relationship with Ys IX: Monstrum Nox and Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret…

Call Of Duty: Warzone Bans Over 60,000 Accounts For Cheating

Activision banned over 60,000 accounts in Call of Duty: Warzone yesterday. In a statement, the publisher cited use of cheat software in the battle royale. The bans follow several months of community frustration about aimbot and wallhack cheats that players blatantly use in both casual matches and major Warzone tournaments. “Today we banned 60,000 accounts…

I Wish My Switch Would Still Hold A Charge

The Switch was the first Nintendo console I ever bought at launch. Almost four years later, it’s clearly seen better days, which I wouldn’t mind if it could survive out of the dock for more than a couple days at a time. Two things have me thinking about the Switch’s terrible battery life again. The…

Mass Effect DLC Missing From Remaster Due To Corrupted Source Code

On May 14, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition will bring 4K versions of the original Mass Effect trilogy plus most of its downloadable content to PS4, Xbox One, and PC. However, one single-player expansion is notably absent: the first game’s Pinnacle Station. According to an interview with Game Informer, the original source code was corrupted. Pinnacle…

How To Mute Jerks In Destruction AllStars

Anyone who’s ever been online could’ve predicted this. Give people an internet connection and a microphone, and some will quickly reveal just how much they suck. Following yesterday’s release of the PS5-only Destruction AllStars, players almost instantly reported instances of serious verbal harassment, exacerbated by the game’s bewildering absence of tools to prevent such behavior.…

There’s A Total War: Warhammer III And It’s Coming Out Later This Year

Strategy game makers Creative Assembly announced Total War: Warhammer 3 today, and it’s coming out sometime in 2021. Here’s the trailer: It shows off the Ice Queen of Kislev doing battle with her magic, and according to the studio’s press release, Total War: Warhammer 3 will mark the first time the Kislev and Cathay races have…

PS5 System Update Fixes Dumb PS4 Disc Install Issue

PlayStation 5 system update version 20.02-02.50.00 is now live, featuring a fix that keeps PlayStation 4 discs from installing old game versions after they’ve already been upgraded. The latest PS5 system update is a small one, vaguely improving system performance, enabling editing clips with Share Factory Studio directly from the media gallery, and fixing one…

Celeste’s Chill Soundtrack Is Perfect For A Snow Day

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s ongoing hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today, let’s tune into Celeste, one of the literally coolest (get it? because frozen…mountain?) game soundtracks of all time. Please don’t steal my Gamer® card, but I stumbled upon Celeste (playlist / VGMdb / longplay) by…