The Real-Life Totoro House People Could Sleep In

Previously, Kotaku introducedthe real-life version of the My Neighbor Totoro house that Studio Ghibli had built in Aichi Prefecture. You cannot stay the night in that house. In this one, you could. Japan isn’t home to one replica, but two. Located in Nagasaki Prefecture, this “Satsuki and Mei House” used to be available for 5,000…

Thank Gundam For This Photo Meme

The key art for the upcoming animated film Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative features a ridiculous pose which is spawning silly meme photos. Here, have a look at what people have been coming up with, posting their photos under the tag #ナラティブチャレンジ (or “Narrative Challenge”). Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative will open on November 30 in Japan.

The Best Affordable Japanese Whisky You Can Buy

Japanese whisky sure can be expensive. While older bottlings can easily fetch thousands of dollars or, at the super-premium end, hundreds of thousands, there are Japanese whiskies that are both affordable and excellent. Last Friday, one bottle of 50-year-old Yamazaki went for a staggering $343,000. While the prices of Japanese whisky has gone up, there…

Texan. Junction, Texas. By Nicolas Henderson | Flickr JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Get Back, Peasants

Hey there, Medieval Shotgun. Wilhelm Nylund, the CEO of Landfall games (most recently of Totally Accurate Battlegrounds fame), has been messing around with the arrows in their older Totally Accurate Battle Simulator It is some good shit. This is the part where I was going to link to our prior coverage of Totally Accurate Battle…

Neon Genesis Evanhellion

Douglas P. Lobo is a digital painter based in Montevideo, Uruguay. You can see more of Lobo’s work at his personal site Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you’re in the business and have some concept, environment, promotional…

Total War: Rome II Still Kinda Sucks

Creative Assembly, the studio behind the Total War series, recently decided to revisit 2013’s Rome II—seen by many fans as the weakest game in the series in years—with a brand new expansion. In the five years since Rome II, there have been two excellent games based on Warhammer, an expansion for Rome’s siblingAttila and Creative…

Through the Darkest of Times, A German Game That’s Allowed To Use Swastikas

It’s only been a matter of days since Germany’s classification board agreed to start allowing video games to depict overt Nazi symbols, something that had previously been forbidden. Which means a game about The Third Reich already in development is going to be one of the first to be able to implement the change. Through…

Mario Kart Victory Would Piss Me Off Too

Today on Highlight Reel we have Rocket League victories, Tony Hawk’s Pro God, and much more. Watch the video then talk about your favorite highlight in the comments below. Be sure to check out, like, and share the original videos via the links below. Subscribe to Kotaku on YouTube for more! Catch up on all…

Twitch Cuts Ad-Free Viewing Benefit From Prime Membership

New Twitch Prime members will no longer have access to ad-free viewing after September 14, the streaming platform Twitch announced today. Existing subscribers will still be able to watch streams uninterrupted until their next renewal date, at which point the ads will be inescapable for anyone who doesn’t sign back up for the site’s old…

Night Is Short, Walk On Girl Is The Best Anime Movie In Memory

Anime director Masaaki Yuasa’s recent movie Night Is Short, Walk On Girl, in U.S. theaters August 21, has all the adventure of a night high or drunk in a foreign city with none of the depravity. The romantic comedy follows a pack of teens out on the town, and swaps between the perspectives of two…

The Sims‘ Caribbean-Inspired Outfits Are Lackluster

The Sims 4 got an update last week that gave the game some Caribbean themed hair, clothing and furniture in honor of Carnival. While the hair is phenomenal, the rest has me a little confused. The Sims as a franchise has had a hard time with black hair. Curly hair is harder to model than…

Valve’s Card Game Artifact Was Booed Last Year, Cheered This Year

At Valve, everything happens in Valve Time—even fans learning to appreciate new games, apparently. During last year’s DOTA 2 International tournament, Valve debuted one of history’s greatest rollercoasters when it teased a project called Artifact. Swelling music and a cool logo had people on the edge of their seats. The title appeared. Artifact. How intriguing!…