A Very Good Read, That

Ken Niimura is a comics artist based in Japan, one of the co-creators of the excellent I Kill Giants His latest work, Umami, about an unlikely duo of chefs, is available now through Panel Syndicate You can see more of Ken’s work at his personal site To see the images in their native resolution, click…

Civilization VI’s First Expansion Sounds Great, And Is Coming Just At The Right Time

Civilization VI had a strong launch and reviewed very well, but in November 2017, Civilization V—a 2010 video game—is more popular on Steam than its more modern successor. That’s as much a testament to Civ V’s excellence as any shortcomings to be found in Civ VI, but the fact remains that once the initial buzz…

Resident Evil Revelations’ Switch Motion Controls Are Really Good

This week, 2012’s Resident Evil Revelations and its 2015 sequel come to the Nintendo Switch. Both remasters are largely similar their console counterparts, with one big difference: motion controls. If you’ve played a Resident Evil game, you know how important aiming is. Ammo is limited, and the monsters you’re fighting take a lot of hits…

Fan Merch Poses Problems For Indie Developers

Fan artists exist in a legal grey area. In order to make a living, they often sell items that bear the image of characters they don’t own the rights to. Many times they slide under the radar—I own bootleg Harry Potter and Dragon Age merch that I’ve bought at conventions. But making and selling these…

New Evidence Suggests Super Meat Boy Speedrunners Cheated

Super Meat Boy’s challenging platforming and hidden secrets have turned it into a popular game for speedrunning. A new method for detecting cheaters now suggests that some famous runs might not be what they appear to be. There are two kinds of Super Meat Boy speedruns: real-time attacks, which show the entire game without interruption,…

Bungie Cancels Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris Stream To Address Fan Anger

In the wake of widespread anger over the state of Destiny 2, Bungie said today that it is canceling tomorrow’s livestream, which was meant to be the third of three streams promoting the game’s upcoming expansion, Curse of Osiris. Instead, Bungie said, it will address the overall state of the game tomorrow in a blog…

New Switch Game Was Once A Free-To-Play Mobile Game, But It Got Better

Gear Club Unlimited, released last week for the Switch, is a popular free-to-play mobile racing game transformed into a premium game. It’s amazing the difference removing elements like microtransactions, arbitrary timers and social sharing incentives makes. The original Gear Club has been raking in that in-app purchase cash on iOS and Android for over a…

Fans Put A Battle Royale Mode Into GTA: San Andreas, And It Works Really Well

After the huge success of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, many big games have incorporated battle royale modes. But even older games are receiving battle royale-style updates thanks to the wonders of fan-made mods. GTA: San Andreas has a surprisingly active community for a 13-year-old game, most of it revolving around fan-created online multiplayer servers. Shortly after PlayerUnknown’s…

Street Fighter V Champion NuckleDu Pulls Out Of Capcom Cup A Week Before Annual Event

As the Capcom Cup 2016 champion, Du “NuckleDu” Dang was automatically granted a spot at the 2017 event to defend his Street Fighter V title. But a recent announcement has thrown a wrench in that storyline, shaking up the established competitor lineup for the most important Street Fighter event of the year. Dang took to…

Beau Is The Best Villager In Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp players have been getting really attached to their villagers. They love Apollo, the surly eagle and Goldie, the cute dog. Which villager is the best of all? I can definitively say it’s Beau. Beau is a kindly deer in a sweater, and also my son who I would die to protect.…

Fans Relive Final Fantasy XI‘s Punishing Past On Private Servers

Back in the early 2000s, Final Fantasy XI was famous for completely disrespecting players’ time. Masochistic and convoluted, the MMO  drew in thousands of dedicated players who traded hours upon hours of grinding for the sweet feeling of accomplishment. 15 years later, more player-friendly MMOs monopolize the genre. And yet, there are still hundreds of…

Nazi Death Dog Is Having Some Stomach Issues

Today on Highlight Reel we have robot stomach issues, Napoleonic headshots, psychedelic Battlefront II loot boxes, 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…

The Beginner’s Guide Creators’ New Game Is About Keanu Reeves Stabbing People

“Welcome player. It’s a fucking video game. Get your stats ready,” Absolutely: A True Crime Story begins. Then it asks you to boost one of your starting character’s stats like strength, dexterity, or something called J3V. None of these stats matter: the browser game is just a random, nihilistic parody. But it’s funny, mostly because…

Holdfast: Nations At War Mixes Historical Battles With Online Shenanigans

Holdfast: Nations at War is a multiplayer game set during the Napoleonic era. Matches are a mixture of well-disciplined line battles and lone wolf shitheads. It’s massive, chaotic, and one of the most charming games I’ve played in a long time. Battles in Holdfast take place on massive maps ranging from South African deserts with…

Four And A Half Years After Raising $121,000, Skyrim Composer’s Kickstarter Is MIA [UPDATE]

In March 2013, Skyrim composer Jeremy Soule used Kickstarter to raise $121,227 for a new album. Four and a half years later—and stop me if you’ve heard this one before—that Kickstarter project is nowhere to be found. And the most recent update has a wild twist. When Soule launched his crowdfunding campaign for The Northerner,…

If you picked up on Xbox One X during launch, check your console messages. Microsoft’s been passing out codes for a free download of The Lego Batman Movie in all its ultra HD glory. HDR really makes the darkness pop.