Fantastic Optimus Prime Figure Lights Our Darkest Hour

Hot Toys are releasing an Optimus Prime figure. I know you can’t see it, but my wallet is suddenly flapping around like a bat, and I’m having a devil of a time trying to catch it. The 30cm figure, based on Prime’s G1 design, is actually Starscream-inspired, and for whatever reason – I can’t remember…

The Ico-est Little Indie Game

Toren is a puzzle adventure that wears its Ico/Shadow of the Colossus influences on its sleeve. The architecture, the sense of inescapable loneliness, the grimly beautiful color palette—there is, in other words, a lot to like here. Here’s what it’s all about: “Experience the mysterious, timeless world of Toren, the first adventure game from Brazilian…

Parents Going To Jail For Playing WoW Instead Of Feeding Kids

Lester Louis Huffmire and his wife, Petra Huffmire, have been sentenced to five years and three years prison respectively for “obsessively” playing World of Warcraft while “keeping their two young daughters locked inside their filthy mobile home for years without adequate food or basic care”. KTLA reports that the couple, arrestedlast year, plead guilty to…

Track: Where I’m From | Artist: Jay-Z | Album: In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

‘Play Offline’ Is An Advertised Feature In New City Sim

Something tells me people haven’t forgotten about SimCity‘s notorious online debacle. That something’s name? Cities: Skylines, which will also allow for extensive modding and “massive” cities. The “play offline” bit comes toward the end of the video (worth noting: SimCity can now be played offline as well; it’s still not very good), but that’s hardly…

Eyes, teeth, and gallons of blood. Surgeon Simulator: Anniversary Edition is now on Steam, and it’s more bonkers than ever. New bits include eye/teeth operations, better graphics, new levels (surgery while running down a hallway!), and stat tracking so you’ll never forget how much of a monster you are.

For one moment, Hotline Miami 2‘s Steam page showed that it was coming out tomorrow, but it’s since switched back to just “2014.” A representative for Hotline Miami 2 says the game has no release date yet, so the date was a mistake. Alas. The original version of this post reported that Hotline Miami 2…

Catch Up On Tales of Xillia Before The Sequel

Tales of Xillia 2 comes out on Tuesday, and if you’re like me and never quite got around to beating the first game, here’s a solid refresher video to catch you up on the story. Namco Bandai’s Nick O’Leary promisesthat you don’t really need to play Xillia in order to enjoy Xillia 2—and by many…

If Tetris Were Made Out Of Pillows

Few things in video games are as mentally satisfying as the crunch of a Tetris piece falling right into place. That’s makes this physics test infuriating. Niko Schatz simulated what Tetris might look like if the tetrimos bounced liked inflatable pillows. Not only is it weird to see full lines forming without disappearing, but the…

​The Newest Batman Movie Is a Sexy, Bloody, Funny Good Time

Harley Quinn doesn’t get naked and have sex in any of the Batman video games that she’s appeared in. But the Joker’s psycho girlfriend does exactly that in the new animated movie tied to Arkham Asylum and Arkham Origins. It’s not the only surprise in there either. Out in DVD, Blu-Ray and digital streaming forms…

States That Really Don’t Want to Pay For Watch_Dogs [Update] Update 8/15: The graph shows the most popular torrents per state, relative to the national average—which is not the same as “most popular,” as TorrentFreak explains here. Original article: Real-estate blog Movoto posts lots of novelty infographics, and their latest looks at which games are…