Unlikely Street Fighter III Character Wins First Major Tournament

Cooperation Cup, a long-running Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike tournament, returned to Japan this past weekend. Now in its 15th year, the event again provided the world with some of the best 3rd Strike competition around. This time, Alex player Genki’s winning performance was more than just a personal victory: it was a landmark for…

Real Surgeons Are Just As Bad At Surgeon Simulator As You Are

In case you wondering if years of formal surgical training would help up your Surgeon Simulator 2013 game, three actual surgeons’ flailing attempts at performing a virtual heart transplant should put that notion to eternal rest. YouTube channel Facts takes a break from forcing Irish people to do non-Irish-person things to give a trio of…

Overwatch Cosplayer Donates Hair For A Good Cause 

After growing out her hair for three years, cosplayer Pion Kim decided to have her head shaved for a Sombra cosplay. However, she put those discarded locks to good use. On her Naver blog (via tipster Sang), Pion gave a behind-the-scenes look at the cosplay.  Even the official BlizzardSombra cosplay didn’t involve clippers!  After she…

Platinum Games Apologizes For Scalebound‘s Cancellation 

Earlier this week, Kotaku broke the news that Scalebound seemed to be in trouble. It was, and Microsoft confirmed it was pulling the plug. Now Platinum Games and Scalebound director Hideki Kamiya have issued comments regarding the cancellation. Here is the statement from Platinum Games President and CEO Kenichi Sato: Regarding the Cancellation of Scalebound…

Okochi Sanso Garden. Arashiyama, Kyoto Prefecture. By Charlez Chong. 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! 

Husk is a horror game that deals with themes like domestic abuse and childhood trauma. It’s being billed as a tribute to horror classics like Silent Hill. Also, it takes place in a town called “Shivercliff,” because everyone makes mistakes. The game will be out next month.

None Of 2016’s Most-Played Steam Games Came Out In 2016

The sheer number of games on Steam is overwhelming, and more new ones come out per day than ever before. Despite that, Steam’s upper echelon has calcified, with an Old Guard looking down from the top of the most-played list at all the peasants below. GitHyp, a tool that tracks Steam’s most-played games (among other…

Help Me Finish The Witcher 3

The new year means it’s time for resolutions. This year I’d like to practice my guitar more, be as fit as I was in my 20s, figure out my romantic life—but I probably won’t do any of those things. But I might, with your help, finish The Witcher 3. My colleague Patricia and I were talking…

Majora’s Mask Kicks Off First 4 Figures’ Life-Size Replica Line

Collectible statue makers First 4 Figures are branching off into the gaming replica business, starting with a stunning 25-inch replica of The Legend of Zelda’s Majora’s Mask, complete with conveniently removable horns. First 4 Figures has been doing Zelda statues for ages, so it makes sense Nintendo’s RPG series be the focus of the company’s…

I’m So Sick Of Seeing This Damn PS4 Message

This morning, I popped Tales of Berseria into my PlayStation 4 and was yet again greeted with the wonderful news that my system is out of space. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you play a fair number of PS4 games and have also felt that twang of mild irritation when you pop in a brand…

The Infamous Legacy of An Early Japanese “Boys’ Love” Sex Game

Absolute Obedience – Zettai Fukuju Meirei (2007) was one of the first commercial Japanese “boys’ love” visual novels officially localized in English, making it a something of a relic nowadays. After it was released, there wouldn’t be another licensed game from this niche genre brought over to the west for almost a decade, and some…

Mod Turns Fallout 4 Into A ’90s-Style Shooter

Revolted is the least Fallout 4-looking Fallout 4 mod I’ve seen that doesn’t involve Thomas The Tank Engine’s abyssal stare. It’s ‘90s-style shooting recreated inside Fallout—graphics, platforming, and rampant ‘tude-spewing included. Here’s what it looks like: And here’s a description, which rightly points out that this is The Future Of Gaming: “Revolted is a video…

Overwatch ‘Shippers Clash Over New Mercy, Genji Voice Lines

Overwatch fans have uncovered new voice lines for Mercy and Genji for Valentine’s Day in the Public Testing Region’s latest patch. The two characters share some chocolates, which seems innocuous. You might assume that more information about these characters would be a boon for ‘shippers—people who write fanfic and make art about the characters in…

Brutal Platformer Standby Dares You To Speedrun It

Standby is hardcore platformer by Noclip. Blazing a trail through technicolor obstacle courses, players slide along walls, dodge lasers, and leap massive gaps. It is demanding, technical, and beautiful in motion. We rush our way through in this Kotaku Plays. The initial challenges in Standby seem tame. Sliding through barriers or bouncing off walls is…