Culture

Speedrunner Beats All Of Link To The Past‘s Dungeons Without A Sword

The highlight of this week’s Summer Games Done Quick marathon happened very early this morning, as the charismatic speedrunner Andy broke the hell out of Link to the Past, beating the whole game without using a sword. The run lasts around an hour and 20 minutes and is mostly a showcase for glitches, boundary breaks,…

What We Loved (And Didn’t Love) About Baby Driver

Do you like good music and cool car chases? If so, you will probably find something to like in Baby Driver, Edgar Wright’s new spring-loaded rock ‘n roll heist flick. My colleague Gita Jackson and I handbrake-spun into theaters after the movie came out last week, and decided we’d sit down afterward and talk about…

Doubt And Drama Still Haunt An Old, Seemingly Impossible Atari World Record 

The current world record for the Atari 2600 racing game Dragster is 5.51 seconds. Thirty-five years after it was set, nobody has beaten or even tied it on official leaderboards. One speedrunner who has examined the game’s inner workings believes that world record to be impossible, but the game’s creator thinks it’s legitimate. For now,…

An Old City In A New Light

Michał Sawtyruk is an artist from Poland who has worked for companies like Dreamworks and Platige, the studio behind The Witcher’s Netflix series (and some other cool stuff). You can see more of Michał’s workat his ArtStation page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner.…

Track: Praise You | Artist: Fatboy Slim | Album: You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Nintendo x Diablo Cosplay Was The Star Of Anime Expo

Anime Expo is usually home to some of the year’s best cosplay, and 2017 was no exception. While we’ll be providing a bigger roundup of the whole show next week, I wanted to go early with this incredible shoot featuring a Nintendo x Diablo crossover. In case you can’t make it out, what you’re seeing…

The Internet Reacts To Doomfist, Overwatch‘s New Character

Doomfist has only been out on the PTR for half a day, but Overwatch fans are already debating who to ship him with and wondering why he’s yet another character with his titty out. Doomfist is a new offensive character for Overwatch, and one that has been hinted at since the game’s very first trailer.…

The Best Cover In Mass Effect Is A Frozen Companion

Today on Highlight Reel we have appropriate music, For Honor roars, Battlegrounds fight club 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! Homefront: The Revolution…

Track: Chinatown | Artist: Liam Gallagher | Album: As You Were Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Last Surviving Battlegrounds Players Agree To Drop Guns, Slug It Out

The final moments of a PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds match can be some of the tensest in video games—a series of dread-soaked seconds that stretch on like hours, where both remaining players are the cat and the mouse. Or you can just say “screw it” and punch each other to death. Ucsbaway shared a clip in which…

Spider-Man Cosplay Is Coming Home

A new Spider-Man movie is out this week, and Spider-Man cosplayers are clearly feeling excited, especially if they happen to live in New York City and can take photos that look this good/appropriate. Spider-Man is TrevRay, while photos were taken by Jason Laboy. There are more shots, including Iron Man and some street thugs, at…

Battleships Are Cool

Kevin Goeke is an artist who has worked for companies like Fantasy Flight. You can see more of Kevin’s art at his personal site To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the…

Strange Mecha Batman Statue Totally Works

Over the decades, many artists have given us their special take on DC’s iconic vigilante.Korean comic artist Kim Jung Gi’s offbeat mech Batman is one of the most unique. Designed for DC Collectible’s Batman: Black and White statue collection, Kim Jung Gi’s Batman seems completely bonkers at first. Robot Batman? Robot Batman on roller blades?…

Track: Your Song (Live) | Artist: Love Psychedelico | Album: The Greatest Hits Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Christie On Vacation

Over the holiday weekend, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was caught sun bathing on a beach that was closed due to a government shutdown. What other forbidden shores has the Republican politician visited I wonder? The state’s government shutdown comes as the legislature and governor’s office struggle to find a compromise on the budget. But…

Overwatch vs Overwatch

Robert Kim is a concept artist and illustrator based in Canada. You can see more of Robert’s work at his ArtStation page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of…

Track: Throne of Fire | Artist: Conan | Album: Revengeance Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Watch The Third Day Of The 2017 Summer Games Done Quick Speedrun Marathon

Summer Games Done Quick is on its final day and its going out with a bang. Along with Awesome Games Done Quick at the start of the year, SGDQ has grown bigger every year and proved an awesome way to kick-off the summer. Setup at the at the Marriott City Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, speedrunners…

Track: America The Beautiful | Artist: Ray Charles | Album: The Sandlot (1993) Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Devs Conspire With Twitch Viewers To Troll Clustertruck Speedrun

097Aceofspades currently holds the world record for beating Clustertruck, a game where you hopscotch across a death course of rampaging semis and pileups, so naturally during his attempt at Summer Games Done Quick the game’s devs collaborated with the Twitch chat to fuck with him. Clustertruck is notorious for a backdoor that allows its developer,…