Culture

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…

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…

The Continued Adventures Of Cartoon Chun-Li

Venezuelan artist Ramón Nuñez suddenly has me wanting to see a different type of Street Fighter cartoon Nuñez, who has worked with companies like Gameloft and Cryptozoic, has more art at his personal site and ArtStation page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine…

Roblox Gets Into The Toy Business

After more than a decade of online creative play, massively multiplayer online game Roblox is expanding its user-created content into the real world, partnering with Jazwares for a line of collectible and customizable toys hitting stores in February. Boasting more than 40 million monthly players in December alone, imagination-powered online community Roblox is at the…

Once Again, It’s High Noon For Overwatch Cosplay

You don’t see that much McCree cosplay, at least compared to other characters, which combined with how much harder his outfit is to replicate properly than, say, D.Va, is why I like it so much when I do see it This is Polish cosplayer Blink005 chewing tobacco and bending genres as Overwatch’s resident cowboy. The…

Reinhardt Charge Falls A Bit Short

Today on Highlight Reel we have badly timed charges, glitched flags, powerful crossbows, 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! Uncharted 4 – When…

Hacker Leaks 1.5 Million Profiles From Game Site After They Refuse To Pay $100,000

The ESEA is an esports community that runs a popular online Counter-Strike league. In late December, its security got breached in a big way. Now the details of that breach are coming to light, with 1.5 million users affected after the ESEA refused to pay a hacker $100,000. It all began with an announcement from…

Even Old Witchers Can Kick Your Butt

Lixin Yin is an artist based in China who has done work for companies like Blizzard, THQ, 2K and Legendary Pictures. The Star Wars pictures you see were Yin’s entries in ILM’s challenge held last year You can see more of Yin’s work at his personal site and ArtStation page To see the images in…

AGDQ’s Shovel Knight Speedrun Race Was Tense

Speedrunning charity event Awesome Games Done Quick is in full swing and already producing some amazing runs. Yesterday, a speedrun race between two Shovel Knight players stole the show. Awesome Games Done Quick or AGDQ showcases some of the best speedrunners in a week long charity drive for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. In addition to…

Track: Shelter | Artist: Porter Robinson & Madeon | Album: Shelter Single Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Track: Leaving nothing but the absence of everything | Artist: Young And In The Way | Album: I Am Not What I Am

Bioshock Cosplay, Buried At Sea

BioShock Infinite’s Elizabeth is cool, but she’s a lot cooler in the game’s DLC, which explains why so many people are out there doing such a good job cosplaying the character. This is Lunaritie doing a full shoot as the more adult Elizabeth, with photography by Kristy Che I want to party wherever it is…

The Week In Games: Hold On To Your Vocals

The latest Hatsune Miku game hits the West this week along with a handful (literally) of other games. Prepare your ears for the tones of the future and some beats that will blow your mind. For those unacquainted with the Hatsune series, like me, they are ports of arcade rhythm games that star a Vocaloid…

Gaming’s First Vibrator Turns 15 Years Old This Weekend

The PlayStation 2 version of Rez had one of video gaming's most unique peripherals

Track: Aurora Northern Quarter | Artist: Lone | Album: Reality Testing Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Sunday Comics: Get Good

Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics that usually occurs on Sunday except when it doesn’t. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published January 7. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published January 2. Read more…

This Week In The Business: The Toilet Question

QUOTE | “With every change or update or addition we always have this weird, core question to weigh: does it make the game better or worse to play in the bathroom?” – Fingersoft CEO Teemu Närhi asks the key question at the heart of modern mobile development QUOTE | “There’s still a lot of change…

Counter-Strike League Shuts Down After Players Organize Against Owners

Earlier this year, a new esports league, The Professional eSports Association (PEA), burst onto the scene. It was unique in that it was owned by bigtime esports teams, rather than a third party. Immediately there were worries of impropriety. Now, in the wake of a recent controversy, the PEA has suspended its Counter-Strike league. It…