Culture

The Past, Present, And Future Of Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is the humble farming game that’s taken Steam by storm. People are in love with it to the point that they’re buying legit copies of the game for pirates. They’re also modding the crap out of it. All because one guy decided the PC needed its own grown-up version of Harvest Moon. Yes,…

Filled Cupcake Oreos: The Snacktaku Review

Only the dedicated food scientists at Nabisco could create a chocolate and cream cookie that tastes slightly different from another chocolate and cream cookie. Or maybe a cupcake? It’s hard to say. Originally published 3/17/2016 In this video cautionary tale about shaving completely just before recording a Snacktaku review, unaware that you’ve cut yourself twice…

Cosplay Taking Over the Streets of Osaka, Japan

Imagine so many cosplayers and people to see them that busy Osaka streets are shut down completely in celebration of Japanese nerddom. That’s awesome. This Sunday saw the 12th annual Nipponbashi Street Festa in Osaka, Japan. This year, like in the past, the streets are closed off for pedestrians. By that, I mean cosplayers, photographers,…

Picturing A New Tomb Raider Movie

We’ve got a new Tomb Raider game series, why not a new Tomb Raider movie series? That’s the question the team behind this fan-made, live-action trailer are basically asking. The video was made by a studio called Freakin Rad; we’ve featured them before, for their awesome Halo vs Destiny clip last year

Read Diablo’s Original Pitch Document

This is how history was made. David Brevik was one of the co-founders of Blizzard North. He was there are the very beginning of the Diablo series, and as part of a GDC talk he made last week has uploaded a copy of the classic game’s original pitch document. It’s not long (at least by…

The Week In Games: Further Fallout 

Just when I thought I was completely done with Fallout 4, along comerobot battles to drag me right back in. Lots of cool smaller games coming out this week, perfect for filling the gaps between whatever sort of mechanical hijinks we’ll be getting into in the Automatron DLC for Fallout 4. Monday, March 21 Hyperdimension…

Sunday Comics: Another Planet Doomed

Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published March 18. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published March 14. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and…

This Week In The Business: The Game Industry Needs To Get Laid

QUOTE | “The game industry needs to get laid and chill already.” – Indie developer Robert Yang talking during GDC about the game industry’s problems with sexual content and the inconsistent policies of networks like Twitch. Elsewhere in the business of gaming this week… QUOTE | “How will Microsoft Xbox compete with PlayStation VR in…

Ask Dr. NerdLove:  Should I Leave My Fiancée For My Crush?

Hello, Internet! Welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating advice column that represents the last, best hope for peace in our galaxy. This week, it’s all about the woulda, coulda, and shoulda and how to deal with the ones that got away. Yes, the bird in the hand and all that, but if it…

Track: United State of Pop 2009 (Blame It on the Pop) | Artist: DJ Earworm | Album: N/A Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Track: Evil Twin | Artist: Anthrax | Album: For All Kings Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

The Art Of Shin Megami Tensei IV

Even though I love Persona, I’d never played the core Shin Megami Tensei series before 2013’s IV. That gorgeous art pushed me over the edge, though, so it’s a pleasure to be able to showcase some of it here on Fine Art tonight. The pieces here are all from Udon’s Shin Megami Tensei IV art…

Ark: Survival Evolved Added Poop To Avoid Putting In A Suicide Key

In Ark: Survival Evolved, your character just kinda poops sometimes. It’s a little alarming at first, in the same way that I imagine pooping for the first time in real life is. The origin of that funny mechanic? Grimly serious. Turns out, Studio Wildcard co-founder Susan Stieglitz came up with it in order to get…

It’s Hard To Get Valve To Talk About Whether They Still Make Games

Recently at GDC I got to try out Valve’s new collection of VR game vignettes, The Lab. It was cool. It was also… another set of scattered ideas. It’s been years since Valve released a big game. The Lab is Valve’s Vive launch title, and it strings a series of VR minigames together with an…

The Year In StarCraft II

With StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void out the door, what’s next for Blizzard’s seminal RTS franchise? What else is coming this year? LET’S FIND OUT. On this week’s episode of our podcast, Kotaku Splitscreen, I’m joined by StarCraft II lead producer Tim Morten, who tells us about his history in the games industry and…

Now That Is Some Sensible Armor

Yangtian Li, aka Tian, is an artist from China. In addition to games stuff, Li also has an IndieGoGo running at the moment that’s all about ladies wearing armour. Proper armour. You can see more of Li’s work at her personal site and DeviantArt page. To see the larger pics in all their glory (or,…

Spectacular Final Fantasy Cosplay Looks Like A Screenshot

Kilory is Kilory, a human cosplayer. She is not, as these images might have you believe, a living, breathing incarnation of Final Fantasy XIII’s Lightning. With some help from props maker 月家猫空 璟宿 和谐, she’s gotten as close to the series’ likeness as I think a human being is ever going to get. Simply incredible…

Ten of the Best One-Night Games

Whether it’s an RPG that tells a story over dozens of hours, or a strategy game that takes months to master, games are often a considerable time investment. For many people this is central to gaming’s appeal: nowhere else in art can you find such complete worlds to lose yourself in or such stern challenges…

It’s A School Day

Krenz Cushart is an artist from Taiwan. You can see more work at his ArtStation page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of…

Cosplay Ventures Into The Frozen Wilds

Cosplay photography is often at its best when it gets a little adventurous, daring to head outside the studio or convention floor and get as wild as the characters that are being cosplayed. That’s exactly what photographers Anna Fischer and Dave Yang decided to do when they recently took a road trip to the White…