Culture

How A Cool StarCraft Cosplay Photo Was Made

Some cosplay photographers like to go nuts in photoshop, moving beyond simple image correction and into the realms of stuff like fake fireballs and lens flare. Me, I like things the old-fashioned way. That’s what’s so cool about this behind-the-scenes video detailing a recent shoot that cosplayer Lyz Brickley had with photographer Beethy(with help from…

The Art Of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is, as Assassin’s Creed games usually are, very pretty. Which is the result of a massive team of artists from all over the world working on the game. Below you’ll find a selection of some of the best of it, in a gallery comprising of over 60 images. It’s not reflecting the…

How Counter-Strike‘s Bullets Actually Work

Counter-Strike is a game that’s defined by tiny details. So let’s talk bullets. You fire your gun, they make people ever-so-slightly more Swiss cheese-like in appearance, and that’s pretty much that. Headshots good, non-headshots less good. You’ve played video games before. You know this stuff. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive plays by those basic rules, but when…

Snacktaku Versus The Hostess Holiday Mint Snack Cakes

In a holiday season awash with pumpkin-flavoring spice, gingerbread and caramel apple, Hostess foregoes the dominant fall flavors in favor of a pair of special edition snack cakes colored and flavored like toothpaste. Mmmm, minty. Based on recent Twitter activity in which I discusslosing a small child’s worth of weight since October, many of our…

“It’s 2002, that shit will never work.” A character in story game Emily Is Away—which takes place in a fake version of AOL Instant Messenger—finds out about Steam. They are (probably) not wrong. Emily Is Away is now free on Steam, if you’re interested.

Track: The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough | Artist: Cyndi Lauper | Album: The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough (Single) Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Gimme Dat Bebbie

The Elder Scrolls Online might not have taken the world by storm, but it has its fans. It also has some rather nice concept art. There’s a new book out called The Elder Scrolls Online: Tales of Tamriel – Vol. II: The Lore, which sounds like a giant Tolkien-esque tome, but like the first volume…

Watch Me Play A Game That Looks Like Hotline Miami With Cowboys [Update: Finished]

12 Is Better Than 6 is a top-down shooter in the same vein as Hotline Miami. Oh, but it has cowboys. And cool hand-drawn graphics. Watch me find out if it’s as good as it looks right now. As ever, feel free to click over to Twitch and join the chat. It’ll be more fun…

Hard West Is A Wild West Strategy Game, And It’s Great

Taken at face value, Hard West looks like what would happen if you took XCOM and replaced aliens with cowboys. And it is that… sorta. But it’s also a lot more (and a little less). Let’s get this out of the way upfront: the world we live in—Earth C.117358, Dimensional Subsection IX, the sole dimension…

Dragon Age Cosplay Gets Wild

The Merrill cosplay is A+, but things always get ridiculous when large, live animals are involved. Cosplay by LuckyStrike, photo by AnnetVoronaya

When Video Game Physics Get Weird

Today on Highlight Reel we have weird physics, multiple Skywalkers, TIE loops, invasions, explosions and much more! Watch the video above, 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. DayZ – Dancing Corpse -AndryRock9217 Destiny – BAH! BAH!…

Nobody’s Sure How One Of Counter-Strike‘s Best Players Nailed An Incredible Shot

The weekend’s IEM San Jose Counter-Strike tournament was full of great moments, but one shot rang louder than the rest. The reason? It seemed goddamn impossible. The moment came when Ukrainian team (and eventual tournament winners) Na’Vi faced off against beloved-by-the-crowd North American favorites Team Liquid. Na’Vi’s star AWP-er (someone who specializes in Counter-Strike’s notoriously…

Track: Eye in the Sky | Artist: Moondragon | Album: Miramar Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Excuse Me, Have You Seen My Horse?

Kristian Llana is a freelance concept artist and illustrator based in New York. You can see more of Kristian’s work at his personal site and ArtStation page

Halo vs Destiny, The Showdown Bungie Could Never Make

This joke video from Freakin Rad is corny as hell. But it’s also showing off some truly exceptional Halo and Destiny cosplay, both up-close and in a full range of motion. Starring in the vid are Spartan and Titan suits by Its tims time, Iron-Dan’s Master Chief and Melody Tripp’s Warlock.

The Week In Games: It’s Like It’s Thanksgiving Week Or Something

More Fallout 4? Okay then. Tuesday, November 24 Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires— Vita Digital Teslagrad — Vita Eiyuu Senki: The World Conquest— PS3 Digital Beyond: Two Souls — PS4 Digital Brunswick Pro Bowling — PS4 Digital Miko Mole — PS4 Digital Minecraft Story Mode Episode 3 — PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC Coming…

Mechanised League Of Legends Cosplay

For his very first cosplay outfit, Elmins wanted to make a Aether Wing Kayle (from League of Legends) outfit. If this is what he can pull off for his very first cosplay outfit, by his third he’ll probably be flying into space, or travelling through time. Here’s what the costume—which took “many hundreds of hours…

Sunday Comics: Unlimited Power

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 November 17. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published November 16. Read more of Awkward Zombie The GaMERCaT by Samantha Whitten. Published…

Transformers Fans Have A Very Big Decision To Make

Trypticon. Omega Supreme. Scorponok—three of the biggest Transformers toys ever made. Hasbro wants to bring one of them back, and it’s up to fans to decide. This is not going to be easy. Following up on 2015’s hugely successfulCombiner Wars line, Hasbro has massive plans for the Transformers Generations Titans Return in 2016. We’ve got…

This Week In The Business: Or Your Money Back

QUOTE | “The game was a failure. We could not do, in good conscience, volume 2 and volume 3.” – Steve Escalante, GM of Afro Samurai 2 publisher Versus Evil, explaining why the game was pulled from PSN and refunds issues to all customers. Elsewhere in the business of gaming this week… QUOTE | “No…