Kotaku Splitscreen

Episode 210: It's time for everyone's favorite tradition as Jason, Maddy, and Kirk go through all the games they've played in 2019, starting with January through June. (July-December coming next week!) Then (1:30:00) it's time for a Watchmen SPOILERCAST!The games: Slay the Spire, The Hong Kong Massacre, Kingdom Hearts III, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Wargroove, Metro Exodus, Apex Legends, Anthem, Far Cry New Dawn, Tetris 99, Ape Out, Sekiro, The Division 2, Baba Is You, Devil May Cry 5, Days Gone, Phoenix Wright Trilogy (Switch), Mortal Kombat 11, Zanki Zero: Last Beginning, Void Bastards, Rage 2, Outer Wilds, Beat Saber, Gato Roboto, Collection of Mana, Cadence of Hyrule, Timespinner (Switch), My Friend Pedro, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Mario Maker 2

The 2010s were drawing to a close, and Jason, Kirk and Maddy decided to each pick a single game that defined the decade. It was not an easy decision. Many equally definitive games were left alone on the street, crying "My legacy!!" to any who would listen. A trinity, however, made it across the threshold, ready... for discourse.A hush fell over the room. Bang! A gavel, like a starter pistol. "I call this discussion to order," said the Judge from Phoenix Wright, who had been brought in especially for the occasion. "Please hold your objections until after the opening statements."Jason ambled to the podium, dragons on his mind. Maddy waited behind him, idly leafing through her notes on character development and archery. Kirk stood off to the side, squinting at a screenshot of an empty Oregon home.Each of their picks defined the decade in one way or another. But which one was... the definitiveist? The Judge's gavel fell once more. The discourse began........Anyway, that segment begins at 26:25. First we talked ab

Episode 208: Jason, Kirk, and Maddy talk a bit about Luigi's Mansion 3, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, and Baba Is You before jumping into discussion of the new Half-Life VR game and next-gen consoles (19:11). Then they rave about Watchmen for a while (43:19) and close things out with some Jedi Fallen Order spoiler chat.

Episode 207: Happy turkey day! Kirk, Maddy, and Jason open up the Thanksgiving mailbag to answer some of your questions on their video game origin stories, SNES save states, emulating Death Stranding in Zelda: Breath of the Wild, what other animals should get their own Untitled Goose Game, and much more.

Episode 206: Finally, a good-ass Star Wars video game! Kirk, Jason, and Maddy take a deep dive into Jedi Fallen Order, the great new Star Wars single-player action-adventure game from Respawn. They talk about its influences, its difficulty, and whether Uncharted and Metroid really harmonize. Then they get into Half-Life VR and the tepid launch of Google Stadia (46:35) followed by some off-topic talk (1:04:49) on The Righteous Gemstones and Musicophilia. Music pick of the week: “Will O’ The Wisp” from Sketches of Spain by Miles Davis & Gil Evans

Episode 205: Jason, Kirk, and Maddy talk about a bunch of video games (Disco Elysium, the new Layton, Death Stranding, and so on) before jumping into some analysis of Disney's new Disney Plus streaming service and the Great Streaming Wars (33:32). Is there too much content? Yes. The answer is yes. Plus: His Dark Materials, Big Mouth, and The Mandalorian!Music pick of the week: “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” by Dolly Parton from New Harvest… First Gathering, 1977Links: 'Disco Elysium' Is a Landmark RPG About the Politics of Our Broken World [Cameron Kunzelman, Vice]Podcast: Pop culture unites us as Americans. Will streaming services change that? [Lauren Katz, Vox]Disney Is Quietly Placing Classic Fox Movies Into Its Vault, and That’s Worrying [Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture]

Episode 204: It's Death Stranding time! Kirk, Maddy, and Jason spend some time talking about BlizzCon and Luigi's Mansion 3 before jumping into discussion of Metal Gear Solid director Hideo Kojima's new game (25:40), which all three of them have played. They talk about its slow start, why Jason couldn't play more than two hours, and why Kirk and Maddy are loving its weird clunkiness. The show ends with some off-topic talk (58:09) on Trick Mirror, Us, and the Legend of Gardner Minshew.Music pick of the week: “The Other Side of Summer” by Elvis Costello from Mighty Like a Rose, 1991To read: Death Stranding: The Kotaku Review [Kotaku];What Happened to Deadspin, According to the People Who Were There [Slate];The Future of the Culture Wars is Here, and it’s Gamergate [Deadspin]

Papa Jason is back from paternity leave and he’s got a bunch of newfound parenting knowledge to share… or at least, he played a bunch of games and watched a bunch of TV. He and Kirk talk in-depth about Disco Elysium and The Outer Worlds, two of the games they’ve both been playing. Then Maddy shares some spare thoughts on her journey to the end of Fire Emblem. The *first* end, anyway.After that they talk news, with some expectations and predictions about the upcoming BlizzCon, Ghost Recon Wildlands bombing hard enough to make Ubisoft delay a bunch of games, and the latest beleaguerment in the Fallout 76 saga.Referenced on this episode: Fraser Brown’s PC Gamer article about Disco Elysium and The Outer Worlds: https://www.pcgamer.com/disco-elysium-has-ruined-the-outer-worlds-for-me/Music Pick of the Week: “Just Another Day” by Oingo Boingo from Dead Man’s Party, 1985

Maddy and Kirk talk about games they're playing, with Maddy trying out Sayonara Wild Hearts and Kirk still diving into the interlocking brain systems that Disco Elysium gives its protagonist. After that, we bring on Kotaku staff editor Natalie Degraffinried (24:05) to talk about Ring Fit Adventure, which is Nintendo's latest attempt to make an exercise video game. We also look back on Wii Fit, Dance Dance Revolution, and more. We close with off-topic talk (54:52) about the Charlie's Angels movies, as well as Watchmen—the book, the movie, and the show.Music pick of the week: “American Music” by the Violent Femmes from “Why Do Birds Sing,” 1991

Kirk and Maddy talk about games they're playing, which in Maddy's case is still Destiny 2 and Borderlands 3. Kirk beat Sayonara Wild Hearts, a music-focused game that he strongly recommends, and he just started Disco Elysium, a detective game with a ton of dialogue systems. We then break for some discussion of the news (32:23), touching on Kotaku's coverage of Pokemon Go and privacy, Blizzard's approach to China and Hong Kong, and the Fortnite black hole. We close with off-topic talk (56:53) about books each of us has read: Educated by Tara Westover, Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, and Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra.Music pick of the week: “Begin Again” from the Sayonara Wild Hearts Soundtrack, by Daniel Olsen and Jonathan Eng, feat Linnea Olsson.“The Creators Of Pokémon Go Mapped The World. Now They're Mapping You” by Cecilia D'Anastasio and Dhruv Mehrotra: https://kotaku.com/the-creators-of-pokemon-go-mapped-the-world-now-theyre-1838974714“Are China's Tantrums Signs of Strength or We

To celebrate the 200th episode of Splitscreen, Maddy finally started playing Destiny 2. Meanwhile, Kirk beat Untitled Goose Game. We also bring on Kotaku staff writer Joshua Rivera (30:28) to discuss his article about Blizzard's crackdown on a pro Hearthstone player who spoke out about Hong Kong, and then the three of us discuss Borderlands 3, Destiny 2, and all the looting and shooting that can be done in those games. We close with off-topic discussion (1:17:50) about Gentleman Jack, The Great British Bake-Off, and The Real World.Music pick of the week: “Since 99” by Vargas and LagolaWired PS5 Exclusive: https://www.wired.com/story/exclusive-playstation-5/Planet Money on Hong Kong: https://www.npr.org/2019/07/19/743480237/episode-928-hong-kongJoshua Rivera's Hong Kong article: https://kotaku.com/blizzards-hong-kong-missteps-prove-video-games-arent-ne-1838913631Borderlands 3 review: https://kotaku.com/borderlands-3-the-kotaku-review-1838290570

Kirk and Maddy start by congratulating Jason on his new fatherhood, then get straight to the heart of the matter: video games. Maddy's still playing Fire Emblem and also tried two cool tabletop games, Sheriff of Nottingham and Escape from Aliens in Outer Space. Kirk's tabletop group is still playing Betrayal Legacy; Kirk also played the new Hitman level and... drumroll... Destiny 2: Shadowkeep. After a break (28:32), we bring on Kotaku's editor-in-chief Stephen Totilo to talk about Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and also attempt to define a sidequest (and shout out some of our favorite ones). We then close out with off-topic talk (1:08:15) about Elementary, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Can You Ever Forgive Me?Music pick of the week: "Oh My," Natalie Prass

Kirk and Maddy make do without Jason, who's busy with imminent fatherhood, and discuss the joys of Untitled Goose Game and playing games as a jerk (who is also a goose). Kirk is also stuck on a Gears 5 boss and trying out tons of new offerings in Apple Arcade. We break for news (31:04) about the Oculus Quest, further discussion of Apple Arcade and subscription services, and a bunch of listener emails about weird gaming traditions. We close with off-topic talk (59:54) about Dark Crystal and Hustlers.Music pick of the week: "Little Wing," Jimi Hendrix

Episode 197: Kirk, Jason, and Maddy talk about the great new visual novel AI: The Somnium Files, the wonderfully addictive Fire Emblem, and Remnant: From the Ashes, aka Gears of Dark Souls. Then they get into news (34:07) on Nicalis and Apple Arcade, plus a listener question about weird gaming traditions. Finally, off-topic talk (57:16) and the legend of Gardner Minshew continues (or does it?).Music pick of the week: “Rock Steady” by Aretha Franklin from Young, Gifted and Black, 1972

Episode 196: The Splitscreen krew talks Gears 5, Link's Awakening, and Telling Lies, then moves into news of the week (33:53) on P.T. discoveries, Destiny's five-year anniversary, and esports in the Olympics. Then they get into off-topic (48:58) chat on Derren Brown's 'Secret,' Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and Succession, before bringing back "Jason's NFL story of the week" to introduce the legend of Gardner MinshewMusic pick of the week: “7” by Prince and the New Power Generation from The Love Symbol AlbumShow notes: Joshua Rivera on five years of Destiny, Kirk Hamilton on three years of Destiny, Kathryn VanArendonk - Is Succession a Comedy?

Episode 195: Kirk, Maddy, and Jason talk about Gears 5, Final Fantasy VIII Remastered, and Control, then dive into some listener questions (31:21) on buying games from problem companies, the best controllers, and silent protagonists. They close things out with off-topic talk (55:28) on Billions, Bundyville, and some Veronica Mars spoilers.

Episode 194: The Splitscreen Squad talks about the excellent Control, the grindy Dragon Quest XI, and Maddy's comparisons between Gears of War 4 and Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Then they talk news of the week ((24:28) on Telltale getting revived (as a shambling corpse), industry sexual harassment allegations, and weird controversies surrounding the game Ion Fury. Off-topic talk this week (55:21) is all about The Family, Y: The Last Man, and Billions.Music pick of the week: “Burning Up” by Marianas Trench from Astoria, 2014

Episode 193: Maddy, Kirk, and Jason talk about Gears of War 4 and the never-ending Fire Emblem: Three Houses before jumping into this week's news from Gamescom (Kojima! Insomniac! Ori and the Blind Forest to Switch!) and, finally, an Outer Wilds spoilercast (35:34). Then some off-topic talk (1:15:45) on Heaven's Gate, Billions, and Succession.Music pick of the week: “Pyramid Song” by Radiohead from Amnesiac, 2001

Episode 192: Jason is back from book leave, so why not talk about the one thing that's been on his mind for the last four weeks: Internet distractions! First the gang talks about the games they've been playing, like Outer Wilds and Eliza, before getting into Fire Emblem (29:22) and some productivity tips. Finally, they talk about Saga, Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood, and Veronica Mars (1:04: 26).Music pick of the week: “Come Home With Me/Wedding Song” from Hadestown by Anaïs MitchellShow notes: Rob Zacny (Vice) on Eliza, Nathan Grayson (Kotaku) on the Epic Games Store

Maddy and Kirk start by discussing the news from last weekend, citing Joshua Rivera's editorial "We Do Not Need To Defend Video Games From Politicians," as well as Maddy's coverage of the ESA leaking journalists' personal information. Next, they talk about games they've been playing; Maddy's still enjoying Phoenix Wright, and Fire Emblem: Three Houses has taken over Kirk's life. After that, Kotaku editor-at-large Riley MacLeod came on to discuss his coverage of the Fortnite World Cup (27:08) and the kid-friendly atmosphere of the event. We close with off-topic talk (1:01:10) about Schitt's Creek and Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy.Music pick of the week: “All Will Be Well” by Gabe Dixon