Episode 219: Jason, Kirk, and Maddy talk about Dragon's Dogma, Death Stranding, and Divinity: Original Sin 2 for a while before diving into the game that everyone's playing -- Kirby: Planet Robobot (33:27). Then they talk about how the coronavirus pandemic may impact the video game industry this year in some big ways and discuss whether Trials of Osiris will bring Kirk and Jason back to Destiny 2. Finally, some off-topic chat on Uncut Gems, RoboCop, and Better Call Saul. Music pick of the week: ...
Feb 27, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 219
Episode 218: Jason returns to complete the trifecta and take his rightful place as Splitscreen's Triforce of Power... or is it Triforce of Courage? He, Kirk, and Maddy talk about some video games they're playing, including Dragon's Dogma, Death Stranding, and Enter the Gungeon. Then they dive into a Disco Elysium spoilercast (38:31) to talk about the game's guiding ethos, its ending decisions, and what it all means. Finally, it's off-topic talk (1:16:53) about Mythic Quest, the new Apple TV show...
Feb 20, 2020•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 218
Episode 217 : Kirk and Maddy start by discussing the upcoming "reinvention" of Anthem , then talk about what we're playing, with Kirk having beaten The Evil Within 2 and Maddy playing Death Stranding and Super Metroid . Next we bring on Kotaku senior reporter Nathan Grayson (20:41) to talk about the new Metro Exodus DLC, as well as his recent reporting on Twitch and Mixer and the lucrative deals that streamers have been cutting with platforms. We close with off-topic talk (53:46) about John Wick...
Feb 13, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 217
Episode 216 : Maddy and Kirk talk about games they're playing, with Maddy having beaten Disco Elysium and returning to Death Stranding , and Kirk having beaten A Plague Tale: Innocence and finally able to start The Evil Within 2 . After a break (35:53), we bring on Kotaku video producer Paul Tamayo to talk about his coverage of Journey To The Savage Planet . Then, he tries to sell us on playing Dragon's Dogma (and he's pretty convincing). We close with off-topic discussion (59:51) about The Wire...
Feb 06, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 216
Episode 215 : Kirk and Maddy talk about games they're playing, with Kirk still restricting himself to beating A Plague Tale: Innocence before he can start playing The Evil Within 2 . Maddy is playing too many games and has decided to start another one, which is Kentucky Route Zero . After a break (22:54), they bring on Kotaku staff writer Ethan Gach for a Destiny 2 update and more emails from listeners about hard-won gaming accomplishments. Then we get into off-topic talk (1:05:16) about The Wit...
Jan 30, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 215
Episode 214 : Maddy and Kirk talk about games they're playing (without Jason), with Maddy starting up Pokemon: Shield and Kirk having finally beaten Disco Elysium , as well as continuing with The Witcher 3 and Plague Tale: Innocence . After that (36:52), we read listeners' stories about the hardest challenges they've ever bested in video games. We don't get through all of them, so we're going to keep that up in future episodes. We close out the show with off-topic discussion (1:06:06) about You ...
Jan 23, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 214
Episode 213: Jason, Kirk, and Maddy talk about Disco Elysium, Hollow Knight, and Monster Hunter: Iceborne before checking in on some quick news (29:00): Sony's skipping E3 and Final Fantasy VII and Avengers are both delayed. Then they open up the listener mailbag for some questions about the hardest things they've ever done in a video game, whether Microsoft will ever turn Xbox into a living room PC, and the games they might hypothetically speedrun. They close things off with some off-topic talk...
Jan 16, 2020•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 213
Episode 212: Kirk, Jason, and Maddy talk about the games they played over the holidays, like Resident Evil 2 , The Witcher 3 , and Control , then look back at their predictions for 2019 to see who got the most things right (28:22). Then they make predictions for 2020, a year that will no doubt be full of fun video game nonsense. They close things off with movie talk on Knives Out, Parasite, Little Women, and more (1:10:53). Music pick of the week: “Dream Sweet in Sea Major” by Miracle Musical (ミ...
Jan 09, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 212
Episode 211: Jason, Kirk, and Maddy continue their discussion of the games they played in 2019, capping off the year with July through December. The games: Dragon Quest Builders 2, A Short Hike, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Wolfenstein Youngblood, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Telling Lies, Grandia HD Collection, Rebel Galaxy Outlaw, Control, Remnant: From The Ashes, Madden NFL 20, Eliza, Final Fantasy VIII Remastered, AI: The Somnium Files, No Man’s Sky: Beyond, Zelda: Link’s Awakening, What The Go...
Dec 26, 2019•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 211
Maddy, Jason and Kirk have all seen Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, and guess what? They have some thoughts. Our three hosts—a Force Triad, you could say—sat down and recorded a spoilercast that is nearly as long as the movie itself. Because, you see, these things echo. They rhyme. ADDITIONAL READING: Jason and Chris Kohler's conversation about the movie on Kotaku: https://kotaku.com/well-okay-lets-talk-about-star-wars-the-rise-of-skyw-1840561224 Kirk's old article about how The Las...
Dec 23, 2019•2 hr 19 min•Ep. 211
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, ...
Dec 19, 2019•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 210
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 especiall...
Dec 12, 2019•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 209
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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Dec 05, 2019•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 208
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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Nov 28, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 207
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”...
Nov 21, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 206
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 , 1977 Links: 'Disco Elysium' I...
Nov 14, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 205
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...
Nov 07, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 204
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 Wild...
Oct 31, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 203
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 mo...
Oct 24, 2019•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 202
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) ...
Oct 17, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 201
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 G...
Oct 10, 2019•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 200
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 Rec...
Oct 03, 2019•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 199
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 Hustl...
Sep 26, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 198
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 See Privac...
Sep 19, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 197
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 Minshew Music pick of the week: “7” by Prince and the New Power Generation from The ...
Sep 12, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 196
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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Sep 05, 2019•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 195
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 Ma...
Aug 29, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 194
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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at h...
Aug 22, 2019•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 193
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 Mitchell Show not...
Aug 15, 2019•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 192
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)...
Aug 08, 2019•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 191
