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CultureSplitscreenIf Only Ghost Recon Breakpoint Were More Like Assassin’s Creed
Assassin’s Creed games have gotten better and better at establishing a sense of place and filling that place with tons of satisfying, stealthy missions. After a few hours with Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Kotaku editor-in-chief Stephen Totilo is still mostly just thinking about how much he likes Assassin’s Creed. On this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen, we talk…
By Maddy Myers Published October 4, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenApple Arcade Seems Like The Future Of Gaming, For Better Or Worse
Apple Arcade offers up a ton of cool mobile games for only 5 bucks a month. The price seems more than fair from the player side, and it helps that these games aren’t packed with microtransactions, since they’re already funded by the subscription fee. But is that subscription model actually sustainable? And do we want…
By Maddy Myers Published September 27, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenWhat’s Your Weirdest Video Game Ritual?
Do you have any bizarre rituals that you always perform in a video game, no matter what? This week on Kotaku Splitscreen, we discuss that question and much more. First, Kirk, Maddy, and I talk about the great new visual novel AI: The Somnium Files, the wonderfully addictive Fire Emblem, and Remnant: From the Ashes,…
By Jason Schreier Published September 19, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenDivinity: Original Sin 2‘s Cross-Save Between PC And Switch Is Magic
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a big, chewy role-playing game that benefits from a mouse and keyboard, but sometimes, you just want to lie down on the couch and play a game on the Switch. The game’s new Switch port allows players to go from one to the other, like magic. On this week’s Kotaku…
By Maddy Myers Published September 12, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenNo Man’s Sky‘s Beyond Update Fulfills The Childhood Dream Of Virtual Reality
You look left and see a giant alien behemoth. You look right and see your spaceship. And then you re-adjust your virtual reality helmet to account for all the head turning you just did. That’s the dream, right? At least that’s what Kirk assured me and Jason on this week’s episode of Kotaku Splitscreen when…
By Maddy Myers Published August 22, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenSome Tips For Avoiding Internet Distractions
If you’re reading this, you probably know the feeling: You’re trying to get into a flow state on something productive, but somehow, your mouse gravitates to your bookmarks, and suddenly you’re browsing Twitter, or Tumblr, or another internet addiction of your choice. Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, we discuss. I spent the past four weeks locking…
By Jason Schreier Published August 15, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenFortnite Is All About The Kids (And The Aesthetics)
The Fortnite World Cup was packed with young faces, both attendees and competitors. Unlike many other esport events, this one had a kid-friendly, earnest vibe that dovetailed well with the chaotic playground atmosphere of Fortnite. Kotaku editor-at-large Riley MacLeod came on Kotaku Splitscreen this week to talk about his coverage of the Fortnite World Cup…
By Maddy Myers Published August 8, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenSo There’s Trash Talk And Then There’s Casual Bigotry
How far is too far when it comes to gaming trash talk? And how do you go about confronting a friend, or a stranger, for some seriously uncool comments in chat? On this week’s episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, we brought in Kotaku senior reporter and trash talk aficionado Cecilia D’Anastasio to discuss gaming etiquette. First,…
By Maddy Myers Published August 1, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenWhen Your Frustration At A Game Makes You Even Worse
Video games can be frustrating. Sometimes, that frustration can overpower your ability to play them well. There’s a term for that: In those moments, you’re “tilted.” On this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen, we had Kotaku’s newest staff writer Joshua Rivera join us to discuss the ways that games have tilted us and how we deal with…
By Maddy Myers Published July 26, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenPermadeath Doesn’t Matter If You Have Enough Save Files
From XCOM to Fire Emblem, it feels bad to watch your team die in a tactical game. It’s way better to save a million times so that you can re-do part of a battle to keep everyone alive. On this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen, Kirk and I brought on Gita Jackson to talk about Fire Emblem:…
By Maddy Myers Published July 18, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenThe Nintendo Switch Lite Has Sealed The 3DS’s Coffin
Remember the Nintendo 3DS? Enjoy that while you can, because after the Nintendo Switch Lite comes out, the 3DS will be erased from all of our collective memories. Okay, not really, but the Switch Lite does look nifty. On this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen, we talk about playing Switch games while lying in a hammock and…
By Maddy Myers Published July 11, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenGood Luck Stopping Students From Playing Stadia Games In Class
If Google Stadia games work as advertised, it’ll become all too easy for students everywhere to play video games on their school-issue laptops instead of listening to their teachers’ lectures. On this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen, we answer questions from listeners, including one from a high school teacher about how much of a pain Stadia will…
By Maddy Myers Published July 3, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenHow To Get Into Outer Wilds
Outer Wilds may be the best game we’ve played this year, but it can be tough to get into—allow us to offer some tips on this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen We start off the episode with some ranting and raving about Outer Wilds before talking Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, the Xbox Elite controller, and Bloodstained. Then…
By Jason Schreier Published June 27, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenFinal Fantasy VII Remake, Avengers, And Other Promising (And Confusing) Games We Saw At E3
E3 2019 brought us demos and details about games we can’t wait to play, like Link’s Awakening and the Final Fantasy VII remake, but it also threw us some real head-scratchers, like that upcoming Avengers game. On this week’s episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, we ran down all the coolest and most befuddling games that we…
By Maddy Myers Published June 20, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenThe Ranger Class Is Getting Some Changes In D&D (And Baldur’s Gate 3)
How is Baldur’s Gate 3 going to implement the modern rules of Dungeons & Dragons? Last week in Los Angeles, we sat down with creative director Swen Vincke and D&D head honcho Mike Mearls on a bonus episode of Kotaku Splitscreen to discuss. One thing you can definitely expect: the ranger is getting some changes.…
By Jason Schreier Published June 19, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenHow One Large Game Studio Avoids Crunch
How does the Chicago-based studio Iron Galaxy maintain a healthy work-life balance for all of its employees? On Kotaku Splitscreen, we talk to founder and Giant Bomb jokeman Dave Lang about his leadership philosophies and how Iron Galaxy avoids crunch. Last week in Los Angeles, I sat down with Lang to talk about founding Iron…
By Jason Schreier Published June 18, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenThe Outer Worlds Is An RPG About Controlling The Narrative
If you fall into the category of people who believe that 2010’s Fallout: New Vegas was the best game in the series, then The Outer Worlds might be for you. Last week at E3, I spoke to the game’s co-director, Leonard Boyarsky, for a bonus episode of Kotaku Splitscreen digging deep into this cyberpunky role-playing…
By Jason Schreier Published June 17, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenCD Projekt Red Boss Again Promises That Cyberpunk Devs Won’t Have To Crunch
Following an impressive showcase from Cyberpunk 2077 this week at E3 in Los Angeles, CD Projekt Red boss Marcin Iwiński joined Kotaku Splitscreen to talk about crunch, recent controversy over transgender issues, and whether GOG is in trouble. A few weeks ago, CD Projekt Red had reached out to talk about their “non-mandatory” crunch policies…
By Jason Schreier Published June 14, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenPersonality Has Become A Vital Esports Skill
Esports commentator and host Alex “Golden Boy” Mendez started out hosting Call of Duty tournaments in hotel ballrooms in 2011 and covering esports for websites like Kotaku. Now, he hosts esports events in stadiums for thousands, as well as esports matches for TV broadcasts. On this bonus episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, I interviewed Mendez on the…
By Maddy Myers Published June 14, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenDestiny 2‘s Next Year Will Depend On How Players Like This One
It’s safe to say Destiny 3 won’t be coming next year, but what about a new expansion? Or new seasons? On this bonus E3 episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, we ask the people behind Destiny about that and a whole lot more. (Apologies for the background noise—I had to use backup audio!) I sat down with…
By Jason Schreier Published June 12, 2019