Death Stranding Is Going To Make No Sense And That’s Just Fine

This week on Kotaku Splitscreen, how could we not dive into the delicious insanity of yesterday’s nine-minute Death Stranding trailer? First we talk about some video games we’re playing, from Dark Souls 3 to Observation, then dive into news of the week (29:00) including Death Stranding’s ridiculous new trailer (and 2019 release date!), Call of…

Portal Headlines June’s Xbox Games With Gold

There’s a fun mix of games in June’s Xbox Games with Gold, from sports to puzzles. As always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription. June’s Games with Gold are: Xbox One EA Sports NHL 19 (June 1-30) Rivals of Aether (June 16-July 15) Xbox 360 (compatible with…

DIY Retro Gaming Handheld Is As Fun To Build As It Is To Play

This is the GameShell, a retro gaming handheld that I built from a kit. I clipped and trimmed the plastic pieces, inserted the circuit boards, connected the wires and snapped it all together. It plays old games, emulated titles and homebrew software. It’s pleasing that something I built does those things. The folks at Clockwork…

A Theory Why Marvel Movies Don’t Dominate Japan

Marvel movies are successful in Japan. They are popular. But while Avengers: Endgame dominated theaters around the world for weeks, it was soon toppled in Japan by the latest Detective Conan anime. Why are American superhero movies less popular in Japan? Is there a reason? According to film journalist Koremasa Uno, yes there is  Uno…

KFC Is Now Serving Chicken Skin In Indonesia

As far as ideas go, KFC serving bags of crisp, fried chicken skin is an excellent one. Who doesn’t love the skin? KFC is offering bags of chicken skin at six locations in Indonesia: MT Haryono, Salemba, Cideng, Kemang, Kalimalang and Kelapa Gading. One order is the equivalent of 95 cents. This isn’t a first…

Iron Maiden Is Suing The Video Game Ion Maiden

Ageing British metal band Iron Maiden (or at least the band’s holding company) are suing video game publisher 3D Realms over retro shooter Ion Maiden, claiming the game’s logo and marketing is “an effort to confuse consumers into believing Defendant’s products and services are somehow affiliated with or approved by Iron Maiden”. The lawsuit, filed…

Gato Roboto is a Metroidvania where you play as a cat in a mech suit. In space. However, there are locations that your mech suit—and I’m sure all the cats in mech suits out there can identify with this—is too bulky to traverse, forcing you to pop out and be a regular little kitty in…

Tough Day At The Office

Vladyslava Hladkova is a concept artist based in the UK who works in the games business. You can see more of Vladyslava’s stuff at her ArtStation page.  

You Can Now Have Official Pokemon Weddings In Japan

ESCRIT, a Japanese company specialising in wedding ceremonies, recently teamed up with The Pokemon Company to start offering officially licensed Pokemon weddings. There are now some pictures of the first ceremony to be hold, and there is a lot to take in. As you cast your eyes over these images, please remember this is not…

Recreation Of Smash Bros. In Overwatch Is Shockingly Accurate

If I was a betting man, I’d put my entire accumulated fortune of [single, chirping cricket inside a wallet] on the idea that there have been several very serious conversations inside Blizzard about the idea of a Smash Bros.-like fighting game starring Overwatch characters. In the meantime, one fan has made that idea a reality.…

Crank Gaming Handheld’s Creators Trying To Make Amends For Poorly Worded Email

On May 22, app developer and game publisher Panic announced a new gaming handheld called Playdate that quickly became a mini-sensation online. Playdate is also the name used by a small, yearly indie showcase for experimental games, the 2019 edition of which took place just a few days later. The back-and-forth over the name “Playdate”…

Don’t Split The Party Is A Game About Petty D&D Players

Sometimes the hardest part of Dungeons and Dragons is making sure your friends don’t start yelling at each other. Indie game Don’t Split The Party charmingly captures that challenge by putting you in the role of Dungeon Master—and peacekeeper. Don’t Split The Party is a text-based game where you play as Brynn, a young woman…

Odds Of Beating A Particularly Devious Mario Maker Level Are 1 In 7.5 Million

There have been over two million attempts to beat a Mario Maker level called Lucky Draw, and seemingly all of them have failed because, well, they just haven’t gotten lucky enough yet. As first reported by Patrick Klepek over at Vice Games, Lucky Draw is a Super Mario Maker level that has rarely, if ever,…

This Venusaur Was Too Scary For Detective Pikachu

RJ Palmer, an artist on the film Detective Pikachu known for his hyper-realistic Pokémon drawings, posted his menacing vision for the Pokémon Venusaur yesterday—one that never made it into the blockbuster movie. If you saw Detective Pikachu, it’s likely you left the theater either in awe of its realistic imaginings of Pokémon or wondering where…

EVE Online‘s Latest Expansion Brings An Alien Invasion

Alien forces have invaded EVE Online, and players across the galaxy are banding together to resist them. In the latest free expansion to EVE, a lost race of humans known as Triglavians have breached the walls of reality and are pouring out of the Abyss. Triglavian forces are currently laying siege to three different areas…