Kotaku Splitscreen

Is Detroit: Become Human any good? No. No it is not. Kirk and Jason talk about that before getting into the news of the week (24:46) on Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Xbox One accessibility, and HBO's Watchmen. Then Compete staff writer Maddy Myers joins the show (43:20) to talk about her journalism career at the Boston Phoenix, her love for Metroid, and why Samus Aran is just so much better when she's by herself.Check out Maddy's album here: https://maddymyers.bandcamp.com/album/recovery-missionLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kirk and Jason talk about cults and audio tricks (clearly it's Laurel), then get into the news of the week on Boss Key shutting down, a Destiny 2 secret entering real life, and legalized gambling. Then Kotaku's Cecilia D'Anastasio joins the show (37:13) to talk about the Dungeons & Dragons one-shot she ran for Kirk and Jason, her experiences DMing, and why she's writing a campaign about Guy Fieri. Finally, Kirk and Jason talk Destiny 2 and Pillars of Eternity 2.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is the video game industry so obsessed with secrets? Kirk and Jason are joined by Polygon's Chris Plante to discuss that topic and way more. FIRST, the Splitscreen Gang talks about Westworld, escape rooms, and news on Nintendo, Rage 2, and Trump's connections to Everquest (14:16). Then Plante comes on to talk about video game leaks, how Polygon has evolved over the years, and whether it makes sense for game companies to be so secretive (32:03). Finally, Kirk and Jason talk Destiny 2 and the delightful Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (1:11:58).Notes:Audio from the Google AI talk via Evan Kirstel (https://twitter.com/evankirstel/status/993935454985744384)DKC Tropical Freeze Alp's Fall Theme music via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJAXs_HLzG4Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kirk and Jason talk about playing D&D, games as a service, and CEO salaries before bringing on io9's Evan Narcisse for a spoiler-heavy talk (28:54) about The Avengers: Infinity War, THAT ending, what the deal is with Captain Marvel, and expectations for Avengers 4.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SPOILERS! God of War director Cory Barlog drops by the show for a fun, wide-ranging chat about all sorts of things, including his take on the message of this game, what's next for the series, and That One Moment. We also talk about why God of War took five years, labor issues in video games, and whether Barlog would ever make a God of War game about Christianity. Don't listen to this one until you've finished the game!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is this, a crossover episode? Jason and Kirk talk about Paris, Valve buying Campo Santo, Quantic Dream suing journalists, and Destiny 2 before they're joined by Kotaku's Gita Jackson and Patricia Hernandez of Fave This (43:57) to talk about how Fortnite got so popular and whether Nintendo Labo is as fun as playing with cardboard boxes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kirk and Jason talk about the season two premiere of Westworld, "Journey Into Night."Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason's eating pain au chocolat on the Seine this week, so Kirk is joined instead by Kotaku's Heather Alexandra and Stephen Totilo to talk over some recent news, as well as the games they've recently been playing. (Stephen: Assassin's Creed Origins. Heather: Far Cry 2.)After that (22:17), Kirk talks with award-winning composer Austin Wintory (Journey, Assassin's Creed Syndicate) about his upcoming stage production A Light in the Void, as well as the arduous process of auditioning to be the composer for Star Trek: Discovery, and why he feels like it was worth it even though he didn't get the gig.Music and Audio Clips Used:"Nascence" and "Apotheosis" from Austin Wintory's Journey Soundtrack"This is Saturn," a 2007 TED talk by Carolyn Porco"Wonder Woman Main Theme," performed by Tina GuoThree clips from Austin's Medium post "Star Trek Discovery, In a Parallel Universe.""Ai Giochi Addio," performed by Natasha MarshLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new God of War is astounding, and Kirk and Jason are here to tell you all about it (don't worry; no spoilers!). First they talk about the news of the week on PlayStation 5, The Simpsons, and Westworld before gushing about God of War (26:32)'s combat, storytelling, and incredible production values. Then they bring on Twitch streamer Ryann Weller (46:31) to talk about his transition from making games to making videos about games.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Far Cry 5 is a nihilist's dream while Ni no Kuni II is an idealist's dream. Kirk and Jason discuss that and much more, including news of the week on Lindsay Lohan, Shadow of War, and Todd Howard, the games they've been playing (20:36), and some listener questions (50:36) on games as a service, GPU recommendations, and the Xbox Game Pass. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kirk and Jason unwind from GDC by talking about some of the games they've played over the past few weeks, including Far Cry 5, A Way Out, SNES Classic, and Red Dead Redemption.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At GDC 2018, Kirk and Jason tried something new: an edible game. Specifically "The Patisserie Code," designed by Thimbleweed Park programmer/designer Jenn Sandercock as part of her upcoming cookbook of edible games. Everyone had a delicious time eating cream puffs, thwarting Nazis, and learning to read old-fashioned cursive.You can find photos of the game on Kotaku: https://kotaku.com/we-played-a-delicious-edible-tabletop-game-1824083975Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason and Kirk are still posting pods from their time at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. This time they sat down with S.O.S. creative director (and former Dead Space developer) Ian Milham to talk about how he's building social dynamics into an online survival game.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In San Francisco (still) for the Game Developers Conference, Jason and Kirk met with Caledonia creative director Nels Anderson and art director Lyndsey Gallant to talk about how they started working together, Nels' terrific stealth game Mark of the Ninja, how art design works, and what people get wrong about UI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Kirk and Jason sat down with the always energetic Chris Hecker to talk about his last decade+ working on the asymmetrical multiplayer game Spy Party, which will soon be on Steam Early Access. They also shared some stories of playing the game against one another the day prior.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices