It’s December, the month when little children’s thoughts turn to presents and big children’s thoughts turn to Geoff Keighley’s annual celebration of world-premiere trailers. And those trailers come with awards between them, bestowed upon the best games of the year as judged by professional game judges. Who judges the judgment of those judges? Why, the brave members of team Kotaku Splitscreen, that’s who.
In this latest episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, Ethan, Lisa Marie, and I go through this year’s list of Game Awards nominees, picking awards based on our personal tastes, our perception of public perception, random chance, and in at least one instance which game we think a car would choose to win (Innovation in Accessibility, Presented by Chevrolet). The plan was to go through each category slowly and thoughtfully, which worked until we realized we were running out of time about halfway through the list. I’m sure it’s all very entertaining, if a bit rushed on the back end.
As we go through the noms we ask the hard-hitting questions. What is the difference between action and action-adventure? Why are simulations and strategy games in the same category? Which esports game would we play if we were Grubhub, sponsor of the Best Esports Game category? Do we find answers? Listen and find out.
This episode is, sadly, the final curtain for Micaela Heck, our producer since Splitscreen relaunched last year. She’s painstakingly produced every episode since, making our incoherent ramblings sound slightly more coherent. Did you know that Ethan, Lisa, and I each record on different days? That’s not true, but if it were Micaela would have made it work. She’s moving on to bigger and better things, but her influence will stick with Splitscreen for years to come.
Remember that new episodes come out every Friday, so like and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher to get them as soon as they go live. You can leave a review, too, or drop us a line at splitscreen@kotaku.com if you have questions or want to suggest a topic. Or if you want to deliver your hot takes in real time you can reach us on Twitter: I’m @unclefahey, Lisa Marie is @lisamarie_lynn, and Ethan is @ethangach. Until next week!