Hazelight Studio’s direction of co-op games never fails to amaze me. A Way Out did absolutely well in 2018. The studio’s release of It Takes Two in 2021 received critical acclaim for its light-hearted romantic comedy co-op experience and snagged the Game of the Year award at The Game Awards in the same year. Josef Fares showed the world that he’s capable of launching cooperative games in unprecedented quality and scale.
Fares’ new work, Split Fiction, was announced during The Game Awards last year. Despite the game launching three months after its announcement, I’m not surprised given It Takes Two’s critical acclaim that Split Fiction didn’t need a huge marketing campaign because it will still sell well.
I played and finished Split Fiction with my wife in just a weekend’s time. While the game didn’t entirely challenge our relationship like It Takes Two, Split Fiction was an incredible and exhilarating co-op experience.
Much like all of Fares’ works, Split Fiction heavily focuses on cooperative play. You will need a friend, your significant other, or a family member to play the game. Thanks to a brand-new feature of Friend Pass, you can now invite other players who don’t have a copy through the Friend Pass system regardless of platform. In the age of cross-play, it’s an amazing move from Fares and the studio to allow the feature to support cross-play.
Split Fiction‘s narrative focuses on two individuals and their desire to have their work published. Mio, a reserved introvert who loves sci-fi, only looks to have her works published to receive payment. Zoe, on the other hand, is a cheerful and optimistic person who loves fantasy and wants to prove something to her family that she’s not an entire failure. Both went to a publishing company to have their works published. Little did they know that the machine the company built was not really meant to conveniently let them experience their work in a simulation, but to steal their other ideas for their own.
The story tackles real-world struggles known to many creators — authors, game developers, artists, and filmmakers — the issue of corporations or production companies exploiting their work for profit. While this problem is not new to anyone, Split Fiction successfully emphasizes the need for corporations to provide proper acknowledgment and credit to creators.
This is also thanks to how well-written the characters are. Both Mio and Zoe are completely relatable characters. One is a more guarded individual whose walls are so up that she doesn’t trust anyone else other than herself, the other is a lively person who sees nothing but the good things about the world and can be friends with a lot of people. If you mix them, you know it won’t end well. What I love most about Split Fiction’s character building is it takes time in every conversation they have during the adventure. It’s meaningful, it’s relatable, and their relationship is overall endearing. You instantly love Zoe for her personality, but you also understand where Mio’s pessimistic thoughts are coming from. The way Josef Fares balances the angle of each character for us to fully relate to them is amazing, and not once during my playthrough had I developed any ill feelings towards a character. I also want to praise the performances of Mio and Zoe’s voice performers, Kaja Chan and Elsie Bennet, for bringing such lovable characters to life!
Josef Fares’ formula in co-op games like these is as impressive as it was with his work in It Takes Two, probably even more. Split Fiction focuses on story themes the most and you’ll immediately notice that in the game’s level designs. Each level has its own set of nuances that you’ll eventually get lost in. One, you’ll have that cyberpunk vibes in the Neon Revenge chapter, where both of our protagonists are cyber ninjas. The other is you’re in the dragon realm fighting a huge Monster Hunter-esque boss while riding a dragon.
No level ever felt similar, and that goes the same thing about the various gameplay elements. Yes, much like It Takes Two, Split Fiction offers a ton of variety in terms of gameplay. You’re not simply stuck in a split-screen third-person co-op adventure, rather, you’ll be playing experiences more than that. In one level, you’ll be in a side-scroller shoot ’em up like Contra where your controls are using the right analog stick to aim. Even more, there’s even a Side Story where you’ll be competing with your friend in a friendly yet dangerous snowboarding race where the player with the most points wins like some game modes offered in the SSX franchise. What’s even also amusingly surprising is they borrowed a few inspirations from certain franchises they added to certain scenarios in the game where you’ll be like: this is from Assassin’s Creed! That’s a bit of a spoiler right there, but you’ll find that out when you play Split Fiction.
I also want to praise the amount of how much you and your friend are almost involved in most puzzle-solving situations compared to A Way Out and It Takes Two. Communication is the most important factor in Split Fiction. In most cases, you both will find yourselves in scenarios where one of you has to manipulate something, like holding and releasing a watermill, to perfectly time the other player’s launch to reach a target. Split Fiction offers a magnitude of cleverly impressive and engaging puzzles and obstacles that make you feel proud when you overcome them.
There’s more that I want to talk about but I’ll leave the surprises to you and your friend (or significant other) to find and experience them all together, especially the game’s final chapter. I can’t go into specific details, but here’s one thing for sure: this game’s last act makes Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart look meager in terms of tech. My time with my wife playing Split Fiction was more on pointing out how familiar these gameplay mechanics are, and how it reminded us of the games we used to play when we were kids. Split Fiction offered more gameplay variety than its predecessors and that’s what made the game incredibly enjoyable to play with someone!
Split Fiction is best played in couch co-op, which is why I chose to play the game on the PS5 Pro. I had to experience such a magnificent game on a huge television in my living room where my wife and I could sit on the couch, relax, and enjoy the ride. The overall performance of Split Fiction is also incredibly polished. During our 12+ hours of playtime, we haven’t encountered any hiccups or framerate issues. It shows the level of care that Hazelight put into the game’s development, and that’s something to praise Josef Fares and his team about.
Hazelight didn’t just give us another spectacular co-op experience after It Takes Two, they gave more meaning to couch co-op. Split Fiction is that. It reminds us that co-op games are best experienced with someone, not through online or live services, but in the living room, laughing together, brainstorming together, shedding tears together, and making memorable moments together. Split Fiction is nothing less than a grand spectacle of a co-op game, delivering a truly breathtaking and unforgettable shared experience.
This review is based on a PS5 code provided by the developer/publisher.
Split Fiction
Split Fiction goes beyond just another great co-op game from Hazelight; it reignites the importance of couch co-op. It's a reminder that truly memorable co-op experiences are built in the living room, sharing laughter, brainstorming, and emotional moments together. This game is a grand spectacle of co-op.
The Good
- Exceptional Co-op Experience
- Strong Narrative & Relatable Characters
- Gameplay Variety & Engaing Puzzles
- Incredibly Polished on the PS5 Pro
- Friend Pass Supports Crossplay
The Bad
- None
