It’s been nearly four years since Hazelight Studios released It Takes Two, a title that received critical acclaim and went on to win Game of the Year at The Game Awards. Despite that game’s huge success, we continue to rarely see big-budget games taking advantage of a gap in the co-operative space.
Split Fiction is Hazelight’s new game, and it’s once again a pure co-op game that requires two people to play, either locally or online.
I played the whole game with my colleague, and the first thing to mention is that crossplay worked seamlessly across the 14 hours it took for us to reach the end, besides a couple of very short and minor stutters (I was on PC, while he was on PS5). There is no in-game voice chat, but we both had no issue using Discord all the way through.
The game follows Mio and Zoe – aspiring authors specialising in sci-fi and fantasy respectively – visiting a publisher who, unknown to them, wants to steal their ideas.
When Mio and Zoe are hooked up to a machine, they find themselves transported into worlds based on their own stories. Learning of the company’s true agenda, the two strangers agree to team up to make their way through their stories to seek glitches in the system and break out.
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A lot of the time, Mio and Zoe will have different abilities. An early chapter, taking place in one of Mio’s sci-fi stories, sees Mio wielding a sword that lets her change her own gravity at designated points, while Zoe has a whip for grabbing items from afar. So while I, as Mio, was running along walls and the ceiling, my colleague – despite not having the same mobility – could reach and throw objects that I could not.
That’s just one of many examples, with each chapter having a variety of different gimmicks. One can fly, the other can scale walls. One shoots red, the other shoots blue.
Each puzzle and platforming segment is designed to take advantage of the two players’ contrasting abilities, in a way that requires both to collaborate and help each other progress. The creativity on show and the mileage that the game gets from this concept and from playing with different perspectives is impressive. That extends to the boss fights, which have great variety and are some of the more challenging parts of the game.
I lost count of the number of times either my colleague or I said some variation of, ‘That’s neat’.
Not all segments revolve around contrasting abilities, but even these ones work extremely well, in part because the game still manages to make you feel like you have distinct roles and therefore it continues to put an emphasis on teamwork.
It’s clear that Split Fiction enjoys taking inspiration from other games. There were individual segments that reminded us of, whether intentional or not, Portal, Chained Together, Tears of the Kingdom, and Metroid, just to name a few.
Jumping around different styles of gameplay makes sense – Mio and Zoe explore different stories and worlds over the course of the game, and furthermore, it helps to keep the adventure fresh and unpredictable. But what the game also does is put its own spin on mechanics or themes that may feel familiar, producing no shortage of delightful surprises.
That’s not to say every segment is a hit – there were a few that perhaps weren’t as satisfying to play through – but the majority of them succeed in what they set out to do.
Alternating between sci-fi and fantasy themes also helps with the pacing of the adventure. The sci-fi chapters generally move a little faster, while the fantasy counterparts tend to consist of more slower-paced puzzles.
Breaking up the game further are 12 optional side stories that transport Mio and Zoe into a short bonus level, each featuring a unique gimmick or gameplay twist. Without spoiling much, we saw all of them and had a blast with nearly every single one. They provide not just a change of pace but also some of the more memorable moments in the game.
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Both Mio and Zoe are likeable protagonists, and while the pair are initially at odds with each other, they quickly bond and vow to work together to break free of the system they’re trapped in.
What’s less interesting is the threat that Mio and Zoe are fighting against. At points, it feels like the game might have something interesting to say about people’s creative works being stolen by technology. But it doesn’t really go deeper than that, and the main villain ends up becoming cartoonish and bland, to the point where the final chapter – although having some fun gameplay twists – doesn’t land as hard as the climaxes in some of Hazelight’s previous games.
While Split Fiction doesn’t necessarily break new ground, it’s an entertaining ride and delivers a polished co-operative experience with an infectious level of enthusiasm.
As the end credits rolled, my colleague and I agreed that we wouldn’t have minded at all if the game had been extended by several more hours. It’s to the game’s credit that it never threatened to outstay its welcome, and felt fresh throughout. If you’re pining for a good co-op experience, then look no further.
Platform reviewed on: PC and PS5 (crossplay)
Split Fiction is out on March 6 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
